Product Description

The witch and her cat fly happily over forests, rivers and mountains on their broomstick until a stormy wind blows away the witch's hat, bow and wand. They are retrieved by a dog, a bird and a frog, and each animal asks for a ride on the broom. One after the next climbs on, until the broom is so heavy that it snaps in two! What will happen next as they tumble into a bog and meet a greedy dragon?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #36 in Books
• Published on: 2002-09-20
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 32 pages

The Children's Bookseller, 20 September 2002
Very funny

The Independent, December 16, 2001
These rollicking rhymes explore the virtue of co-operation. We loved it.

About the Author
Julia Donaldson has had many books published and her work has been performed on programmes such as Playschool. She has also written for BBC radio and runs drama and music workshops for children. Axel Scheffler has had books published in over a dozen countries. His books for Macmillan have included The Bedtime Bear, the Smarties gold award-winning The Gruffalo and, most recently, Monkey Puzzle (0 333 72001 6). Born in Hamburg, he now lives in London.

Customer Reviews

The Joy of Readiing
I am currently using Room on the Broom ' with a few groups of children, all of whom have reading difficulties ( their ages range from 6 to 8 years old ). They have loved this story and the illustrations, we have acted it out, designed our own brooms, decided who we would have on our own brooms ( choices range from a hippopotomus to David Beckham ! ). We have used the rhyme to generate others rhymes and in the spave of just a few sessions the children have turned from reluctant readers and writers , with low self esteem, into eager and more confident learners. This is a great book as it really engages with children and feeds their imagination and they all know it off by heart now but they still demand to read it in full every session. One little girl, who is an elective mute, who has never said anything out loud in a school environment before, suddenly chimed up at the appropriate moment 'Is there room on the broom for a frog like me!'. This says it all.

Brilliant fun!
This is the story of a good-natured witch and her contented, purring, cat flying through the air on a broomstick without a care in the world - until the wind blows away the witch's hat. When they fly down to retrieve the hat, a polite, helpful dog brings it to them and becomes another passenger on the broom. Throughout the book they also pick up a bird and a frog, making the broom very overcrowded. Then disaster strikes; the broom snaps in two causing the witch to become separated from her friends and a potential meal to a large red dragon.

This is an extremely eye catching and appealing book aimed at preschool and lower primary school children. Donaldson and Schefflers story and illustrations work extremely well together to capture children's attention right from the start of the book. The use of illustration mixed through the large, bold, font makes it seem friendly to a beginner reader. But this is essentially a book for sharing, the use of repetition throughout the story encourages children to join in the reading and the book appeals to their sense of humour with comical allusions:"I'm planning to have WITCH AND CHIPS for my tea". Julia Donaldson has also made a song to accompany the book that children can enjoy singing and performing to.

This is a fantastic book and I cannot recommend it enough.

Wonderful
One of those books my nearly four year old keeps wanting again and again, and which I never tire of reading. A wonderful rhythm which allows you to add your own ideas with stress and voices. There is the repetition of events small kids love, and the breaking of that repetition with surprises, which they also love. Plus the questioning of stereotypes is fun, for example contrasting the character of the dragon here and in Ratty Tatty is something he found fascinating, and having a friendly witch. Great illustrations.

Third time through and he could already finish off most of the sentences, a sure sign of a big hit. Taking Sunday School today with a group of 5 pre-schoolers/Key Stage 1ers we filled in some time at the end putting together the whole story, without having the book.

On a par with the Gruffalo and Cooper's Bear Under The Stairs.