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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
I enjoyed the first half but it lost me in the second and I just lacked any investment in the story.
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Carey, Charles, and Paul are visiting their aunt for the summer when they meet the neighbor, Miss Price. Miss Price is secretly a witch, and the children see her riding on her broomstick in the night. When she crashes her broomstick, the children help her and in return Miss Price gives them an enchanted bedknob that will magically take them anywhere they wish. The children get into some troublesome adventures and discover that magic is not as simple as it appears.
This book is lots of fun! The plot is imaginative and hilarious, and I love the characters. It's very different from the Disney movie, but a couple of things are the same. I enjoyed the pretty illustrations in this edition. This is actually two books that have been combined into one. The first book is "The Magic Bedknob", and the second book "Bonfires and Broomsticks" takes place two years later.
I love Paul's little comments and his funnily calm demeanor. He is the littlest of the family, and is a bit confused about what is actually going on. Carey takes care of him though, and has a motherly soul. But she is imaginative and prone to flights of fancy. She thinks in extremes, and the others have to hold her back sometimes. Charles has a more steady personality, and he is skeptical of magic in the beginning. Together these siblings make a great team as they navigate the difficulties of traveling on a magic bed.
Miss Price is a complex character with contradictions in her personality. She is very prim and proper, but she secretly longs for adventure. She is polite and precise with her words and actions, but she also has a wild heart that sparks from her eyes at times. The children know that she is someone to take seriously, as though she could be very dangerous if she chose. I adore Miss Price!
This book is lots of fun! The plot is imaginative and hilarious, and I love the characters. It's very different from the Disney movie, but a couple of things are the same. I enjoyed the pretty illustrations in this edition. This is actually two books that have been combined into one. The first book is "The Magic Bedknob", and the second book "Bonfires and Broomsticks" takes place two years later.
I love Paul's little comments and his funnily calm demeanor. He is the littlest of the family, and is a bit confused about what is actually going on. Carey takes care of him though, and has a motherly soul. But she is imaginative and prone to flights of fancy. She thinks in extremes, and the others have to hold her back sometimes. Charles has a more steady personality, and he is skeptical of magic in the beginning. Together these siblings make a great team as they navigate the difficulties of traveling on a magic bed.
Miss Price is a complex character with contradictions in her personality. She is very prim and proper, but she secretly longs for adventure. She is polite and precise with her words and actions, but she also has a wild heart that sparks from her eyes at times. The children know that she is someone to take seriously, as though she could be very dangerous if she chose. I adore Miss Price!
'Bedknob and Broomstick' is one of those books that differs completely from the film. And I love the film, so it was more of a disappointment to me than anything.
Three evacuees from London (Carey, Charles and Paul) are left with a strange and fusty old woman named Miss Price. Little do they know, she is learning to be an apprentice witch, and is quite nifty with certain spells. In the film she is portrayed as cooky and quirky by Angela Lansbury, but in the book she is almost at creepy level, and is definitely not as cuddly as the movie.
The 3 children spot Miss Price one evening, sailing over the rooftops on her broomstick, and then crashing in the garden and injuring herself, and when they tell her of this, she is terrified that she will be 'outed' as a witch. Because of this, she decides to gift them a travelling spell to buy their silence, one that can take them to any place they wish to go in the past or present. All they need to do is turn the knob on their bed and they will be transported.
Initially it's a fun idea, with the children appearing first at their mother's house in London on the street in bed, but when we get back into the 17th Century with a necromancer named Emelius Jones who is wanted to burn at the stake, the book seems to take a darker turn. In fact, I am genuinely surprised that children under ten wouldn't be scared of this. I didn't so much enjoy this, but thought it would be interesting to see the similarities between both book and film. I now wish I had just stayed with the film alone.
Three evacuees from London (Carey, Charles and Paul) are left with a strange and fusty old woman named Miss Price. Little do they know, she is learning to be an apprentice witch, and is quite nifty with certain spells. In the film she is portrayed as cooky and quirky by Angela Lansbury, but in the book she is almost at creepy level, and is definitely not as cuddly as the movie.
The 3 children spot Miss Price one evening, sailing over the rooftops on her broomstick, and then crashing in the garden and injuring herself, and when they tell her of this, she is terrified that she will be 'outed' as a witch. Because of this, she decides to gift them a travelling spell to buy their silence, one that can take them to any place they wish to go in the past or present. All they need to do is turn the knob on their bed and they will be transported.
Initially it's a fun idea, with the children appearing first at their mother's house in London on the street in bed, but when we get back into the 17th Century with a necromancer named Emelius Jones who is wanted to burn at the stake, the book seems to take a darker turn. In fact, I am genuinely surprised that children under ten wouldn't be scared of this. I didn't so much enjoy this, but thought it would be interesting to see the similarities between both book and film. I now wish I had just stayed with the film alone.
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A good read for anyone who wants to see the source material for the film, but ultimately I think the Disney version provides a more satisfying narrative.
Yes, it's a kids' book, yes I re-read it as a 45-year-old out of nostalgia after watching the movie on Disney+. No guilt, no shame! A bit of childhood magic, a bit of nostalgia, nothing but joy -- that is exactly what 2020 needs more of. What a delightful couple of hours.
Typical cutesy English siblings-go-on-adventures novel.
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Having loved the Disney film growing up I was pleasantly surprised to come across the original books! Since I've read 'The Borrowers' I felt I could expect a good story. Unfortunately it was a bit of a mixed bag.
The first book, 'The Magic Bed Knob; or, How to Become a Witch in Ten Easy Lessons' was a cute little story about Carey, Charles and Paul visiting their aunt in the country, and discovering a neighbor lady crashed in the garden. I liked how the origin of Miss Price's witch lessons was kept secret, and the sinister moments where Miss Price contemplated a nasty spell to keep the three children quiet about her secret.
There was only one excursion on the bed here, a planned outing to a distant South Seas island (not Nabumbu), supposedly uninhabited. I couldn't help laughing when Carey and Charles were captured by the 'cannibal' islanders and Carey sobbed "people should be careful what they write in encyclopedias!" The depictions of the islanders in text and image, the original illustrations were in my edition, are racist in the late imperialist kind of way, but it's a brief encounter.
The book ends with the children packed off back to London with the brass bed knob still in hand.
The second book, 'Bonfires and Broomsticks' had a little more action. Miss Price has mostly given up on magic already and only humors the children by giving them their one trip back in time in order to finish their pact involving the bed knob. Their trip back to the late 17th century led to them encountering the fraudulent necromancer Emilius Jones who they of course brought back with them to the present for an extended visit.
When they return Emilius to his time they discover they've left him in a bit of trouble and have to somehow save him from the witchhunters who would burn him at the stake. Insta-substitutiary locomotion might be involved.
All in all a decent little story, it was fun to spot the various details that Disney would incorporate into their film (Carey once remarks aloud why Miss Price wouldn't use magic for the National Defense, and is hushed.) The film is better though.
The first book, 'The Magic Bed Knob; or, How to Become a Witch in Ten Easy Lessons' was a cute little story about Carey, Charles and Paul visiting their aunt in the country, and discovering a neighbor lady crashed in the garden. I liked how the origin of Miss Price's witch lessons was kept secret, and the sinister moments where Miss Price contemplated a nasty spell to keep the three children quiet about her secret.
There was only one excursion on the bed here, a planned outing to a distant South Seas island (not Nabumbu), supposedly uninhabited. I couldn't help laughing when Carey and Charles were captured by the 'cannibal' islanders and Carey sobbed "people should be careful what they write in encyclopedias!" The depictions of the islanders in text and image, the original illustrations were in my edition, are racist in the late imperialist kind of way, but it's a brief encounter.
The book ends with the children packed off back to London with the brass bed knob still in hand.
The second book, 'Bonfires and Broomsticks' had a little more action. Miss Price has mostly given up on magic already and only humors the children by giving them their one trip back in time in order to finish their pact involving the bed knob. Their trip back to the late 17th century led to them encountering the fraudulent necromancer Emilius Jones who they of course brought back with them to the present for an extended visit.
When they return Emilius to his time they discover they've left him in a bit of trouble and have to somehow save him from the witchhunters who would burn him at the stake. Insta-substitutiary locomotion might be involved.
All in all a decent little story, it was fun to spot the various details that Disney would incorporate into their film (Carey once remarks aloud why Miss Price wouldn't use magic for the National Defense, and is hushed.) The film is better though.
A classic that can still be enjoyed today, Bedknob and Broomstick reminded me a lot of Chronicles of Narnia - although in a much smaller format. We've got the same idea of children from a big town finding themselves in the countryside and discovering hidden magic that seems distant and unreal once they are back in their everyday lives. It seems to have been a popular idea at some point, I suppose.
Although the language used in the book has aged somehow (the constant "Oh!" exclamations were quite amusing), the story itself survives the test of time. After all, what child doesn't dream of finding out a big magic secret and experience exciting adventures with its help.
The journey to the island was the most amusing part of the book for how badly it aged - the lands that remained undiscovered and full of mystery and terror for Ms Norton are all very studiously covered nowadays. The magic battle left me a little unconvinced, since our fair and new-to-magic Englishwoman has been facing off against a witch with what we can assume are years of experience, but I suppose it's par the course for the protagonist to win every battle.
Speaking of battles, the final one at the burning stake had me fooled, I've got to admit! It was very cleverly linked to something that was mentioned but so taken in I was with the tension of the scene and the emotions of the children that the trick didn't even occur to me.
Overall, I think it still remains a nice lecture to share with children, although they might question the ending a little. I know I was and all I thought about was modern plumbing.
Although the language used in the book has aged somehow (the constant "Oh!" exclamations were quite amusing), the story itself survives the test of time. After all, what child doesn't dream of finding out a big magic secret and experience exciting adventures with its help.
The journey to the island was the most amusing part of the book for how badly it aged - the lands that remained undiscovered and full of mystery and terror for Ms Norton are all very studiously covered nowadays. The magic battle left me a little unconvinced, since our fair and new-to-magic Englishwoman has been facing off against a witch with what we can assume are years of experience, but I suppose it's par the course for the protagonist to win every battle.
Speaking of battles, the final one at the burning stake had me fooled, I've got to admit! It was very cleverly linked to something that was mentioned but so taken in I was with the tension of the scene and the emotions of the children that the trick didn't even occur to me.
Overall, I think it still remains a nice lecture to share with children, although they might question the ending a little. I know I was and all I thought about was modern plumbing.