Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s marvellous story of the scatty witch and her animal friends deserves a place on every child’s bookshelf. Julia Donaldson based the witch on herself – apparently she’s always dropping and losing things! This story is as much of a joy today as on publication, Donaldson’s jolly rhyming text perfectly paired with Scheffler’s equally lively illustrations. ~ Andrea Reece
A Note from the Author The idea for Room on the Broom came about when I started to think about witches and cats. Witches in storybooks, you see, are almost always accompanied by cats and, of course, the cats often ride with the witches on the backs of their broomsticks. What would happen, I wondered, if a witch didn’t just have a cat but lots of animals?
Would they all travel with her? How would they all fit onto a broomstick? And how much weight can one broom carry? And that’s where the basic storyline came from. There wasn’t a dragon in the original story, but once the broom had broken and everyone had tumbled to the ground I created him to add some more excitement and drama.
And as to the trick that the animals play on the dragon to save the witch? Well, I think I must have been inspired by the story of “The Musicians of Bremen”. “The Musicians of Bremen” is a German folktale about four old animals – a donkey, a dog, a cat and a rooster – who come across a band of robbers in a cottage in some woods.
They climb on one another’s backs and make a fearful din. The robbers are convinced that there must be a terrible creature outside and run away, leaving the animals to settle in for the evening. It’s a wonderful story and I am indebted to it because, although it was unconscious at the time, I think it must have been an inspiration.
The witch herself though, is definitely based on me! I am quite scatty. When I was a child I was always dropping and losing things, just like the witch in Room on the Broom. In fact, I still do. I can remember seeing the first sketches that Axel drew of the witch and asking my editor if she could be made a bit younger and less tidy, and if her nose might be a bit smaller.
She looked older, wartier and much neater than I’d thought of her when I was writing the story. But now, of course, I am extremely fond of the witch and couldn’t imagine her looking any other way. ~ Julia Donaldson
How the cat purred and how the witch grinned, As they sat on their broomstick and flew through the wind. 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.
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How the cat purred and how the witch grinned, As they sat on their broomstick and flew through the wind. 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.
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed Room on the Broom and determined it is suitable for children aged 0-6 years old
Room on the Broom features in the following genres: Books for Babies and Toddlers, Recommendations, Featured Books for 3+ readers, Featured Books for 5+ readers
Paperback, Board book, Hardback, CD-Audio. £7.19, down from the £7.99 cover price. In Stock.
Room on the Broom was written by Julia Donaldson and published by Macmillan Children's Books an imprint of Pan Macmillan
Room on the Broom has 24 pages
£7.19, reduced from £7.99. In Stock.
