Peter Fogarty has kindly contributed a set of Thinking Hat resources linked to the book (see Resources below). Julia Donaldson is one of today's most popular writers. Her bestselling titles include The Gruffalo, The Gruffalo's Child and Room on the Broom. Although she is best-known for her picture books, Julia also writes longer novels, plays and songs. She lives in Glasgow and spends a lot of time on stage performing her brilliant sell-out singalong shows!

The ‘horrible beast’ that rises from the ditch makes lots of strange noises. Can you think of other animal noises? Can you find other examples of onomatopoeia? 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. The witch eventually makes room on the broom for a cat, dog, bird, and frog. Are all of these characters considered friends? Students can discuss what makes people friends. Would you have made friends with the witch? How do you treat your friends? Further, because the witch allows everyone on her broom, it snaps in two. Students can consider why the witch continued to make room on her broom when there wasn’t really room. 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.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.

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. 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're a family of witch fans and this book is so much fun to read and very exciting for my little boy. Great opportunity to do silly voices for all the different characters and the rhymes are fab. Love this book!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. 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. Why did the witch let the animals on her broom? Would you have made room on the broom for the animals?

A witch and her cat fly around on a broom and the witch accidentally drops some of her things. Other animals on the ground return her items to her and ask for a ride on the broom. The witch says yes to them all, but is there room for all of these new friends? A poetic story of love, adventure and music that demands to be read aloud or possibly sung, depending on the power of the reader's purr. We loved this book so much that we ended up buying it. It has a lovely rhyme throughout the book and it makes me smile every time I read it to my son. Lovely illustrations really capture his attention too. The story really flows nicely and my son just loves it. All of the animals in the story help the witch. Students can have discussions about why we help others. Why did the animals return the witch’s belongings? It could be that the animals care for the well-being of the witch. Or could it be that the animals have a self-interest to go on the broom? Could it be both? Is one reason better or worse as motivation to help others? A magical tale about friendship and family from Magic Light Pictures, the producers of the hugely successful The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo's Child.The witch is grateful to the animals for saving her life. Think of things that you are grateful for. How could you say ‘thank you’ for these? This favourite picture book is a real delight: an ingenious and humorous story with a rhythmical text that is ideal for reading aloud. Axel Scheffler has artistically surpassed himself with the brightly-coloured illustrations, which give convincing and expressive features to all the different characters. Look at the use of punctuation within the story. Can you explain why each type of punctuation has been used?