10 Busy Brooms

Gerber (Tuck-in Time) offers a jaunty counting story as a witch with "a long, speedy broom" invites nine of her compatriots to join her for a ride. Though the rhymes often suggest the witches are in a degree of peril ("3 little witches zipping through the night/ saw a ghost haunt a witch as she jumped in fright"), Fleming (Ten Eggs in a Nest) opts for cuteness over creepiness--there's nothing threatening about his smiling ghosts, pie-stealing mummies, and fuzzy werewolves. There's also a pleasingly inclusive diversity to the witches: one wears a head scarf, and a range of ages and skin colors are represented. Gerber's three-line stanzas can feel abrupt, as though they're waiting to be completed by a fourth line that never arrives, but all in all, it's an enjoyable celebration of witchy sisterhood. Ages 3-7. Author's agent: Ammi-Joan Paquette, Erin Murphy Literary. (Aug.)

PreS-Gr 1--Ten diverse witches take flight on Halloween night as they avoid nonthreatening monsters in this numerical concept book. Awkward rhyming stanzas accompany each page spread, starting with the number one, and climb higher as each adorable little witch escapes whatever trouble is brewing below her. Bright and cheerful artwork wars with vocabulary that conjures a degree of spookiness that never comes to fruition. For example, when a ghost haunts "a witch as she jump[s] in fright," both are smiling at each other as if they're old friends. As each witch hops on her broom to evade trouble, she brings with her an item that travels with her throughout the rest of the story. This may be a black cat, an owl, or even a pie (one witch is a baker). It becomes quite crowded on the page toward the end. As a concept book for small children, this selection will be rather cumbersome without ritualized dialogue support from an adult. VERDICT A cute but ultimately flawed additional selection for libraries in need of updating their Halloween collections.--Rachel Zuffa, Racine Public Library, WI