The Witch Bottle
Will be published approx. on 29. October 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
280 pages
978-1-915758-31-6 (ISBN)
Description
'They do say there be a witch in it, and if you let 'un out, there'll be a peck of trouble'
Eleven-year-old Egg is having a rough year. Dad has a whole new family and she's sure it's all her fault. The last thing she wants is a mandatory school trip to the spooky Pitt Rivers Museum, but her strange, silver-haired teacher, Mr. Fellgrim, insists. When she's paired with the popular Josh for a museum-wide treasure hunt, Egg thinks her luck might finally be changing.
She's wrong.
As the hunt leads them deeper into the eerie, artefact-filled halls, the shadows begin to stretch. Why does Mr. Fellgrim look exactly like a man in a hundred-year-old portrait? And where did the rest of her classmates go?
When the museum lights flicker and die, a bone-chilling fog swallows everything. When Egg wakes up, she isn't in the museum anymore. She's staring through silver-tinted glass at a world that has grown impossibly large.
Egg is trapped inside the Witch Bottle, one of the museum's prize exhibits. Now, she must find the courage to face Priscilla- a powerful, ancient witch with a wicked plan. If Egg can't find a way out, she'll become much more than just a student on a school trip. She'll be the museum's newest permanent exhibit...
Eleven-year-old Egg is having a rough year. Dad has a whole new family and she's sure it's all her fault. The last thing she wants is a mandatory school trip to the spooky Pitt Rivers Museum, but her strange, silver-haired teacher, Mr. Fellgrim, insists. When she's paired with the popular Josh for a museum-wide treasure hunt, Egg thinks her luck might finally be changing.
She's wrong.
As the hunt leads them deeper into the eerie, artefact-filled halls, the shadows begin to stretch. Why does Mr. Fellgrim look exactly like a man in a hundred-year-old portrait? And where did the rest of her classmates go?
When the museum lights flicker and die, a bone-chilling fog swallows everything. When Egg wakes up, she isn't in the museum anymore. She's staring through silver-tinted glass at a world that has grown impossibly large.
Egg is trapped inside the Witch Bottle, one of the museum's prize exhibits. Now, she must find the courage to face Priscilla- a powerful, ancient witch with a wicked plan. If Egg can't find a way out, she'll become much more than just a student on a school trip. She'll be the museum's newest permanent exhibit...
Reviews / Votes
'A magical middle-grade with a powerful witchy vibe and a generous dose of humour'The Witch Bottle is a story that follows Evangeline Edgeworth (otherwise known as Egg) on her journey through family break-up and a deep lack of confidence in a twisty, magical adventure steeped in witchcraft.
Trapped in a witch bottle, Egg gradually discovers her true self - brave and strong and resourceful. Buoyed with a new-found confidence she sets about confronting the witch who is holding her captive. A page-turner of a story with a protagonist who rises up to fight for her family and friends. -- Debbie Roxburgh * The Witch Bottle * Kate Wiseman conjure up a wonderful and wicked world in this hilarious, sinister and often touching
story, The Witch Bottle. The narrative is sheer fun, but also a journey of discovery for the anxious
heroine, Egg. She finds herself shrinking and swapping places with a witch in at tiny bottle at
Oxford's Pitt Rivers Museum on a school visit with the mysterious supply teacher Mr. Fellgrim.
Inside the bottle, after a moment of panic, she finds a friendly computer who grants all her wishes.
However, she finds that all the new 'stuff' she achieves is not the answer to her problems. There is a
serious theme to this magical story, that of finding yourself and appreciating all that you have,
including your family, whatever its state may appear to be.
But on the other hand, who doesn't love spells, shrunken heads, floating African Masks and pink
kittens with tiny silver wings? Who doesn't fancy the idea of having another self, albeit a flat self?
We share Egg's confusion as everything about her changes, and we cheer as she grows in self-
confidence through her magical and alarming experiences the museum. Perhaps we all hope for a
supply teacher who has escaped from the scaffold four hundred years before and caused havoc with
his sister ever since.
This lovely book has left me with wonderful images and a big smile. Thank you. -- Jaqueline King * The Witch Bottle * 'A magical middle-grade with a powerful witchy vibe and a generous dose of humour' -- Debbie Roxburgh * The Witch Bottle *
More details
Edition
Greater Manchester
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Target group
Children/juvenile
Product notice
Hardback (stationery)
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 129 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-915758-31-6 (9781915758316)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Hi, my name is Kate Wiseman and I write books for children and young adults. I'm very proud of my Gangster School series of comic adventures for readers from the age of 8. They have been published in four countries! I also love history, especially anything to do with the First World War and mudlarking. Mudlarking is searching the banks of the Thames for artefacts that were thrown away or lost, sometimes hundreds or even thousands of years ago. I'm a licensed mudlark and it's my favourite thing in the world. There's nothing better than squidging through knee-deep mud looking for treasures. Sometimes I find some; sometimes I just lose my wellies. :) It's always fascinating. My new book is called The Witch Bottle and its about a girl called Egg, who finds herself tricked into swapping places with a very old and powerful Witch called Priscilla. If this wasn't bad enough, the swapping places entails living inside a bottle in the Pitt Rivers Museum where strange things come to life at night. Watch this space!