Room on the Broom

We loved this book when we checked it out from the library. Unfortunately, in the copy we ordered, two of the best verses were changed. Fortunately there were some other reviews talking about this problem, so I knew to check. What a disappointment--the "witch with french fries sounds delicious to me!" and "I think just this once I'll have witch without fries" lines are some of my son's favorites. In the changed version they are replaced with bland alternatives, and one verse doesn't even scan anymore. Many thanks to the reviewers who alerted me, or I would have had a very confused and sad little birthday boy.

-Arrived in the time amazon said it would arrive and in great condition.
-My 2 1/2yr old son LOVES it! I admit that I love it too and enjoy reading it to him. He loves the "whoosh" part. It has improved his vocabulary due to how excited he gets to "read it" and then when I read it to him. It's a really cute book. Netflix has the 26 min video of this book on there and it's cute. It is word for word with the book, I'm happy I came across the 30 movie, that's what made me buy the book and my son loves it.
-I even got Room on the Broom apps which are cute. If my son were older he would be able to enjoy it but it's still nice to know that they made the apps educational and fun.

I am very disappointed that even after my best efforts to ensure I was purchasing a version with the original text I ended up receiving an Americanized (and not nearly as good) version. Why can't this be easier to determine? While the books is still gorgeous and still rhymes, I find the americanized version to be a far cry from the UK version -- are we too lazy to explain that a "plait" is the same as a "braid" when we're reading a book to our kids? In terms of language acquisition, I would have thought more vocabulary would be considered a plus. I will refrain from buying these books from Amazon in the future and would strongly encourage the company to take steps to clarify which version they are selling on their website when there are more than one and it changes the content of the book. ARGH.

I bought this for my tiny preemie infant when she was in the NICU for months last year. All I could do was read books to her so every week or so, I would stop at target or order a new book from Amazon as we hadn’t even had a shower yet when our baby unexpectedly arrived 12 weeks early. I love the rhythm of this book and I never tire of reading it. It’s such a cute story. I think she will appreciate it more when she’s older and understands the story but right now she likes the cadence of how I read it.

I love the book so I even sent a copy from amazon to a few other friends. Then I realized that there are a few words here and there that have been swapped out. Like it shouldn't be "a hat that was black" or "witch with french fries".

This is one of the big favourite books with the kids at our playcentre. It is gloriously good humoured, wonderfully illustrated, and very affectionate. It is about an (unamed witch) who is flying along, first she drops her hat, then her bow, then her wand. Each time an animal finds it for her and brings it back - then joins her on the broom.

Then, when her broom breaks in half a dragon tries to eat her, but she is saved by her animals, and they ride off on a 'truly magnificent broom'. Happy endings for everyone all round - well maybe except the dragon who goes hungry. Interestingly, the british version does not have 'witch withou fries' - as fries are the Americanisation - the British version has 'witch without chips'. I notice there are at least two variations on this cultural difference, and nice to see it - I think the chips one works best, (well it does for me anyway)

Lovely illustrations, bright, clear and colourful. Very likeable characters drawn. The real magic is in the words - it is a rhyming poem throughout and very very clever - nice rhythm and the children can anticipate it well. We use it to act out during our sessions too which the children really love. there is a great deal to do and think about to extend children's learning from this - as well as social lessons (cooperation, good nature, helping your friends).

I love this book, it always entertains my kindergarten class - lots of smiles and giggles when I read it! Love the problem solving nature of the story which leads to great discussion and STEM activities. Story also has a wonderful rhythm, repetitive phrasing and lots of rhyming words, perfect for kindergarten listeners! Halloween theme but not too scary for sensitive kiddos, one of my favorites!

While many see this book as a Halloween book, it can really be read year round. My 4 year old loves this book and I read it to her preschool class - they all loved it too. It has great rhyming, fun characters and teaches about acceptance and team work. There is a dragon in this story and a "swamp creature" that could scare younger readers. The dragon talks about eating the witch - again, not scary to my 4 year old but I could see where a younger crowd might not like that! This is one of the most read books in our collection.

I see from reading many reviews, that some people were upset that the verses were changed in versions from different publishers. In an effort to clarify, I will say that the version that talks about "witch with fries" is not the original British version. The verse in the original version is "witch with chips", which ,I think, does sound better. I really don't think it was necessary to change the author's words for American children. Also, some versions call the witch's plait a "braid".
I purchased the original British version, published by McMillan Publishers.

Such a fun read! Sometimes kids books are just meh, but I found this quite cute and my nephew loves it