''Simon and the Witch'' is a children's book by

Margaret Stuart Barry Margaret Stuart Barry (born Margaret Stuart Bell on 7 December 1927) is an English children's writer, and is best known for creating the Simon and the Witch series of books. She has written other series for young readers, including the Attic To ...

, published by

Collins Collins may refer to: People Surname Given name * Collins O. Bright (1917–?), Sierra Leonean diplomat * Collins Chabane (1960–2015), South African Minister of Public Service and Administration * Collins Cheboi (born 1987), Kenyan middle- ...

, illustrated by Linda Birch. It also refers to the name of the series, which follows on. Simon is a very sensible young schoolboy, who has a friend who is a real

witch Witchcraft traditionally means the use of Magic (supernatural), magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In Middle Ages, medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually ...

. She is very silly, and a huge showoff. Following a one off dramatisation of the first story in 1985 as part of the ''

Children's BBC BBC Children's and Education is the BBC division responsible for media content for children in the UK. Since the launch of specially dedicated television channels in 2002, the services have been marketed under two brands. CBBC (short for Chil ...

'' series '' Up Our Street'', in 1987 the concept was adapted into a television series, starring

Elizabeth Spriggs Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

as the Witch, and Hugh Pollard as Simon, which ran for two series.

Plot

In the first chapter, ''The Backwards Spell'' the witch teaches Simon how to turn the school

gardener A gardener is someone who practices gardening, either professionally or as a hobby. Description A gardener is any person involved in gardening, arguably the oldest occupation, from the hobbyist in a residential garden, the home-owner suppleme ...

into a

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely Carnivore, carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order (biology), order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-f ...

, but forgets how to turn him back. She eventually remembers the spell, and turns the gardener into a man again, claiming privately she never forgot the spell at all. In chapter two, ''The Lost Magic Wand'', the witch loses her

wand A wand is a thin, light-weight rod that is held with one hand, and is traditionally made of wood, but may also be made of other materials, such as metal or plastic. Long versions of wands are often styled in forms of staves or sceptres, which c ...

so Simon takes her to the

police station A police station (sometimes called a "station house" or just "house") is a building which serves to accommodate police officers and other members of staff. These buildings often contain offices and accommodation for personnel and vehicles, al ...

where the witch becomes fascinated with Constable Scruff's uniform, and so becomes a policewoman. The three eventually find the witch's wand, which has been stolen by two thieves who used it as a poker for their fire. In chapter three, ''The Witch at the Seaside'', Simon takes the witch on holiday to the beach for a day, where she makes the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

disappear, not believing Simon's assurances that it is not flooding. She agrees to put it back on the condition she is featured on the evening news, which she is. In ''The Witch has Measles'', chapter four, the witch catches double

German measles Rubella, also known as German measles or three-day measles, is an infection caused by the rubella virus. This disease is often mild, with half of people not realizing that they are infected. A rash may start around two weeks after exposure and ...

, so goes to

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

. She sees the trolleys patients are moved round on, and organises races on them, and everyone has so much fun they all feel better and go home again. In chapter five, ''Halloween'', the witch (who has never heard of

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...

before) goes to a Halloween

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature f ...

, but is disgusted by 'fake' witches. Fortunately, one hundred of her relatives turn up, with their black cats, and they crash the party, demonstrating their magic many times over. The final chapter of the book, ''The Witch's Visitor'', is set at

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

, the witch makes a

snowman A snowman is an anthropomorphic snow sculpture of a man often built in regions with sufficient snowfall and is a common winter tradition. In many places, typical snowmen consist of three large snowballs of different sizes with some additional ...

come to life, introducing him to people as her Uncle Fred.

Other books in the series

Other books in the Simon and the Witch series are: * ''Simon and the Witch in School'' * ''The Return of the Witch'' * ''The Witch and the Holiday Club'' * ''The Millionaire Witch'' * ''The Witch of Monopoly Manor'' * ''The Witch on Holiday'' * ''The Witch V.I.P.''

Television series

In 1985, the first of the stories (''The Backwards Spell'') was dramatised for

, and shown as a one-off episode (called "Simon and the Witch") in the second series of '' Up Our Street'', a series of unrelated wacky stories, each with a different cast and writer, linked only by the unnamed 'street' of the title.

Desmond Askew Desmond Askew (born 17 December 1972) is an English actor of film and television. In 1983 he had the lead role of 'naughty schoolboy' in the promo video of the Wham! single " Bad Boys". He has appeared in the films '' Go'' (1999), ''Repli-Kate ...

and

Joanna Monro Joanna Monro (born 1956) is a British actress and former television presenter who, in the 1980s, appeared on the BBC show ''That's Life!'' with Esther Rantzen. In 1974 she appeared in the ''Doctor Who'' story ''Planet of the Spiders'', followed by ...

played the respective title characters. With the episode being well received, the BBC felt that the concept had potential to be developed as an ongoing Children's BBC series. In 1987, the books were made into a television series for Children's BBC, consisting of twenty five fifteen minute episodes, starring

as the Witch, and Hugh Pollard as Simon. Guest stars included

Joan Sims Irene Joan Marion Sims (9 May 1930 – 27 June 2001) was an English actress, best remembered for her roles in the ''Carry On'' franchise, appearing in 24 of the films (the most for any actress). On television, she is known for playing Gran i ...

Nicola Stapleton Nicola Kathleen Stapleton (born 9 August 1974 in Elephant and Castle, London) is an English actress. She is best known for her roles in ''EastEnders'' as Mandy Salter and ''Emmerdale'' as Danielle Hutch. A graduate of the Sylvia Young Theatre S ...

, and

Naomie Harris Naomie Melanie Harris (born 6 September 1976) is a British actress. She started her career when she was a child, appearing in the television series ''Simon and the Witch'' in 1987. She portrayed Selena in the zombie film ''28 Days Later'' (2002 ...

. First shown on 16 November 1987, the programme ran for two series and proved popular with viewers, pulling in decent ratings for its

slot, and with both first and second series later being repeated after their initial airings. Whilst the end of the second series wrapped up a number of the ongoing storylines, it left the door open for a potential third series. However, due both to the age of star Hugh Pollard and several child co stars, as well as

reassessing their demographic output in 1990, the second series turned out to be the last.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0206509, title=Simon and the Witch 1976 British novels Children's fantasy novels British fantasy novels British children's novels Series of children's books 1985 British television episodes 1987 British television series debuts 1988 British television series endings 1980s British children's television series BBC children's television shows British television shows based on children's books British children's fantasy television series English-language television shows William Collins, Sons books 1976 children's books Fictional duos Literary characters introduced in 1976 Television characters introduced in 1985 Witchcraft in television Witchcraft in written fiction