Isabel, the young witch whose unseemly pleasantness was introduced in Jane Yolen and Arnold Roth's The Witch Who Wasn't, returns in this second adventure, this time tangling with magic of a different kind. With Christmas fast approaching, and no presents in sight for her mother and grandmother, Isabel takes the unconventional (for a witch) step of writing to Santa Claus for help. When her spell backfires, however, bringing the portly red-clad gift giver to her, rather than just a response to her letter, she finds that it isn't so easy to put right her mistake. Can Isabel get Santa back to the North Pole in time to save Christmas? If not, can she find another way to help out...?

I'm not sure that I found Isabel's Noel quite as appealing as the first book featuring this sweetly out-of-step witch, but it was still quite entertaining. Here, our witchy heroine finds once again that she isn't quite living up to her family's expectations of nastiness - her mother is horrified to have Santa in the house (what would the neighbors think?!?) - and that her magic works in unusual ways. The solution to the crisis with Santa Claus, although not unexpected, was satisfying, and Roth's artwork had the same pointedly humorous quality as in the first. Recommended to young readers who appreciate witchy tales, or who enjoyed Isabel's first adventure. ( )