Room on the Broom

Description

The witch and her cat are happily flying through the sky on a broomstick when the wind picks up and blows away the witch’s hat, then her bow, and then her wand!  Luckily, three helpful animals find the missing items, and all they would like in return is a ride on the broom.  But is there room on the broom for such a lot of friends?  And when disaster strikes, will they have the ability to save the witch from a hungry dragon? There may be at all times room for one more on this affable witch’s broomstick… or is there? In any other mild-mannered tale from the creators of the Smarties Prize-winning picture book, The Gruffalo, a witch and her happily purring cat fly through the wind on their broomstick, and not using a care on the planet, until the witch’s black hat blows away. In the process of retrieving it, they pick up any other passenger, a polite and helpful dog. All goes well until the witch’s hair bow flies off. And then her wand. And then real disaster strikes–in the shape of a large red dragon, a broken broom, and a few very important (but notably absent) friends. Julia Donaldson’s story, though not earthshaking in plot or rhyme, is a pleasant way to pass the time leading up to the witching hour (Halloween!) especially when paired with the friendly illustrations by Axel Scheffler. Readers will especially love the final illustration, in which our heroes solve their space problems once and for all. (Ages 4 to 7) –Emilie Coulter