Gobbolino the Witch's Cat

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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. Originally published in 1942, and newly reprinted by Kingfisher, this minor children's classic relates the story of Gobbolino, who, much like the hero of Williams's earlier title Adventures of the Little Wooden Horse, is a magical creature cast out into the world and searching for a home. The clear print and simple but super fun stories make them fabulous early reading books for children who may find conventional reading schemes dull. 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.

Meg and Mog is a series of children’s books written by Helen Nicolland illustrated by Jan Pieńkowski. A relative newcomer to the witch stories for kids genre, Witchworld is an absolute delight to read.

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It's a good choice for readers maybe just too young for Harry Potter but ready for magic. With lots of fairly short episodes, it will make a good bedtime series for several nights, and even lead to discussions about differing beliefs, about witches and treating others with kindness. 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. 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. 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.

There are ten books in the series, but why not start at the beginning with the original Meg and Mog book. We love a witch story in this family. So we’ve rounded up our seven favourite witch stories for kids. Each of these children’s witch story books is a brilliant read.

7 Witch stories for kids

Do be prepared for tears, Gobbolino gets into some terrible scrapes before he finally finds a mat he can call home. Winnie the Witch is a similar character to Meg. She’s a witch whose spells and bright ideas never go right to plan. Gobbolino the Witch's Cat is a story about identity, difference, acceptance, belonging and tolerance. When Gobbolino's family refuse to accept his dream of becoming a kitchen cat, Gobbolino goes in search of a new home. He ventures from Hurricane Mountain to a busy farm, to a tower up high in a castle... he is even recruited by sailors and caught up in a dangerous, storm at sea. What's more, little Gobbolino comes face to face with a dragon! This resilient cat, going from one adventure to another, has a lot to teach children and adults alike.

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. 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.

For early readers you can also buy editions with multiple stories, in fact there’s a set of ten books you can buy. Born to a witch's cat, Gobbolino wants nothing more than to find a home amongst the warmth and bustle of a kitchen. His heritage gives almost everyone around him reason to move him on, and his life becomes one adventure after another as yet another home becomes unwelcoming and rebuffs the kitten. A gentle story still making children – and cat lovers – smile over 75 years after its first publication. 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 book is so brilliantly andtautly written that you can read it to any child who has started listening to chapter books. 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). My top tip for parents reading to younger children is to give your story-telling skills full rein and skim just a tiny bit where necessary.The books make for great stories to read out loud, but they are also great self-read books for ages seven and up. Here’s a roundup of some of the story books with witches that we’ve read and loved over the last few years. They are also super delightful for parents to read to their children at bedtime or other read out loud moments. 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.