In this fourth book about Mildred Hubble, the worst witch at Miss Cackle's Academy for Witches finds herself in trouble once again as she smuggles her nonregulation familiar along on a school vacation. Murphy's humorous characterizations of Mildred and her scholastic struggles are tartly observant, and her illustrations make the book a graphic pleasure as well as a gratifying read.

Gr 3-5-Poor Mildred-she's the most inept student at Miss Cackle's Academy for Witches. Not only can she not fly properly or get a spell to work right, but the headmistress has replaced her beloved tabby with a ``proper'' black witch cat. When her class flies off for a week at the seaside, Mildred arranges to smuggle her own pet along, but where can she hide a scared kitten in a wizard's castle? There is a touch of mystery with a pirate treasure hunt, but the real fun of the story is the witch school. All of the familiar boarding school characters are here-the class bully, the tyrant teacher, the best friend-all decked out in black cloaks and pointed hats. Instead of reading and writing, the students study spell chanting, and for recreation, go broomstick water skiing. Humorous, gently eerie black-and-white drawings on almost every page add to the fun, and the large typeface will appeal to beginning chapter-book readers. A pleasant, undemanding story for fans of the previous three books and young witch fanciers.-Elaine E. Knight, Lincoln Elementary Schools, IL