What do you think?
Rate this book
The Witches of Anderson House: The Great Dragon Escape
Your favourite cast of retired witches is back, but this time there's trouble brewing.
The witches of Anderson House have picked up their wands and gotten back on their brooms, and it's a good thing too as it's all hands on deck to prepare for the annual spring festival. Cakes are baking, magic is flying, and most importantly, tea is brewing.
But in the hustle and bustle of preparations, a terrible accident means that something more than baked goods is escaping the kitchen of Anderson House. And he's determined to cause mischief. Can the witches find him, and stop him, before the whole festival is ruined?
Join Myrtle, Mei and their magical broom-mates in the second book of this spellbinding new series, created by the enchanting duo of Jennie Poh and Dave Lowe.
The witches of Anderson House have picked up their wands and gotten back on their brooms, and it's a good thing too as it's all hands on deck to prepare for the annual spring festival. Cakes are baking, magic is flying, and most importantly, tea is brewing.
But in the hustle and bustle of preparations, a terrible accident means that something more than baked goods is escaping the kitchen of Anderson House. And he's determined to cause mischief. Can the witches find him, and stop him, before the whole festival is ruined?
Join Myrtle, Mei and their magical broom-mates in the second book of this spellbinding new series, created by the enchanting duo of Jennie Poh and Dave Lowe.
144 pages, Hardcover
Published July 7, 2026
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 4, 2026
I find these retired witches just so charming. This time, they are looking for an escaped dragon, who turns out to be quite sweet, like the witches themselves.
August 29, 2026
Last time round (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...) we had a pretty decent Book One – even if it showed itself too much to be a series opener, with too much information about the full world of these books, it had enough appeal to make this a set worth enjoying in full. Another chance to do that, then, was much needed, and it looks like this – a small slice of high drama when a pesky tiny dragon is released from a spell and escapes into the wider world.
Once again the elderly witches have to face the moral of breaking the rules of their retirement to do magic, and once again they collaborate on the successful solving of the case at hand. Once again the pictures add the distinction of being full-colour, and break the page up (some just have a phrase on) to make this all suitably dynamic and active. And once again too many pages are devoted to a simple repeat of the pointless map of the town and the plan of their retirement home – neither have ever really been needed yet.
It is also probably going to be fine for a newcomer, but why start here, and why stick to this one volume, when this series still shows itself to be quality chapter books? OK, I perhaps felt more respect for the first for being fresh, with this having more that was familiar already, but this is still great stuff for readers at a certain spell in their progress (no pun intended). Cosy witch fun for all, this is a strong four stars.
Once again the elderly witches have to face the moral of breaking the rules of their retirement to do magic, and once again they collaborate on the successful solving of the case at hand. Once again the pictures add the distinction of being full-colour, and break the page up (some just have a phrase on) to make this all suitably dynamic and active. And once again too many pages are devoted to a simple repeat of the pointless map of the town and the plan of their retirement home – neither have ever really been needed yet.
It is also probably going to be fine for a newcomer, but why start here, and why stick to this one volume, when this series still shows itself to be quality chapter books? OK, I perhaps felt more respect for the first for being fresh, with this having more that was familiar already, but this is still great stuff for readers at a certain spell in their progress (no pun intended). Cosy witch fun for all, this is a strong four stars.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you so much to DK Books / DK Flip and Netgalley for the ebook to read and review.
What a fun whimsical read, I read the first book previously and was so happy to see a second one being published. These retired witches are so funny and get up to so much trouble without even trying. The whole book is so hilarious and entertaining.
I enjoyed that you could read this as a standalone or part of a series, everyone and everything gets re-described to you so you can just pick it up easily. I really enjoyed seeing what Witch was going to be the protagonist and what adventure we would get up to with them.
It’s Mei Dragonfires birthday, but she doesn’t like birthdays. When Fred the dragon is released from his teapot she must find him before everything gets burnt. I loved getting to see where he ended up and what trouble he caused, I also loved seeing what Mei was going to do to find him.
The illustrations throughout this book are incredible, there is always so much to look at on each page and it’s so amusing. From their house, to the witches, the familiars, to the neighbourhood and so many other things.
It’s such a great book that I’d recommend it, it’s so much fun and young readers will have a blast reading this and the first in the series. These old retired witches are not quite retired yet and have so much more trouble to cause.
What a fun whimsical read, I read the first book previously and was so happy to see a second one being published. These retired witches are so funny and get up to so much trouble without even trying. The whole book is so hilarious and entertaining.
I enjoyed that you could read this as a standalone or part of a series, everyone and everything gets re-described to you so you can just pick it up easily. I really enjoyed seeing what Witch was going to be the protagonist and what adventure we would get up to with them.
It’s Mei Dragonfires birthday, but she doesn’t like birthdays. When Fred the dragon is released from his teapot she must find him before everything gets burnt. I loved getting to see where he ended up and what trouble he caused, I also loved seeing what Mei was going to do to find him.
The illustrations throughout this book are incredible, there is always so much to look at on each page and it’s so amusing. From their house, to the witches, the familiars, to the neighbourhood and so many other things.
It’s such a great book that I’d recommend it, it’s so much fun and young readers will have a blast reading this and the first in the series. These old retired witches are not quite retired yet and have so much more trouble to cause.
August 31, 2026
Five stars. My copy is a galley, so all the illustrations are in black-and-white. I do hope they print this in full color for the kiddos. This is the story of Myrtle. It’s her birthday and she’s just one of the retired witches that live in the Anderson house. Through an accident her dragon escapes and they must go catch it. But it’s through catching the dragon that Myrtle gets a chance to relive her magic days and her broom flying. This was a wonderful book for the first and second grade readers. It had a little bit of something from everyone: it had magic, it had witches, it had animals, and it had dragons. It was such a sweet and endearing read. I can’t wait to read other books in this series.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This is the charming story of a group of witches who live in a sleepy country town, in a retirement home. They are well regarded by the locals, but only because they don't use magic for things other than baking.
So when a tiny dragon escapes from its imprisoned existence as a dragon shaped teapot, the witches - retired or not! - must move quickly to avert disaster. Especially since the town fayre is underway and any unexpected magical activity will be spotted quite quickly...
This will be enjoyed by readers in the target age group, and the illustrations are lovely. It easily gets 3.5 stars.
I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
So when a tiny dragon escapes from its imprisoned existence as a dragon shaped teapot, the witches - retired or not! - must move quickly to avert disaster. Especially since the town fayre is underway and any unexpected magical activity will be spotted quite quickly...
This will be enjoyed by readers in the target age group, and the illustrations are lovely. It easily gets 3.5 stars.
I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
This book was cute and fun for middle graders with just the right balance of humor, suspense, emotion, and problem solving. The characters are fun and funny and I think adults will also find things to enjoy. While it is about witches and mentions witchcraft related things like spells, potions, and familiars, it is not heavy on the occult in any dark or mature ways, and I definitely recommend it.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
A beautiful illustrated children’s book. This is a great book that allows slightly older children to enjoy the character development that this slightly longer format allows. My daughter and I really enjoyed this book, reading it in about a week in total. Lovely story, supported with stunning illustrations. Highly recommended.
September 5, 2026
The most stunning illustrations, it almost doesn’t need the words
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews