The Widow's Broom
written and illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg, 1992, New York: Houghton Mifflin. (0395640512).
written and illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg, 1992, New York: Houghton Mifflin. (0395640512).
Media: pen and ink
Awards and Honors: none
Author Website: http://www.chrisvanallsburg.com/
Annotation: The curious story of a worn-out witch's broom and the trouble it causes in one small village.
Personal Reaction:
The Widow's Broom is another great example of what we have come to expect from Chris Van Allsburg- a book that's eerie and enchanting at the same time, infused with a pervasive but subtle message.
Minna Shaw is a lonely widow who lives by herself on a farm. By chance, one night a witch falls to earth on her broom, landing in the widow's vegetable garden. Minna nurses the injured witch back to health, and when the witch departs the next night she leaves behind the worn-out broom.
Minna soon learns that the broom hasn't completely lost its magical powers. It begins helping out with chores around the house- chopping wood, feeding the chickens, fetching water, and sweeping (of course). While Minna is delighted to have the good-natured broom's company and help on the farm, her neighbors (the Spiveys, in particular) are less than impressed. In fact, they believe that the broom is evil and dangerous and they want her to get rid of it.
And get rid of it, they do. After an altercation with the neighbor boys, the widow allows a gang of men led by Mr. Spivey to take the broom and burn it in an act of vigilante revenge. But not long after they destroy the broom, its ghost is spotted carrying an axe through the woods and slowly circling the Spivey's home. Spooked, the Spiveys end up packing all they own into their wagon and leaving their farm behind.
After the Spiveys pull away it is revealed that the mob did not burn the broom as they imagined and that Minna has cleverly managed to have the last word in the disagreement. The story is a wonderfully subtle commentary on tolerance and acceptance and against close-mindedness. Its dark, atmospheric mood is perfectly matched by Van Allsburg's evocative illustrations, but it also has its moments of levity that lighten the story.
Personal Reaction:
The Widow's Broom is another great example of what we have come to expect from Chris Van Allsburg- a book that's eerie and enchanting at the same time, infused with a pervasive but subtle message.
Minna Shaw is a lonely widow who lives by herself on a farm. By chance, one night a witch falls to earth on her broom, landing in the widow's vegetable garden. Minna nurses the injured witch back to health, and when the witch departs the next night she leaves behind the worn-out broom.
Minna soon learns that the broom hasn't completely lost its magical powers. It begins helping out with chores around the house- chopping wood, feeding the chickens, fetching water, and sweeping (of course). While Minna is delighted to have the good-natured broom's company and help on the farm, her neighbors (the Spiveys, in particular) are less than impressed. In fact, they believe that the broom is evil and dangerous and they want her to get rid of it.
And get rid of it, they do. After an altercation with the neighbor boys, the widow allows a gang of men led by Mr. Spivey to take the broom and burn it in an act of vigilante revenge. But not long after they destroy the broom, its ghost is spotted carrying an axe through the woods and slowly circling the Spivey's home. Spooked, the Spiveys end up packing all they own into their wagon and leaving their farm behind.
After the Spiveys pull away it is revealed that the mob did not burn the broom as they imagined and that Minna has cleverly managed to have the last word in the disagreement. The story is a wonderfully subtle commentary on tolerance and acceptance and against close-mindedness. Its dark, atmospheric mood is perfectly matched by Van Allsburg's evocative illustrations, but it also has its moments of levity that lighten the story.
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