From the back cover: "Although the game of witches is fun at first, it eventually leads Clara and Louise to such moments of fear that they wish they had never started it." I was surprised how spooky the book actually was - especially considering the age of the intended audience. Not only the disturbing success of the girls' magic (the family canary vanishes without a trace, to their complete consternation) but the presence of a truly frightening handyman who terrorizes the children make this book satisfyingly creepy. ( )