Starred Review ALA Booklist

Starred Review Van Allsburg explores the nature of good and evil in this unearthly tale of a witch's broom that has fallen from the sky with its witch still on it. Minna Shaw helps the witch, who leaves the broom behind, and it doesn't take long for the broom to show itself to be unusual. Widow Shaw spies it sweeping the floor all by itself, and though she's frightened, she quickly realizes what a help it can be. Soon she's taught it to chop wood, fetch water, feed the cow, and even plunk out a few tunes on the piano. Such an oddity doesn't stay secret for long, of course. The widow's neighbors, the Spiveys, are horrified by the devil broom. Though the broom tries to mind its own business, the Spivey boys find it the perfect object to torment. Finally, the broom knocks the boys on their heads, and when their dog tries to bite, the broom flings it across the field. As far as Mr. Spivey's concerned, the broom has proved itself evil, and he insists on burning it. Days later, the broom reappears, white as snow. A ghost broom, the widow insists, and the Spiveys pack up and leave in a frightened hurry. Once they're gone, the widow is free to enjoy the broom once more--the broom she has painted white.The story starts out magnificently. The witch (whom Van Allsburg depicts as handsome and powerful) and her broom are perfect lures into another reality. There are also touches of humor throughout, as well as subtle reminders that evil can take many forms. It is only the ending, and the broom's inexplicable reappearance, that distract. How the broom rose from the ashes is, of course, a question readers will ponder. By not answering it, Van Allsburg wants to extend the story's ambiguity, but he merely intrudes on it. There is no ambiguity about the artwork, however. It is some of Van Allsburg's finest: oversize, sepia-tone drawings, with precise linework that has both visual clarity and intriguing nuance. The Widow's Broom is also a handsome piece of bookmaking: the design and the paper add to the book's strength. Enchanting. (Reviewed Sept. 15, 1992)

Horn Book

Kindly Widow Shaw uses a witch's discarded broom to clean the house, until, one morning, she sees the broom sweeping by itself and decides to teach it some other tasks. When a superstitious neighbor brings a mob to destroy the broom, the widow cleverly outwits him, securing peace for herself and her magical broom. The dark sepia tones of the illustrations effectively capture the twilight feeling of this tale of magic.

Kirkus Reviews

It's a witch's broom, but it's old and loses the power to fly, dumping its owner in the Widow Shaw's garden. When the witch departs, the broom stays with the widow, who at first is frightened when it not only sweeps but chops wood and feeds chickens; but she comes to appreciate it. Not so neighbor Spivey, a classic seeker after evil to rout out. With other farmers, Spivey comes one night to get rid of the broom; reluctantly, the widow tells them where it is and they literally burn it at the stake. Later, she reports seeing the broom's ghost. In a deliciously enigmatic ending, the broom proves to be alive and well—but whether by its own power or the widow's wits is left to surmise. In the b&w technique of his earliest books, Van Allsburg uses subtly graduated gray and cream to bring out the eerie, surreal quality of the story, his spare detail setting it in a credulous past—though the message about the destructive fear aroused by mavericks is universal. One of Van Allsburg's best: an intriguing, well-told tale with elegantly structured art, resonant with significance and lightened with sly humor. (Picture book. 5+)"

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

When Minna Shaw comes into possession of a witch's broom, it is as if good fortune itself has dropped from the sky. The broom sweeps on its own and does other chores; it can even pick out simple tunes on the piano. The widow's ignorant neighbors hate and torment the implement, though, fearing what they cannot understand; but in the end the widow and her broom triumph. This resonant tale, one of its gifted author/illustrator's most impressive efforts, effectively draws on mystery and whimsy alike--both human nature and the supernatural are powerful forces here. Van Allsburg's grainy, sepiatone illustrations variously evoke brooding, suspicion, grandeur, humor and serenity. Many individual pictures are haunting--amid a tangle of squash vines, for example, lies the fallen witch, with only one of her hands visible--and in composite they reverberate powerfully indeed. The narrative's subtle conclusion will evoke pleasurable shudders, as readers (gradually, perhaps) become aware of what has transpired. Both visually and narratively, a provocative and altogether satisfying work. All ages. (Sept.)

School Library Journal

K-Gr 5-- This story combines trickery and magic with witches, brooms, an old widow, and her jealous neighbors. A witch leaves her errant broom in Minna Shaw's garden and, true to its nature, it sweeps and sweeps and sweeps until the woman in desperation, teaches it to chop wood, fetch water, bring the cow from the pasture, feed the chickens, and even to play the piano. All runs smoothly until the Spiveys who live down the road discover this wonderful object and insist it must be evil. After an encounter with the Spivey children in which the broom punishes them for their misbehavior, the enraged father comes to seize the offender and destroy it. But the widow outsmarts the man, and she and her broom live happily ever after. The sepia toned pencil illustrations have a grainy quality that gives the sense of moody mystery while adding texture and detail to the tangibles of village life. The positioning of figures, the sweep of lines, and the angles and tones used to capture characters and events have a haunting sense reminiscent of Van Allsburg's early work. He does not overemphasize the message that the special powers of the unknown need not be evil; rather a delicious humor is subtly portrayed through both text and art. This story leaves readers and listeners with the satisfaction of a well-told tale and, although not strictly for Halloween, may turn out to be as much a part of that holiday as Polar Express (Houghton, 1985) is of Christmas. --Kay E. Vandergrift, School of Communication, Information and Library Studies, Rutgers Univ . , New Brunswick, NJ