This is one of my favorite halloween books to read to my class. The children are captivated by the rhyming text as well as the illustrations. After the first reading, they chant together "the witch tapped her broomstick, and whoosh, they were gone!". They giggle as each additional friend hops on the broom, wondering just how many will fit on it. At the climax of the story, they meet a scary dragon (just the right spookiness for preschoolers) and all of the friends pitch in to help save their witch. And finally, just when you think all of the fun is over, the witch casts a spell to make a "truly magnificent ..."(you have to read it yourself to find out how it ends)