The Widow's Broom by Chris Van Allsburg - ESSENTIAL

The Widow’s Broom (25^th Anniversary Edition) by Chris Van Allsburg.  PICTURE BOOK Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1992.  $19.  9781328470195  

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) – ESSENTIAL  

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH  

One night a witch’s broom loses it’s full powers, and the witch falls out of the sky and lands in Widow Shaw’s garden.  Widow Shaw gives the witch a place to stay for the night, and in the morning the witch leaves on the back of another witch’s broom, leaving her broom behind.  Soon the broom is working around Widow Shaw’s home and doing basic chores or anything else Widow Shaw teaches it how to do (including chopping wood and playing the piano).  The magical broom soon draws the attention of the neighbors who want to burn it, so Widow Shaw tricks the neighbors and protects her new broom friend.  

Chris Van Allsburg has fantastic black and white illustrations.  I love that this book has a Neil Gaiman feel for young readers, making magic seem like it could crop up in reality at any time.  I think this book is creative and fun and can be read anytime but would be a fun Halloween read.  

C. Peterson.