Room on the Broom

Written by: Julia Donaldson

Illustrated by: Axel Scheffler

Penguin Group, 2001

26 pages

General Fiction

     I have been obsessed with Halloween-witches, ghosts, and all things eerie since I was a little girl, so naturally, I love this book...and this particular one came from my personal collection. This is one of my most favorite books to read aloud. The words bounce and dance along! Room on the Broom is about a jolly witch riding her broom through the countryside with her cat. Every witch has a cat, right?! Well, this witch has trouble holding on to her belongings as they glide through the air. Every time she drops something, her and the cat meet a new friend, who she gladly invites on the broom! The last creature she meets is not her friend, but luckily her furry, feathery, and slimy friends come to her rescue!

     The illustrations are lovely. Bright and cheery colors are set on a grayed out background making them pop! The pictures are drawn with what I believe to be pastels, and they are beautifully saturated. Full page pictures, long with mini inset pictures, span the whole page for the most part. The text appears mostly opposite the illustration. 

     Students of all ages would enjoy this book! Uses in the classroom could include a lesson on rhyming words. This would also be an excellent writing prompt to get the students imaginations flowing. You would definitely want to read this around Halloween and incorporate some cute seasonal crafts to go with the story.

This book did not receive any awards.