Age 3+. 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?

Reviews

The witch loses her hat, leading to a series of misadventures, each of which adds another passenger on her broom. The combined weight finally snaps the broom, leaving the witch at the mercy of a mean, hungry dragon. She is saved by her clever flying companions, and the jolly verses end with them all flying happily together on a larger, "truly magnificent broom." In large, colorful, action-filled scenes and vignettes, Scheffler depicts an appealing pigtailed witch, a benign landscape, and a magical world in a humorous, cartoon-y style. Even the final confrontation between the dragon and the "horrible beast" of her friends is conceived for fun, not fright. Children's Literature

"Each time the witch loses something in the windy weather, she and her cat are introduced to a new friend who loves flying on her broom. The fluid rhyming and smooth rhythm work together with one repetitive plot element focusing young attention spans until the plot quickens. ("Is there room on the broom for a "blank "such as me?") When the witch's broom breaks, she is thrown in to danger and the plot flies to the finish. Her friends-cat, dog, frog, and bird-are not likely to scare the dragon who plans on eating the witch, but together they form a formidable, gooey, scary-sounding monster. The use of full-page or even page-and-a-half spreads for many of the illustrations will ensure its successful use in story times as well as individual readings. The wart-nosed witch and her passengers make magic that is sure to please. Effective use of brilliant colors set against well-conceived backgrounds detail the story without need for text-but with it, the story-and the broom-take off. "(Kirkus Reviews)

Author Biography

Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler are a star team within the children's book world and they have created many best-selling and prize-winning books for Macmillan. The winning combination of Julia's rhyming stories and Axel's humorous illustrations has brought them huge international success, with their books being translated into over 20 languages. Their many awards include the Smarties Gold Prize, the WH Smith Children's Book of the Year, the Blue Peter Best Book to Read Aloud and Children's Audio Book of the Year.