Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson | Goodreads
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Room on the Broom

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This fun family read-aloud i s the perfect way to start Halloween celebrations and an ideal gift book. A sweet story of quick wits, friendship, and inclusivity from the creators of The Gruffalo !

The witch and her cat are happily flying through the sky on a broomstick when the wind picks up and blows away the witch's hat, then her bow, and then her wand!  Luckily, three helpful animals find the missing items, and all they want in return is a ride on the broom.  But is there room on the broom for so many friends?  And when disaster strikes, will they be able to save the witch from a hungry dragon?

Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler are the creators of many beloved picture books including The Gruffalo , The Gruffalo's Child , The Snail and the Whale , and The Spiffiest Giant in Town .


"A surefire read-aloud hit." - School Library Journal

32 pages, Paperback

First published August 27, 2001

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About the author

Julia Donaldson

1,168 books1,655 followers
Growing up
I grew up in a tall Victorian London house with my parents, grandmother, aunt, uncle, younger sister Mary and cat Geoffrey (who was really a prince in disguise. Mary and I would argue about which of us would marry him).

Mary and I were always creating imaginary characters and mimicking real ones, and I used to write shows and choreograph ballets for us. A wind-up gramophone wafted out Chopin waltzes.

I studied Drama and French at Bristol University, where I met Malcolm, a guitar-playing medic to whom I’m now married.

Busking and books
Before Malcolm and I had our three sons we used to go busking together and I would write special songs for each country; the best one was in Italian about pasta.

The busking led to a career in singing and songwriting, mainly for children’s television. I became an expert at writing to order on such subjects as guinea pigs, window-cleaning and horrible smells. “We want a song about throwing crumpled-up wrapping paper into the bin” was a typical request from the BBC.

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.

My real breakthrough was THE GRUFFALO, again illustrated by Axel. We work separately - he’s in London and I’m in Glasgow - but he sends me letters with lovely funny pictures on the envelopes.

I really enjoy writing verse, even though it can be fiendishly difficult. I used to memorise poems as a child and it means a lot to me when parents tell me their child can recite one of my books.

Funnily enough, I find it harder to write not in verse, though I feel I am now getting the hang of it! My novel THE GIANTS AND THE JONESES is going to be made into a film by the same team who made the Harry Potter movies, and I have written three books of stories about the anarchic PRINCESS MIRROR-BELLE who appears from the mirror and disrupts the life of an otherwise ordinary eight-year-old. I have just finished writing a novel for teenagers.

When I’m not writing I am often performing, at book festivals and in theatres. I really enjoy getting the children in the audience to help me act out the stories and sing the songs. When Malcolm can take time off from the hospital he and his guitar come too. and it feels as if we’ve come full circle - back to busking.

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5 stars
14,520 (62%)
4 stars
5,800 (24%)
3 stars
2,304 (9%)
2 stars
432 (1%)
1 star
251 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,427 reviews
Profile Image for Tim.
477 reviews755 followers
May 12, 2022
A witch and her cat are traveling one night on her broom when the wind picks up and blows away her hat, then her bow and then her wand. Some little animal friends will help her retrieve them along the way, but will there be enough room on her broom for them all to fly together after helping?

This is a charming children's book, filled with fun rhymes, funny pictures and an overall charming atmosphere. Had it been around when I was a kid, it would have no doubt been one of my favorites. As things stand it is a blast to read with my daughter and much to my delight she really enjoys it as well.

4/5 star and fully recommended. I will certainly look for the author/artist duo's other books.
Profile Image for Shoa Khan.
166 reviews169 followers
December 22, 2015
This is absolutely my FAVOURITE picture book! (No, I don't think I'm too old for them!)
I have also seen the BBC version, and thought it was bloody good!

This is the story of a kind witch and her cat, merrily flying on their broomstick!



But after a while, the wind starts playing havoc and every now and then, some thing or the other goes flying off the broom, which causes them to make many pit stops! But at every stop they make a new friend, who wants to tag along, and the witch obliges, much to the chagrin of her cat!


And then there comes a dragon and the problem of how this little company would deal with him.

Towards the end, the witch comes up with such a lovely solution to help all of them have enough Room on the Broom, that it practically made me want to clap my hands and jump up and down! :D
Profile Image for Calista.
4,492 reviews31.3k followers
October 27, 2018
Enchanting!

Our family is a big fan of this story on Netflix which is where I first heard the story. I had seen the book in bookstores and was interested in this book, but it was seeing the show that got me to order up the book. I think this is totally going to be a classic like the Polar Express.

The rhymes are wonderful and the characters are lovable. The TV show is so well done that it outshines the book a bit, at least for someone who saw that first and read the book later. They adapted the show faithfully to the work and it fills in many gaps. Still, everything is here in the story, accept that the cat does not want the other animals on the broom. That was added for the show. But the glee of the witch is here with her loyal animals.

This, archetype-ally, is about the power of the Crone. She cares for others and they become loyal to her. They area force for good. She is not alone after all her children are gone. It's a great representation of that.

The kids love this story. They have watched the show over and over and love the book. They both gave the book 5 stars, which might not be fair, but they love it. They can practically recite the lines of the book. Still, it's the first time to read it for all of us.

It makes me think that many of the stories out there could be turned into wonderful TV shows like Room on the Broom with the right team. I like the idea. It would help many of them not be forgotten. That is something sad I see is how many children's books are forgotten after 10 years and the collection moves on without them.
Profile Image for Mariah Roze.
1,048 reviews1,049 followers
October 31, 2017
This book was super cute! The movie matches the book perfectly too.

"The witch and her cat are happily flying through the sky on a broomstick when the wind picks up and blows away the witch's hat, then her bow, and then her wand! Luckily, three helpful animals find the missing items, and all they want in return is a ride on the broom. But is there room on the broom for so many friends? And when disaster strikes, will they be able to save the witch from a hungry dragon?"
Profile Image for Laura .
402 reviews182 followers
March 11, 2019
I think this is possibly the best kids book I've ever read. It rhymes, so there is a real flow - and my young follower, who was 6 easily supplied all the end words at the right points, which I thought was quite funny, because being a boy, he couldn't read, but he had more or less remembered every word of this book.

We just loved the story, the frog with his pond, the cat, the dog and a bird - overload the broom to the inevitable snap point - but the witch is too generous to worry about details like that, and anyway she simply magics up a new broom at the end of the story, a new de-luxe version. There's a dragon, who is scared away by the joint, although unplanned creation of a monster, covered in mud.

It seems to appeal to adults and kids equally - which is what you want - if you have to read it about 50,000 times.
Profile Image for Cyndi.
2,385 reviews102 followers
September 29, 2017
Mr. H, my grandson, and I love this book!! Great story!!
Profile Image for Cheryl is traveling - back in late May.
1,002 reviews114 followers
October 2, 2022
Julia Donaldson’s wonderful children’s book, told in rhyme, is a story of friendship, sharing, and kindness that would be great to read aloud with young children! In addition, several parts had me laughing out loud. Axel Scheffler’s illustrations greatly enhance the story too!

Thanks to my Goodreads friend Manybooks for calling my attention to this book!
Profile Image for Manybooks.
3,361 reviews104 followers
September 2, 2019
It is in my opinion often rather difficult if not even pretty well rare to find poetry specifically conceptualised for younger children that is not only thematically and content wise fun and engaging but that also presents itself at the same time as lyrically and rhythmically adept (in other words, I mean to say that I do tend to find it often not all that easy to find children specific poetry that does not read somewhat awkwardly and haltingly at times, that continuously presents both a good and successful rhyme scheme and a decent and melodious lyrical flow).

So yes, indeed, I have been very much pleasantly surpised by Julia Donaldson's presented verses in her utterly delightful Room on the Broom. For while the important and necessary messages regarding kindness and sharing (and that if one is generous and solicitous then that same consideration will also often if not even usually be repaid and repaid in full) are of course pretty overtly presented in Room on the Broom, Julia Donaldson's rollicking rhymes are not only fun and engaging, not to mention sweetly lyrical, they also very much make both readers and listeners forget that the presented messages are rather in one's face so to speak, they make us simply enjoy and appreciate Room on the Broom as a sweet little story of a kind and caring witch making room on her broom for the diverse animals that had helped her find her lost or rather her "blown off the broom" clothing and witchery accoutrements (and who is later then rescued from a vile dragon by those same and grateful animal friends). Four stars for Julia Donaldson's text, for her warm and fuzzily sweet poetry, but rounded up to a full five stars, as Axel Scheffler's accompanying illustrations are simply and utterly aesthetically to die for (both humorous and also filled with much emotionality, and the coup de grace for me personally is that while Axel Scheffler of course makes the witch of Room on the Broom look decidedly crone-like with a pointy nose and a bit of a wart, he also has drawn her as someone with a sympathetic countenance and mindset, as well as thankfully not with the so often prevalent and popular green hued skin).
Profile Image for Ken.
2,327 reviews1,348 followers
October 22, 2020
A delightful picture book from the ever reliable Donaldson and Scheffler.
A super cute story for little ones to enjoy at Halloween.

It's a perfect tale of helping strangers as a kind witch invite various new friends onto her broom after having lost her hat, plait and and wand in a storm.

The unlikely group of a cat, dog, bird and frog form a great alliance as the continue to help the witch and continue their travels together.

This brilliant rhyme with a fun message and great illustrations stirred together makes for an enchanting family favourite.
Profile Image for Sophia Triad.
2,240 reviews3,621 followers
December 21, 2018
How the cat purred and how the witch grinned, as they sat on their broomstick and flew through the wind. 

A witch will be saved before she becomes a dragon's lunch by a few helpful animals who love to ride with her on her broomstick.

Is there room on the broom for a dog like me? “Yes!” cried the witch

You can never go wrong with a book written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler.
Profile Image for Lisa Vegan.
2,833 reviews1,280 followers
July 3, 2016
Great read aloud! Great rhyme! There is just the right amount of funny vs. scary. There’s a really fun and surprising and creative ending. (I was really tempted to tell what exactly, but then I’d have to use a spoiler box for a children’s picture book.) Oh, and the illustrations are wonderful!
Profile Image for Louise.
273 reviews10 followers
September 9, 2017
My children loved this and we had lots of fun reading it
Profile Image for Kathryn.
4,538 reviews
October 30, 2009
A fun, rhyming text all about sharing and how it can have unexpectedly positive results! :-) I loved the "surprise" at the end. After I read the book, I read up on the author/illustrator in the back flap as usual and discovered that they're from the UK. Reading the text with a British accent makes it even more fun! ;->
Profile Image for Kerri.
1,022 reviews474 followers
February 2, 2020
A childhood favourite. I think they had it at my kindergarten -- I know I didn't own it, but I read it many times. 💟
Profile Image for Neva.
Author 53 books571 followers
July 27, 2017
"Мишка мъничка гризлива тук на топло си почива, Зайо-байо Средногорски, скрит от лоши думи хорски... Ами ваша милост кой е и защо ни безпокои?" - сетих се за Дядовата ръкавичка, чийто принцип е същият. Чудесна книжка, преведена/адаптирана вълшебно от Мария Донева, история за спасителната сила на приятелството, която може да се чете заедно с децата!
Profile Image for Clouds.
228 reviews640 followers
October 10, 2013

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.

I have a little boy and love reading to him, so this reading list will cover the classic (and new) children’s stories we’re enjoying together.


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.

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!

Noisy books aside, this is the best. He likes to point at the witch and the cat and the dog and the bird and the frog. He likes to mimic the dramatic, booming, Brian Blessed-esque voice I used for the 'down came the broom' line, around which each verse hinges.

And you can never get them started on fantasy too young - good witches and bad dragons - perfect! We'll get him reading Tolkien before he's ten...

After this I read: Animals Scare Me Stiff
Profile Image for Scratch.
1,097 reviews47 followers
December 6, 2021
As far as children's books go, this is a better one. It takes for granted that everyone knows what a witch is and that they fly on brooms. This doesn't feel like an unreasonable assumption. Then, without any judgment for the witch, it proceeds in a sing-song manner to show the witch including more and more friends with her as she flies. Their friendship ultimately pays off.

One of the less obnoxious books you could read to your kid.
Profile Image for Shannon .
1,216 reviews2,347 followers
November 12, 2014
Anyone with small children (and older ones too, I'm sure) will be familiar with Julia Donaldson, in particular The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo's Child, which - along with Room on the Broom - have been made into animated films that regularly show on the ABC. My son, at three, enjoys the books but finds the movies too scary - he's still young like that.

Room on the Broom is about a witch with "long ginger hair in a braid down her back" and a cat and a broomstick and cauldron. They're flying through the sky, having a peaceful, calm trip, when the wind snatches off her hat. A dog helps her collect it and in return she offers him a ride. Next she loses the bow from her hair, and a green bird brings it back. It, too, gets "room on the broom". And so on, until the broomstick is heavy and snaps in two. They all fall to the ground, and the witch encounters a big, red, terrifying dragon who wants to eat her. Her new friends save her, she makes a spell for a new broomstick, and off they go again - in style and comfort this time.

Room-on-the-Broom-bird

I love it when picture book authors work closely with the same illustrator for their books - like Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake, or Mem Fox and Julie Vivas; you start to instantly recognise their books based on the style of drawings, and come to associate the drawings with the author. (From a marketing perspective, it's a perfect way to make an instant connection with buyers as they scan the shelves.) There's also a comfort aspect at play - the same can be said of authors like Alison Lester, who do their own illustrations and also have a distinctive style. Such books tend to stick with you longer.

Room on the Broom has a delightful rhyme that almost sounds like song, or music - any picture book that rhymes like this is a pleasure to read out loud. The story just flows so well, it's fun to read, and pleasurable to the ear. Doesn't stop a kid from interrupting, though!


Over the fields and the
forests they flew.
The dog wagged his tail
and the stormy wind blew.
The witch laughed out loud
and held on to her hat,
But away blew the bow
from her braid - just like that!


Julia Donaldson is another children's author I find myself gravitating towards whenever I'm looking for a new picture book - between her, Alison Lester, Mem Fox, Oliver Jeffers and a few others, you're never short of titles to consider!
12 reviews
September 24, 2011
Room on the Broom is an exciting, enchanting story of a good natured witch and her cat that meets new friends along the way, a dog, a bird, a frog and invites them onto her broom. It has a nice rhyming flow to the story which will keep children engaged plus the use of repetition. The pictures are mesmerising and really do bring the story to life. There is very descriptive use of words for the characters in the book, particularly when describing the horrible and frightful beast. There is a moral to the story. If you treat others well, the rewards will show. It is a story of friendship and help in times of need. This is an excellent read for preschool children and Year 1 and perfect for Literacy. It is a thoroughly enjoyable book and I am now looking forward to reading “The Gruffalo” which is also by Donaldson and Scheffler.

Profile Image for Cheryl.
70 reviews
October 27, 2011
The rhythm and rhyme of the story make it a delightful read, and the pages of illustrations are beautifully done with a good dose of whimsy. Wonderful children's book for Halloween.
12 reviews2 followers
Read
September 14, 2011
‘Room on the Broom’ by Julia Donaldson is a beautifully illustrated book that tells the story of a delightful witch who has the misfortune of losing her possessions while on one of her magical flights in a gusty wind. However, on the way she meets various animals who help her as she goes in search of her lost items in return for a spot on her broom. Unfortunately, the witch’s broom breaks in mid air under the weight of its passengers and they face the danger of being eaten by a hungry dragon. This book is suitable for children aged 2-7. It’s written in rhyme and accompanied by a large font which keeps the interest of the child but also allows them to read along with whoever they chose. The repetition ensures it is accessible for small children and gives them the option of reading along in song or words. After reading the book, children get a sense of the importance of friendship and sticking together. The illustrations are magnificently sharp and colourful and again allow the child to actively take part in the story and question what may or may not happen next.


12 reviews
November 26, 2011
This fun picture book by Julia Donaldson tells the story of a kind-hearted witch and her loyal cat flying through the night sky, when they bump into many colourful characters during their journey, who end up joining the broomstick. Disaster strikes after a while, when the broomstick snaps in half under the weight of several new passengers collected along the way, and the witch finds herself face to face with a very hungry dragon!

The repeated rhyming structure of the book makes it brilliant for children who are starting to gain confidence at reading aloud to an adult and would also be useful for whole class reading sessions in a foundation stage or Year 1 class, where the children could join in with the repetition. It would also be a great book to practise using different expressions and voices to suit the range of different characters. The Year 1 class I read this to loved the vivid and imaginative illustrations and enjoyed discussing the moral of the story; when you give out kindness you receive it in return.
Profile Image for Gator.
274 reviews33 followers
September 27, 2019
Room on the broom by Julia Donaldson, published 2001. This is a cute story about a witch, her four friends and a dragon. The Pages are full of great colorful illustrations, the artwork is very good. The rhyming is spot on and a lot of fun to read out loud to the kids. This is a fall favorite with good reason. Enjoy .
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,427 reviews

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