Julia Donaldson, most popular children's writer of our times, translated into over 50 languages
English writer Julia Donaldson has become a household name and needs no introduction. Who hasn't heard of the fearsome mouse (the Gruffalo); the little snail with the itchy foot who saves the washed-up whale (the Snail and the Whale); the singing mermaid who goes off with Sam's circus only to realise she has been tricked (The Singing Mermaid); the scruffy giant George who reverts to his scruffiness after giving his new clothes to several animals in need (The Smartest Giant in Town)? The list goes on and on and the stories in verse are mostly a delight to read.
Julia Donaldson has been repeatedly asked about her success and to what she might owe it. She gives credit to a good plot line, the language and of course, the illustration which brings the characters and the story to life. Her chance teaming up with Axel Scheffler for her first song-turned-book 'A Squash and a Squeeze' was the start to an impressive production of a collection of witty, fun-to-read-aloud books. Undoubtedly, part of her success is also in capturing the hearts and pockets of the adults who equally enjoy the sonorous lines, share in the dilemmas of the animal characters and merrily rejoice at the happy ending.
In her interviews, Donaldson emphasises the importance of the story's ending and this is how she explains the happy, sometimes open endings that prevail in her books:
'I often think of the role of storytelling for young people. In life, not everything does have a happy ending, but I think storytelling is probably very important because to grow up with stories helps you have aspirations- even if life doesn't turn out like that'. This idea of providing Utopias for children towards which they can aspire is not new.
Some of her happy endings include her Stick Man, who after being helplessly carried from place to place; used, misused and discarded with the threat of death, is rescued by Santa (of all people!!) and is happily reunited with his Stick Family; The baddie Highway Rat is condemned to sweeping the floor of a bakery after stealing from all the animals and being outsmarted by a duck; the whale is rewarded for his kindness by being rescued by his little snail friend, whom he carried around on his tail. The Superworm is rescued from the Wizard Lizard and Crow by his friends whom he helps and entertains (Superworm, the swing!, the slide!, The hoola-hoop! the fairground ride! Superworm, the belt!, The hat! The crane! The train! The acrobat!) and in the book I want to write about here - Room on the Broom, the witch is rescued from the dragon's belly by her friends whom she carries on her broom.
Room on the Broom - The Story
The ginger-haired witch is flying on her broom with her cat when her belongings are blown away in the wind, one by one - when her hat is blown off, an eager dog brings it to her and asks - 'I am a dog, as keen as can be. Is there room on the broom for a dog like me?` The witch replies yes and they all fly away until it's her bow that goes flying in the wind. A bird flies down from her tree, dropping the bow politely and bending her head low, wondering if there was 'room on the broom for a bird like me?' The witch replies yes and 'whoosh! they were gone'. Then the stormy wind blows off her wand. Out of a pond, a polite clean frog holding the wand, asks to join the witch on her broom. They all clamber on but then the jumping frog causes the broom to split and they all go tumbling down, separating the witch from her friends. The witch encounters a scary, hungry dragon who prepares to eat her but is suddenly rescued by a 'horrible beast' with a voice that was a 'yowl and a growl and a croak and a shriek'. She thanks her friends (the horrible beast) for rescuing her and then asks each of them to 'find something..throw something in'. Into her cauldron (melting pot) go their finds and with a stir and a spell a truly magnificent broom emerges, 'with seats for the witch and the cat and the dog, A nest for the bird and a shower for the frog'. They all merrily hop on and their journey continues, each one with a special place on the broom.
From a broken broom to one that's adapted to its dwellers
It is one of my favourite stories by Donaldson because I immediately connected it to a perfect model for integration. The world we live in has always been characterised by movement, transfer, conflict and exchange. Only nowadays, everything is happening at lightning speed and the bodies we created to bring order and maintain peace in our societies are sometimes clueless about how to run and manage all these changes, transfers, 'foreignness' and clashes. We crave orderliness, comfort, a continuation and preservation of the standards and quality of living that the members of a given nation have worked hard to establish. The newcomers on the broom are all humble, polite, clean and eager to hop on, join the team and help out when necessary, acting as one unit (sadly, reality is reality and it is utopic to think that every mobile being is clean, polite and humble!) But each newcomer brings something new to the broom and the frog's jumping causes it to snap into two. Sometimes, there is the sensation that the 'boat is full', the country cannot or should not take in more asylum seekers, migrants, foreigners, refugees, etc, because they threaten the culture, the order, the quality of life and value system that have been established. Sometimes a crisis needs to play out (the splitting of the broom) before something new and (hopefully) better arises. Once the members accept each other, recognise each other and work with each other, the creation of something new is not daunting but possible and desirable. On the witch's new broom, the bird gets a nest, the frog gets a shower, the others get new seats. All these different beings who have come from different habitats are equally respected, their differences are acknowledged (nest, water for the frog) and incorporated onto the new broom, where everyone feels as if they belong. It is a good model to emulate but sadly enough, fear, insecurity, ignorance and a plain lack of will sometimes prevail so that this 'new broom' isn't given the necessary 'room' to emerge. It's counter-productive to deny or ignore that our towns, cities and countries are not being influenced and changed by the movement and settlement of newcomers in it. It is counter-productive to stick to an 'old broom' that does not fit or respond to the needs of its new dwellers. We need open-minded 'witch-like' leaders and influencers to usher in a 'room on the new broom' concept, embracing and equalising differences and working with others to try and establish happy, peaceful units where conflicts are resolved and needs are satisfied.
Donaldson admits that in her stories, she never sets out to be didactic but her professed good values are likely to come out in her writing - 'your underlying principles and ideas subconsciously come out in the stories', she observes. This story is a wonderful analogy for what we can make of ourselves if we are just open and willing enough to embrace and accept change, if we are brave enough to confront conflicts and resilient enough to weather the storm.
English writer Julia Donaldson has become a household name and needs no introduction. Who hasn't heard of the fearsome mouse (the Gruffalo); the little snail with the itchy foot who saves the washed-up whale (the Snail and the Whale); the singing mermaid who goes off with Sam's circus only to realise she has been tricked (The Singing Mermaid); the scruffy giant George who reverts to his scruffiness after giving his new clothes to several animals in need (The Smartest Giant in Town)? The list goes on and on and the stories in verse are mostly a delight to read.
Julia Donaldson has been repeatedly asked about her success and to what she might owe it. She gives credit to a good plot line, the language and of course, the illustration which brings the characters and the story to life. Her chance teaming up with Axel Scheffler for her first song-turned-book 'A Squash and a Squeeze' was the start to an impressive production of a collection of witty, fun-to-read-aloud books. Undoubtedly, part of her success is also in capturing the hearts and pockets of the adults who equally enjoy the sonorous lines, share in the dilemmas of the animal characters and merrily rejoice at the happy ending.
In her interviews, Donaldson emphasises the importance of the story's ending and this is how she explains the happy, sometimes open endings that prevail in her books:
'I often think of the role of storytelling for young people. In life, not everything does have a happy ending, but I think storytelling is probably very important because to grow up with stories helps you have aspirations- even if life doesn't turn out like that'. This idea of providing Utopias for children towards which they can aspire is not new.
Some of her happy endings include her Stick Man, who after being helplessly carried from place to place; used, misused and discarded with the threat of death, is rescued by Santa (of all people!!) and is happily reunited with his Stick Family; The baddie Highway Rat is condemned to sweeping the floor of a bakery after stealing from all the animals and being outsmarted by a duck; the whale is rewarded for his kindness by being rescued by his little snail friend, whom he carried around on his tail. The Superworm is rescued from the Wizard Lizard and Crow by his friends whom he helps and entertains (Superworm, the swing!, the slide!, The hoola-hoop! the fairground ride! Superworm, the belt!, The hat! The crane! The train! The acrobat!) and in the book I want to write about here - Room on the Broom, the witch is rescued from the dragon's belly by her friends whom she carries on her broom.
Room on the Broom - The Story
The ginger-haired witch is flying on her broom with her cat when her belongings are blown away in the wind, one by one - when her hat is blown off, an eager dog brings it to her and asks - 'I am a dog, as keen as can be. Is there room on the broom for a dog like me?` The witch replies yes and they all fly away until it's her bow that goes flying in the wind. A bird flies down from her tree, dropping the bow politely and bending her head low, wondering if there was 'room on the broom for a bird like me?' The witch replies yes and 'whoosh! they were gone'. Then the stormy wind blows off her wand. Out of a pond, a polite clean frog holding the wand, asks to join the witch on her broom. They all clamber on but then the jumping frog causes the broom to split and they all go tumbling down, separating the witch from her friends. The witch encounters a scary, hungry dragon who prepares to eat her but is suddenly rescued by a 'horrible beast' with a voice that was a 'yowl and a growl and a croak and a shriek'. She thanks her friends (the horrible beast) for rescuing her and then asks each of them to 'find something..throw something in'. Into her cauldron (melting pot) go their finds and with a stir and a spell a truly magnificent broom emerges, 'with seats for the witch and the cat and the dog, A nest for the bird and a shower for the frog'. They all merrily hop on and their journey continues, each one with a special place on the broom.
From a broken broom to one that's adapted to its dwellers
It is one of my favourite stories by Donaldson because I immediately connected it to a perfect model for integration. The world we live in has always been characterised by movement, transfer, conflict and exchange. Only nowadays, everything is happening at lightning speed and the bodies we created to bring order and maintain peace in our societies are sometimes clueless about how to run and manage all these changes, transfers, 'foreignness' and clashes. We crave orderliness, comfort, a continuation and preservation of the standards and quality of living that the members of a given nation have worked hard to establish. The newcomers on the broom are all humble, polite, clean and eager to hop on, join the team and help out when necessary, acting as one unit (sadly, reality is reality and it is utopic to think that every mobile being is clean, polite and humble!) But each newcomer brings something new to the broom and the frog's jumping causes it to snap into two. Sometimes, there is the sensation that the 'boat is full', the country cannot or should not take in more asylum seekers, migrants, foreigners, refugees, etc, because they threaten the culture, the order, the quality of life and value system that have been established. Sometimes a crisis needs to play out (the splitting of the broom) before something new and (hopefully) better arises. Once the members accept each other, recognise each other and work with each other, the creation of something new is not daunting but possible and desirable. On the witch's new broom, the bird gets a nest, the frog gets a shower, the others get new seats. All these different beings who have come from different habitats are equally respected, their differences are acknowledged (nest, water for the frog) and incorporated onto the new broom, where everyone feels as if they belong. It is a good model to emulate but sadly enough, fear, insecurity, ignorance and a plain lack of will sometimes prevail so that this 'new broom' isn't given the necessary 'room' to emerge. It's counter-productive to deny or ignore that our towns, cities and countries are not being influenced and changed by the movement and settlement of newcomers in it. It is counter-productive to stick to an 'old broom' that does not fit or respond to the needs of its new dwellers. We need open-minded 'witch-like' leaders and influencers to usher in a 'room on the new broom' concept, embracing and equalising differences and working with others to try and establish happy, peaceful units where conflicts are resolved and needs are satisfied.
Donaldson admits that in her stories, she never sets out to be didactic but her professed good values are likely to come out in her writing - 'your underlying principles and ideas subconsciously come out in the stories', she observes. This story is a wonderful analogy for what we can make of ourselves if we are just open and willing enough to embrace and accept change, if we are brave enough to confront conflicts and resilient enough to weather the storm.
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