What's the Name of That Book??? discussion

That sounds a bit like Witch Week
by Diana Wynne Jones, which is in a quasi-series with Charmed Life, The Lives of Christopher Chant, and others featuring the Chrestomanci.

Secrets of Droon seires just a guess?The Hidden Stairs and the Magic Carpet

The Worst Witch by Jill Murphy, maybe?

Mildred Hubble is the worst witch at Miss Cackle's Academy for Witches - she's always getting her spells wrong. But she manages to get by until she turns Ethel, the teacher's pet, into her deadly enemy.

Jackie is probably right...the sequel is The worst witch strikes again.

Maybe Escape to Witch Mountain by Alexander Key? While there was only 1 book, it was turned into a movie and the movie had a couple of sequels...one of them was called Return to Witch Mountain...

Could it be Wizard's Hall by Jane Yolen? I read this when I was younger, and when I've mentioned it to people, they always think I'm talking about Harry Potter too! The main character is a boy, and he is deemed "the one" to save the whole school as well.

It reminds me of Bedknobs and Broomsticks which I vaguely remember from my childhood. Per Wikipedia, the Disney film came out in 1971 and is based upon the books The Magic Bed Knob; or, How to Become a Witch in Ten Easy Lessons and Bonfires and Broomsticks, by Mary Norton. The description sounds very similar to what you are thinking of.

I don't think this is the answer, but Ruth Chew wrote tons of books with kids and magic and witches back in the 70s.
But they weren't magic kids, they weren't in a school for witches, they just found magic stuff. And the books weren't in a series.

Jenny Nimmo's Charlie Bone series is too recent to fit, either, although the plot matches the description.

Circle of Magic sounds pretty close to me, but they were first published in the 90's if I remember correctly.

Or there's Little Witch by Anna Elizabeth Bennet

I don't think it sounds like Little Witch. I really loved that book.

Anna, Please come back and let us know if you've found the book. (There seem to be a lot of books about witches.)

Maybe Diane Duane's Young Wizard series? The first one is So You Want to be a Wizard? It sounds like it might be worth checking out.

I read the "So You Want to be a Wizard" series, and it doesn't sound quite the same. But it's a good series anyway, so you might enjoy reading them.

I'm going to assume that it wasn't a graphic novel and therefore not Neil Gaiman's Books of Magic, which weren't adapted into non-pictorial novel form until 2003. There has been much confusion that the character is a ripoff of Harry Potter, even though time lines dictate that it's the other way around. :-)

Also as I recall there's no wizard school per se. So maybe never mind.

Sorry but the only magic/witch book I remember from childhood I already mentioned in this thread - Bedknob & Broomstick by Mary Norton. It is a combined publication of The Magic Bed Knob; or, How to Become a Witch in Ten Easy Lessons and Bonfires and Broomsticks. There was also a movie.

I must say, this is a fabulous thread to read!

Maybe your friend from message 19 could give us some other clues?

Also, in the genre, you should read Mary Stewart's "The Little Broomstick."

Try taking a look at Witch Week by Diana Wynne Jones, as Jackie suggested. It was first published in 1982, and there's definitely an escape attempt in a forest.

Even if that's not it, you'll probably enjoy it!

I'm wondering if you're thinking of the Green Knowe series? Except there's no real magic... and it's not at a school... But there are several books that, at a remove and conflated, but have turned into what you remember.

Could it be the Dorrie books by Patricia Coombs? They are from the 70's, and Dorrie is a little witch going to witch school:
Dorrie and the Haunted Schoolhouse
Dorrie and the Fortune Teller
Dorrie and the Pin Witch
Dorrie and the Halloween Plot
etc.

Could it be Savvy by Ingrid Law? Each child in that book has a special power.

Young Wizards, Book 1 So You Want to Be a Wizard (20th) Twentieth-Anniversary Edition by Diane Duane was published in 1985. Young Wizards series.

There's also
The Chronicles of Chrestomanci, Volume 1 Charmed Life / The Lives of Christopher Chant by Diana Wynne Jones (1980)

It looks like these may already be mentioned. What about Ebenzum and Wuntvor series by Craig Shaw Garedener, late 1980's.

There's the Ethshar series by Lawrence watt-Evans. Late 80's.

And The Green Lion series by Teresa Edgerton also late 80's.

I'll look some more.

What about Howl's Moving Castle series by Diana Wynne Jones? Although the date on these start 1986?

Duel of Sorcery series by Jo Clayton (1983)

Winterlands series by Barbara Hambly

And of course The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis, but that's too obvious.

The Miss Switch series by Barbara Wallace (1982)
Trouble With Miss Switch

Books of the True Game, Peter Trilogy by Sherri S Tepper (1983)

Maybe one of these?

Anna, how about Patricia Wrede? She wrote the Enchanted Forest Chronicles, though they seem to be more dragon-heavy than involving witches and only a couple of them were published before '85.

I don't know if anyone mentioned this one yet, but what about Young Wizards, Book 1 So You Want to Be a Wizard (20th) Twentieth-Anniversary Edition?

What about Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie, 1981? It's found under magical realism.

What about H.O.W.L. High by Ellen Leroe, 1991? It looks like there are several books.

And there's a Circle of Magic series by Tamora Pierce. Starting with Sandry's book [image error]

And another Circle of Magic series is by Debra Doyle starting with School of Wizardry

There's Journeyman Wizard by Mary Zambreno 1994.

Would it be the Charlie Bone series by Jenny Nimmo? Which is the "Chidren of the Red King" series starting with Midnight for Charlie Bone

There is also the "Magician Trilogy" by the same author.

What about The Wizard in the Woods by Jean Ure? 1992

Okay I'll try looking at the 70's. I couldn't remember the time frame.lol

Can't be that one because it was published too late.

Okay I found Down a Dark Hall by Lois Duncan, 1974.

Then there's The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder. 1971. It looks like a Newberry HOnor book.

Although neither of these look like they're part of a series.

It wouldn't be an Alfred Hitchcock book would it?

The Headless Cupid probably isn't it, it's not about an academy... a few siblings get a new stepsister who tries to teach them how to be a witch, if I remember correctly, and she's really bad at it. It's not really Harry Potter-like wizardry, I remember it being more like Wicca or something.

Good maybe it will jog someone's memory.

There's the "Rose Rita and the Lewis Barnavelt"Series by John Bellairs and Brad Strickland. It looks like Mr. Bellairs started the series. The first book, The House With a Clock in Its Wallswas published in 1973,

The "Magic Shop" series by Bruce Coville starts with The Monster's Ring in 1982.

Perhaps it is one of the Edgar Eager Tales of Magic series. Titles in the series are Half Magic, Magic by the Lake, Seven Day Magic and Magic or Not. I don't remember a school in any of them, though.

It isn't Little Witch. I do love that book.

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin. 1968

Summary: Fantasy. Young Sparrowhawk learned a bit of magic from his aunt as a child, but when his potential is discovered, he is brought to Roke Island to study at the school for wizards (and this book was written way before J.K. Rowling dreamed up Harry Potter and Hogwarts). At the school, Ged gets cocky and unleashes a terrible shadow on the world … one that he'll now have to track down and tame. Author Ursula K. Le Guin's six Earthsea novels were the basis for a 2004 SCI FI Channel miniseries

So the setting is in a real place, but the plot about witches and wizards at a school...

Did you try Wizard's Hall, by Jane Yolen? It's about a boy that goes to a magical boarding school, but I don't think it's an actual series.

Wizard's Hall

It says published in 1999, I'll see if there's an earlier printing.

Originally published in 1991. She said it's before 1986.

Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper (1979) Dark is Rising sequence.

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin? Has this one been mentioned yet?
Book 1 was published 1991, but 2 and 3 were published in the 70's. The Tombs of Atuan and then The Farthest Shore

The Dragon Circle by Stephen Krensky (1877) and The Witching Hour(1981)

April Ann wrote: "A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin? Has this one been mentioned yet?
Book 1 was published 1991, but 2 and 3 were published in the 70's. The Tombs of Atuan and then The Farthest Shore."

April Ann, you yourself suggested A Wizard of Earthsea just three days ago. :)

El wrote: "April Ann wrote: "A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin? Has this one been mentioned yet?
Book 1 was published 1991, but 2 and 3 were published in the 70's. The Tombs of Atuan and then The Fart..."

I thought I did, but when I scrolled through the thread I didn't see it! lol

Now I know why, I was just looking at the first page! This one is driving me nuts.

A lot of good recommendations on here -- most of which I read as a kid! I really feel like I should know this one, given how many books about kids learning magic I zipped through in my youth.

It's maddening.

You might want to try a site called loganberrybooks.com/solved-w.html
They have a section called Stump the Bookseller, which is very similar to this group. Searching there is kind of difficult because there are so many books referenced to vague hints and clues, but they do have a children's book section, which helps a little.

Although, you'll have to come back here and post if you find it :)

Spell Me a Witch by Barbara Willard, pub. 1981.

Summary: The half-learned magic of apprentices goes awry during The Three's inspection of the Academy for Young Witches.

I don't know if it's a comedy or not, it came up in a search.

I'm very very new to Goodreads and love it already! When I was about 10 or so I read "Half Magic" by Edward Eager, and I know there were 6 more books in the series. The series was written in the 1950's; the children find a talisman that is only half-magic. If you make a wish it grants only half the wish, 'causing unexpected problems.... It was a great book; could it be THE ONE?

Could it be E. Nesbit's series which includes such titles as "The Phoenix and the Carpet," "Five Children and It," "Story of the Amulet," etc.?