These books are about witches or feature witches or children playing at being witches. Not all witches in these books are scary or bad. Many of these books would be good for Halloween.
People Pretending to be Witches
The Active-Enzyme Lemon-Freshened Junior High School Witch
By E. W. Hildick.
The Stanleys move into an old house that may be haunted by a poltergeist. The first book in the Stanley Family Mysteries. By Zilpha Keatley Snyder.
Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth (1967)
Elizabeth is the new girl at school, and she’s lonely because she doesn’t seem to fit in with the popular kids. Then, she meets Jennifer, a somewhat strange girl who insists that she is a witch. When she offers to teach Elizabeth to be a witch, too, the girls learn some important lessons about friendship. By E. L. Konigsburg.
Mystery of the Black-Magic Cave
A teacher receives threatening messages, supposedly from witches who have placed a curse on her. Part of the Meg Duncan Mysteries.
The Witches of Hopper Street (1986)
Three friends decide to become witches and use “magic spells” to get revenge on another girl who didn’t invite them to her Halloween party. By Linda Gondosch.
People Wrongly Suspected of Being Witches
Cassie Bowen Takes Witch Lessons (1985)
When Cassie makes friends with the strange new girl at school whose grandmother is rumored to be a witch, she questions her relationship with her former best friend, who has befriended the mean girl at school and has started acting like her. By Anna Grossnickle Hines.
My Sister the Witch (1995)
Norman thinks that his sister Elaine is a witch and that she is casting spells on people, including him. By Ellen Conford.
Mystery of the Witches’ Bridge (1967)
An orphan boy comes to live with his uncle in their family’s mysterious ancestral home, where there are stories about witches and curses and a modern day mystery to solve. By Barbee Oliver Carleton.
A purchase at a rummage sale starts a series of events that lead Susan to be involved with a stray cat and the owner of an antiques store who needs help. Susan’s involvement helps make things better for everyone, although Susan has to make some sacrifices in the process. In return, she makes new friends, earns their respect, develops a new sense of identity, and makes peace with her parents’ divorce. By Nan Agle.
Terror by Night (1971)
The family vacations in a small New England town near Salem, where they learn the town’s own witch stories and uncover the secret of the person who is trying to scare them away. Part of the Partridge Family series. By Vic Crume.
Witch in Cabin Six
Could the strange, spooky girl who has just joined Cabin Six really be a witch? Part of the Camp Sunnyside Friends series.
The Witch of Blackbird Pond (1958)
A teenage orphan girl comes to live with puritan relatives in Colonial America. Unused to the ways of the puritans, she is suspected of being a witch.
Schools for Witches
See also the Wizard Books page for books about schools for wizards. They’re similar but not always the same.
Lulu Goes to Witch School
Lulu attends witch school and meets another young witch who always seems to do everything better. The two girls become very competitive. By Jane O’Connor.
Series
Mildred Hubble is the worst witch at witch school, but sometimes, being a little different from everyone else can be a good thing. By Jill Murphy. 1974-2018.
Witches Need Help from Children
Series
A pair of elementary school children help a witch who has become their teacher. By Barbara Brooks Wallace. 1971-2002.
Ordinary Girl Discovers That She’s a Witch
Series
On her thirteenth birthday, Sarah Collins discovers that she is actually a witch and can use magic.
Young Witches Make Friends and Learn Lessons
Kiki’s Delivery Service (1985, 2003)
A young witch must live in a town without other witches for a year in order to develop her skills and find her place in the world.
Series
A young witch meets a group of ordinary human children on Halloween. At first, she doesn’t seem to realize that they aren’t what they appear to be because of their costumes. But, later in the series, Little Witch goes to school like her human friends and ends up liking normal human activities. Her family often thinks of her as being “too good” for a young witch. By Deborah Hautzig. 1984-2002.
Young Witch Becomes a Human Girl
The Little Leftover Witch
Felina the witch is accidentally stranded on Halloween night when her broom breaks and is taken in by the Doon family. At first, she is angry and afraid and doesn’t fit in with the “normal” children at the neighborhood school, but the Doons are a loving, caring, family. A year later, as Halloween approaches again, and Felina has another chance to return to the world of the witches, Felina has to decide if that’s what she really wants to do. There was a made-for-tv-movie based on this book. By Florence Laughlin.
Young Witch is Really a Kidnapped Fairy
Little Witch (1953)
Minx hates being a witch’s child and lives in fear of her mother. But when she finally defies her mother and goes to school and makes friends, she finally learns the truth about her real mother. By Anna Elizabeth Bennett.
This book is available on Kindle. It’s also available online through Internet Archive (multiple copies).
Weeny Witch (1968)
A young witch who never seems to fit in with the other witches decides to warn the fairies that the witches are planning to attack them and discovers that she herself is a fairy, having been kidnapped by the witches as a baby. By Ida DeLage.
It’s a beautiful book but long out of print and a rare collector’s item! I found a post on another blog which describes the book and shows pictures.
Witches on Halloween
Some books that feature witches on Halloween are also listed under other categories. I’ve noted which ones in their descriptions.
A young witch meets up with trick-or-treaters on Halloween and learns about Halloween fun with her new friends. By Margaret Embry.
One Halloween, Jenny goes to visit Nancy, a woman who local people say is a witch, and discovers that she has a way to see fairies. When the fairies discover that Jenny can now see them too, they decide to give her the biggest Halloween scare of her life.
A Woggle of Witches (1971)
Witches live in a dark forest, sleeping in hammocks in trees, until it’s time for their flight on Halloween. By Adrienne Adams.
Picture Books
Heckedy Peg (1987)
A witch steals away children while their mother is at the market, and the mother must correctly guess what types of food the witch has turned them into in order to save them.
Lulu and the Witch Baby
Sequel to Lulu Goes to Witch School. Lulu gets a new baby sister and has to resolve her feelings about being jealous of the baby. A story of sibling rivalry with young witches to make it more interesting. By Jane O’Connor.
This is a cute picture book/puzzle book. A pair of twins, Ella and Emily, are invited to a friend’s costume party, but they come dressed as witches in identical (or nearly identical) costumes. Using provided clues, readers are invited to figure out which twin is which. By Pat Hutchins.
Series
A witch who haunts an old house is horrified when someone buys it to turn it into a tearoom, but they end up becoming friends. One of the books takes place on Halloween. By Wende and Harry Devlin.
Strega Nona is a witch in a small town. Big Anthony is an assistant that she hired to help her with chores but sometimes messes up because he doesn’t know what he’s doing or doesn’t listen to what Strega Nona says.
Nonfiction
This is a series of craft and cook books, mostly themed on holidays. The Little Witch and her friend the Goblin and other friends give readers tips for making crafts and recipes and sometimes throwing holiday-themed parties and playing games. By Linda Glovach. 1972-1989.
Jestress's Forgotten Books and Stories 