10 Busy Brooms
Written by Carole Gerber
Illustrated by Michael Fleming
Doubleday Books for Young Readers 8/09/2016
978-0-553-53341-5
32 pages    Ages 3—5

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“Grab your broom and fly the night sky
with 10 little witches
in this fun and festive
Halloween counting book!”
[back cover]

Review
One little witch, flying a “long, speedy broom” sees another little witch cleaning a tomb of spider webs. The first witch asks the second to fly with her on the long broom with “lots of room.” Now two witches are riding when they see a third little witch running from a “scrawny skeleton.” She jumps onto the big broom. Now three witches are flying around. They see a ghost scaring a little witch. The three invite her on the big, long broom and now there are four little witches flying around.
This continues until there are nine little witches, a frog, a white tiny kitten, an owl, a pumpkin pie, and some apple brew atop the long broom. The broom is getting much too heavy. As it begins to drop toward the ground,

“First it wiggled . . . and then wobbled . . . then it fell—OH NO . . .”

Everyone on the broom crashes! A tenth little witch, wearing a green mask with a long nose, approaches the pile of nine witches. It is Halloween night. The ten little witches walk down the street, stop at a house, and then yell out in unison, “TRICK OR TREAT!”
The text brings in other “creepy” critters. Goblins, skeletons, werewolves, and ghosts are among the spooky characters going after each witch. Neither the text nor the illustrations are spooky, making 10 Busy Brooms perfect for young children. No one will experience nightmares from this Halloween book. Because the rhyming is off on several stanzas, mainly due to inconsistent meter, reading aloud becomes erratic. Alliteration is nicely used.

The illustrations are beautiful and will attract young children’s attention without fail. 10 Busy Brooms helps toddlers count to nine. If more attention had been paid to the colors of each witch’s outfit (3 different shades of green; orange sometimes looks red) this could have been a more than a cute counting book. Children could have also learned colors. With nine witches, there is plenty of room to show both primary and secondary colors. But 10 Busy Brooms is not a coloring book. It is a counting book, which nicely counts to nine, one witch at a time.
Witch number ten takes the story to the end. the better ending occurred when the nine witches overloaded the broom. Each gorgeous spread is full of brightly illustrated witches. They nine witches are attractive girls, smartly dressed. The tenth wears a stereotypical Halloween costume including an awful long nosed, green mask. Thankfully, no wart. Observant children will notice something “off” about the tenth witch: it is not a witch at all. This witch could be any reader, allowing children to join the fun in 10 Busy Brooms.

10 BUSY BROOMS. Text copyright © 2016 by Carole Gerber. Illustrations copyright © 2016 by Michael Fleming. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Doubleday Books for Young Readers, New York, NY.

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Carole Gerber:  http://carolegerber.com/
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Michael Fleming:  http://www.tweedlebop.com/
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Doubleday BYR is an imprint of Random House Children’s Books.

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Reprinted with permission from 10 BUSY BROOMS © 2016 by Carole Gerber, Doubleday BYR, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, Illustrations © 2016 by Michael Fleming.  (Images courtesy of Michael Fleming.)

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Copyright © 2016 by Sue Morris/Kid Lit Reviews. All Rights Reserved

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10 Busy Brooms
Written by Carole Gerber
Illustrated by Michael Fleming
Doubleday Books for Young Readers 8/09/2016
9780553533415