Room on the Broom

 

Author Julia Donaldson and Illustrator Axel Scheffler
A nice, smiling witch and her cat are flying through the air on a broomstick when the wind blows her hat away, then her bow, and then her magic wand.
“Down!” cried the witch,
and they flew to the ground.
They searched for the hat 
but no hat could be found.
Then out of the bushes
 on thundering paws
. There bounded a dog
with the hat in his jaws.

Throughout the book the witch keeps dropping things and she has to fly down to retrieve the lost items. Each time a new animal becomes another passenger on the broom.
Suddenly disaster strikes and the broom snaps in two. The witch falls to the ground and risks becoming a meal for a large dragon.
Will her new friends be able to save her from the hungry beast?
If you would like to know how the book finishes, you’ll have to read the rest of the story yourself.  One thing I can reveal is that there is a lovely twist in the end.
In my opinion this  is one of Julia Donaldson’s best books and I can’t recommend it enough. It’s a witty and magical story about family and friendship and it will make bedtime a pleasure for both children and parents.
The text and the illustrations capture a child’s attention right from the start of the book. The rhymes are engaging, repetitive, funny and flow very well.
Axel Scheffler’s illustrations are lovely and colorful, very humorous and the work well with Julia Donaldson’s text. As always with Scheffler’s work there’s plenty of details to spot in the illustrations which encourages lots of discussion.
The book appeals to preschoolers- lower primary school children and anyone who likes a good witch story.
There is also a half-hour animated film that is based on the book. You can view the trailer  and read about the characters on the links below:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0125wrg

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0102qfj/profiles/characters