Gobbolino the Witch's Cat

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Meg is a witch whose spells always seem to go wrong, but they lead to zany fun and adventures. Her stories always involve her long-suffering cat, Mog, and their friend Owl. Here’s a roundup of some of the story books with witches that we’ve read and loved over the last few years.

It’s a thrilling adventure with a cliff hanger at the end of each chapter, but at a deeper level encourages children to think about how brave you might have to be, to be good. The story may be 75 years old now, but the style shouldn't put off readers/listeners, the language is readable and moves along nicely. Gobbolino and his magic bring a quirkiness of their own to the story. I was glad to finally discover this one. The books make for great stories to read out loud, but they are also great self-read books for ages seven and up. It may be a bit scary at times, but like all Roald Dahl books, it is a great read for four to five year olds, who are just starting to appreciate having chapter books read to them. Of course I have left out the Harry Potter series from this roundup, which might be a little remiss, as Hermione is truly a great witch. However, I have an admission. We’ve seen all the films, but it’s only my husband who has read the books.The book is so brilliantly andtautly written that you can read it to any child who has started listening to chapter books.

I didn’t discover The Witches as a child, so it was an extra delight to enjoy this story unfolding as I read it to my daughter. Do be prepared for tears, Gobbolino gets into some terrible scrapes before he finally finds a mat he can call home. In 1984 Puffin published The Further Adventures of Gobbolino and the Little Wooden Horse, a joint sequel to Gobbolino and to Adventures of the Little Wooden Horse (1938). Although his mother Grimalkin and sister Sootica are both witch's cats, Gobbolino longs to be a kitchen cat instead, to be loved rather than feared. Abandoned by his mother and her witch because his "abnormal" white paw and blue eyes makes him unsuitable as a witch's cat, Gobbolino sets off to find a loving home. In a series of adventures, our hero continually finds what appear to be ideal homes, only to be turned out again when his parentage is revealed, or the circumstances of his human companions change.A relative newcomer to the witch stories for kids genre, Witchworld is an absolute delight to read. We discovered this, the first book of a trilogy, a few months ago and now have the full trilogy on the book shelf. It's set in a sort of fairy tale land, and Gobbolino can talk to people and do the dishes and so forth, so it's kind of irrelevant that he's even a cat. But at the end, when he loses his magic, he can no longer talk to people. Turns out this was because he was a witch's cat.... so how come all the people who met him didn't realise straight away what he was since normal cats can't talk to humans? Makes no sense. For early readers you can also buy editions with multiple stories, in fact there’s a set of ten books you can buy.

Ursula Moray Williams (1911-2006) began writing and illustrating books at the age of nine or ten, together with her twin sister. Over the course of a long career, she wrote more than sixty books for children, illustrating many of them herself. She was also a juvenile magistrate.There’s a whole series of Winnie books with nice big colourful illustrations which make them great for reading to two to five year olds. A gentle story still making children – and cat lovers – smile over 75 years after its first publication. Gobbolino The Witch’s Cat is probably the best known of Ursula Moray Williams’ books, after Adventures of the Little Wooden Horse, published three years earlier. In 2017 a new edition was produced celebrating seventy-five years since its first publication.

The story started on a dark and cloudy night, when Gobbolino found himself the odd one out amongst witch's kittens - he had one white paw, blue (not green) eyes, and a hint of tabby on his coat. His appearance disqualified him to be a witch's cat, also his heart was too kind to be one. He wanted to be good, not bad; he wanted to be a kitchen cat. After being rejected by the crowd he was born into, he embarked on a journey to find the home he would belong. Along the way, his magic and kindness brought happiness to many, yet his own happiness never really lasted. The clear print and simple but super fun stories make them fabulous early reading books for children who may find conventional reading schemes dull.Jill Murphy is brilliant at using really simple language to tell compellingly good stories. This makes these books fun early chapter books to read to four to six year olds.