Diana Wynne Jones is well known to older readers of fantasy, famous for books like HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE and the Chronicles of Chrestomanci series. Now, with EARWIG AND THE WITCH, this award-winning author has teamed up with illustrator Paul O. Zelinsky to publish a fantasy novel for younger readers.

The scene at the opening of the book is familiar to many readers of fantasy novels and historical melodramas. It's an orphanage, on the day when prospective foster parents come meet the orphans and possibly offer them a whole new life. But there's a twist here: unlike countless fictional orphans, from Oliver Twist to Little Orphan Annie, the very last thing Earwig, our heroine, wants is to be adopted.

"She was perfectly happy at St. Morwald's…. She liked the people there. That was because everyone, from Mrs. Briggs the Matron to the newest and smallest children, did exactly what Earwig wanted." But when, much to Earwig's horror and dismay, she is chosen to go home with Bella Yaga and the mysteriously elusive Mandrake, she realizes that she has her work cut out for her if she's going to have this household wrapped around her little finger.

That's because Bella Yaga is a witch, who has brought Earwig home to help her with the utterly boring witchy jobs of grinding rats' bones and counting newts' eyes. If Earwig does anything wrong, from burning the toast to recalling Bella Yaga's promise to teach her magic, the old witch threatens to give the girl worms. And then there's the mysterious red glow coming from Mandrake's room. How will Earwig get out of this mess? Maybe with the help of her very own familiar, she'll be able to give Baba Yaga a taste of her own medicine.

EARWIG AND THE WITCH is illustrated throughout with droll line art by Zelinsky. These drawings, combined with Wynne Jones's light-hearted approach to her story, results in a witchy tale that is just scary enough to delight younger readers without terrifying the pants off them.

Not all the subplots are resolved, and lingering questions remain. Who are Earwig's parents, for example, and will she reunite with her best orphanage friend, Custard? The somewhat abrupt ending and untied loose ends may leave many readers hoping for more stories about Earwig's further education in witchcraft. Sadly, Diana Wynne Jones passed away in 2011 at the age of 76. Perhaps the story will be continued by another author, but that individual would have some mighty big shoes to fill. EARWIG AND THE WITCH is the perfect way to introduce children to one of the masters of fantasy literature for young people. Wynne Jones will live on in her books for generations to come.