"How can you tell if a person's a witch?" asks Theo.
"It isn't easy, but there is a way. Witches' tears turn to crystal as soon as they fall. Only thing is, witches don't cry, or hardly ever."

A new edition of this wonderfully atmospheric novel published into the First Modern Classics list, fantastic stories for young readers.

In a whirl of rainy weather, a strange woman appears on Theo and Dodie's doorstep making Theo very uneasy. His mother and little sister do not seem at all alarmed by her. Dodie loves Mrs Scarum's stories and her wild dancing. But Theo suspects there might be trouble afoot, not helped by the fact that his father, usually as reliable as the clocks he repairs, has failed to return home. The blizzard continues and the night is long... there may be tears before morning.

A beautifully written story for confident young readers from an award-winning author.

This book is part of a book series called First Modern Classics .

This book has been graded for interest at 7-9 years.

There are 112 pages in this book. This book was published 2010 by HarperCollins Publishers .

Jenny Nimmo is the acclaimed author of the Charlie Bone series. She has won several significant awards for her children's books, including the Nestle Smarties Book Prize and the Tir na n-Og Welsh Arts Council award for The Snow Spider. She lives in Wales with her husband, David.