Room on the Broom

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Following the resounding success of my Locus Quest, I faced a dilemma: which reading list to follow it up with? Variety is the spice of life, so I’ve decided to diversify and pursue six different lists simultaneously. This book falls into my BEDTIME STORIES list. If the animals knew that the witch could not make room on her broom for them, do you think they still would have helped her?

Look at the expressions of each of the characters in the illustrations. Can you describe how they are feeling? Could you draw your own pictures which show different people’s emotions?If the animals only helped the witch because they wanted something in return, does this make it a selfish act? I also continued to write “grown-up” songs and perform them in folk clubs and on the radio, and have recently released two CDs of these songs. One of my television songs, A SQUASH AND A SQUEEZE, was made into a book in 1993, with illustrations by the wonderful Axel Scheffler. It was great to hold the book in my hand without it vanishing in the air the way the songs did. This prompted me to unearth some plays I’d written for a school reading group, and since then I’ve had 20 plays published. Most children love acting and it’s a tremendous way to improve their reading.

Admittedly his favourite book in the whole wide world is a bland little story about monkeys - but it does have a button which makes monkey noises when you press it, so I can see the appeal! A really good read-aloud story, with great rhythm, rhyme and repetitive elements. My son is 16 months old, and Room on the Broom is currently his second favourite book - he goes and gets it himself from his book shelf most days, which is really cute. The witch eventually makes room on the broom for a cat, dog, bird, and frog. Are all of these characters considered friends? Students can discuss what makes people friends. Would you have made friends with the witch? How do you treat your friends? Further, because the witch allows everyone on her broom, it snaps in two. Students can consider why the witch continued to make room on her broom when there wasn’t really room. A witch and her cat fly around on a broom and the witch accidentally drops some of her things. Other animals on the ground return her items to her and ask for a ride on the broom. The witch says yes to them all, but is there room for all of these new friends?Look at the rhyming words in the book. Is there a pattern to the rhyming? Can you think of other words that rhyme? Look at the use of punctuation within the story. Can you explain why each type of punctuation has been used? How is the witch in this story different from the other witches you’ve seen? Would you want to be friends with her?