The Broom of Doom

The broom is finally the star of the show in The Broom of Doom, which is written from the broom's point of view; it really reminds me of The Day the Crayons Quit with its humorous tone. The broom attempts to use the witch's potion to do wonderful things but nothing quite turns out how it's supposed to! Eventually the broom decides it is better off being itself and doing it proudly.

The illustrations are comical and fun. There's lots of little details for older readers to enjoy like characters holding little signs to read and a newspaper on one page. There's also lots of different parts of the text in bold and interesting text sizes to add effect. Our favourite spread is the one at the end where the broom turns itself into a pink and fluffy version - we thought it was a funny ending!

The story has a nice message too - not to be jealous of other people and the attention they may receive. I think it's particularly important in the current climate with social media as it is that children learn to be proud of who they are and become happy in their own skin. This would be a nice story to have at class story time or for children to enjoy at home, especially around Halloween.

Picture book / Reviewed by Lucy Hopkins, teacher

Suggested Reading Age 5+

This was such a fun read! The Broom of Doom! is packed with sarcasm, irony and wonderfully silly humour, and I found myself laughing far more than I expected to at a picture book.

The broom's personality and the tongue-in-cheek writing really make it. A lot of the humour went completely over the head of my four-year-old, so I'd say it's probably better suited to 7+ if you want children to fully appreciate the jokes and irony. That said, she still enjoyed it as a story to share, and there's plenty happening visually to keep younger children entertained.

The illustrations are glorious - bold, expressive, quirky and genuinely funny in their own right. Even when the more sophisticated humour doesn't land with younger readers, the ridiculousness of the story and the brilliant pictures absolutely do.

A very funny, clever picture book that adults will probably enjoy just as much as the children!

Picture book / Reviewed by Linda Canning, teacher

Suggested Reading Age 7+

Fed up with being overlooked, Broom is determined to become the centre of attention. Using Witch's new Wish Potion, she attempts to make her dreams come true . . . only to find that perhaps things weren't so bad after all!

Full of Hallowe'en humour, The Broom of Doom is perfect for sharing at any time of year! Broom quickly learns that the grass isn't always greener and that 'celebrity' brings plenty of problems!

Text and brilliant illustrations combine to allow readers to enjoy Broom's machinations as she plans to take over and get the attention she things she feels she deserves. But as she makes each of her three wishes, things go from bad to worse, making her wish that things were back to how they had been! However, she still hasn't quite learned her lesson as the ending of the story shows!

Even when 'mwa-ha-ha'-ing Broom is an appealing villain and the story makes an excellent read aloud for those who enjoy 'doing the voices'! A spook-tacular tale!

Picture book / Reviewed by Sue Wilsher, teacher

Suggested Reading Age 3+