Bed-Knob and Broomstick

By Mary Norton and Erik Blegvad

The Magic Bed-Knob and Bonfires and Broomsticks in one volume. These are the exploits of the three Wilson children; Miss Price, the apprentice witch; and the flying bed. A tale of a witch-in-training and trouble of the most unforgettable kind.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Sep 1, 2000
• ISBN: 9780547630502

Mary Norton

Mary Norton (1903-1992) lived in England, where she was an actress, playwright, and award-winning author of the classic Borrowers novels.

Reviews for Bed-Knob and Broomstick

[paroof · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

One of my all-time favorite books as a child. Actually I loved anything Mary Norton wrote.

[ghost_boy-691444 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The second part of this book was better than the the first half in my opinion. I mean I liked the book overall, but the first half was boring at times and more introducing the Miss Price and the three main kids. The second part you actually started having an adventure.

I should also note that yes the movie with the same title is based on both the books. The move is a little different though with the plot. In some ways I kind of like the movie better.

This was written before the Borrowers too, probably her more famous book series. I liked those books better too. Like I said the first part to me seemed a little choppy, but the second half is better.

[piemouth · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I don't remember reading this when I was young, which is surprising because I loved the Borrower books. Never saw the movie either, which is probably fine. It's my favorite kind of fantasy book, magic happening to ordinary people, especially if it's in England and written in a droll, charming way. There's a trip to a South Seas island that turns out to have cannibals, which will make this problematic for some people.

[figgles_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Two books in one, these are Mary Norton (of Borrower fame)'s childrens fantasy adventures. In the first book, "The magic bedknob" three youngsters, staying in the country (like the Pevensies), discover, not a magic wardrobe, but that their unassuming spinster neighbour is studying to be a witch. To keep them quiet she enchants a bedknob from the yougest boy's bed, which enables the bed to take them anywhere. As with "Five children and it", the requests never quite turn out as planned. The second adventure reads a little uncomfortably for modern sensibilities. In the second book, "Bonfires and broomsticks" the children return to the village several years later and pesuade the reluctant witch to allow them another adventure, this time time travelling, with a most unlikely love story. Reminded me a little also of Mary Stewart's "The little broomstick". Enjoyable and simply, but well, written. Not to be confused with the Disney version which it inspired.

[quica-4 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Such a sweet, lovely and magical story. A true comfort read.

[rosa.mill · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

So Bed Knobs and Broomsticks has always been a favorite movie of mine and somehow I never realized it was based on a book until Sunday when I was looking for a book for a patron and it was there. I grabbed it off the shelf and just finished it today. One of the best reading skills I ever trained into myself was to take movies and books and treat them separately and I am glad I did b/c the plot is very different here. However all of my favorite characters were here and I really enjoyed the different road the story took. The children were much nicer and their adventures were very different. I loved that Miss Price wanted to be a WICKED witch and failed so miserably. I thought the cannibals and the children's adventure in London very funny and I was glad she met Mr. Jones. I do wish he had stayed in the present particularly after his nasty adventures almost being burned at the stake but I enjoyed the rest so much I can forgive it.

[lizzybeans11 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

As a big fan of the movie I thought I should eventually read the book as well. As others have noted the two are quite different from each other. I think both have their own good qualities. The two stories that make up this one volume introduce the reader more to the children than Miss Price. The stories are a bit darker than the film but more realistic in regard to the consequences of magic meddling and time-travel. I think any fan of the film would still apprecite this book.

[asbiskey · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I was at the book fair and saw this next to one of the Borrowers books, also by Mary Norton. I enjoy the Borrowers series and have seen the movie of this, so I bought it. I was less impressed with this than the Borrowers books, and it is only related to the movie in the generalities of the story. There are children, a witch, and a travelling bed, but the actual advendtures are quited different. There are fewer adventures and they are darker. In my experience, most movies are not as good as the book they are based on, but this runs contrary to that rule. I would not recommend this simply because the movie is better and Mary Norton has many better works.

[humouress · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I picked this up because I had vague memories of seeing the film as a child (although from other comments, the film doesn't have much to do with the story - but I wouldn't remember). This is actually two books; the first is [The Magic Bedknob], and is the story of 3 children from 1950s London who go to the country to stay with an aunt for the summer. There they meet a neighbour who is learning how to be a witch, and she enchants a bedknob so that their bed can travel, and they have adventuresThe second is [Bonfires and Broomsticks], when the children feel like having more adventures with the bed. As you'd expect from a children's book written and set in post-war England, it's quite charming. I expected the children to have more adventures, but the ones that they do have are well told, with the occasional depth of detail I wouldn't expect from a children's book of that era (compared to, say, Enid Blyton).There were one or two characters and events that seemed significant, but nothing more was mentioned of them; maybe it's just me seeing connections everywhere, or maybe the author was planning a longer story, or more books in the series.

[john257hopper · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was rather disappointing as I loved the film as a child in the 1970s. The book, based on two novellas, bears only a slight resemblance to its much more famous cinematic counterpart. Much of the book is rather more mundane, though the final section is much more macabre and could not have been part of a Disney film.

[laf_78 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book is about three kids who have an awesome adventure on a flying bed. They had to leave their home in London because of World War II. In this town, they discover that one of the women is a witch in training. She gives them a magic bed that can fly so that they don't snitch that she is training to be a witch.There is also a movie about this book that is very similar. One difference is that in the book, they fly on the bed to an island that turns out to be populated by cannibals. They barely get away with the flesh on their bones. In the movie, they go to an island, but instead of there being cannibals, there are animals.I'd recommend this book to people who like witches, wizards, magic, and that sort of stuff. It wasn't my favorite book because it was sort of dry, not really juicy. It has excitement, but it didn't excite me too much. There wasn't enough action in it for me.

[meyben_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

With the powers they acquire from a spinster who is studing to be a witch, three children go on a number of exciting and gruesome trips.