Friday 8 July 2011

Room on the Broom














Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler can do no wrong with children's books, and Room on the Broom sees the 'Gruffalo' team back in action, tackling another beloved subject dear to children's hearts - witches. 

Put it this way, if you're creating a children's book for the first time you could do no worse than pick witches as the subject. So for experienced folk like Donaldson and Scheffler, it's money for jam detailing the story of a warty old witch and her bulging broom. 

Picking up stray characters as she travels the night sky, the witch's broom suffers a slight setback. But all is not lost, witches know a thing or two about spells and brooms so this tale has a nice happy ending. 

For some reason, Charlotte didn't immediately identify with the nameless witch in this story as readily as she does with Meg (of Meg and Mog fame) or the peerless Winnie, but she rather liked the animal characters and of course the hint of danger midway through the story (which I won't spoil). 

An instant classic to rack up alongside the rest of your Donaldson and Scheffler collection. 

Charlotte's best bit: The frog's special bit on the new broom (no spoilers!)

Daddy's favourite bit: The rather large spot on the end of the witch's nose. She must use the same face cream as the Gruffalo!

Rating: 4 out of 5