Anna lived with her cats in a little rooftop house, high above her city. She liked it up there, far away from the dirty, crowded streets, where she was always tripping over trash or being pushed by other people. Then one day, out of the blue, a magic broom landed on her roof, and Anna discovered she could fly. The next day, with the help of her broom, Anna cleaned up her the city, much to the relief of all the citizens. But when Mean Marvin stole the broom, and Anna attempted to get it back, the magic visitor took off, leaving the city and all its people behind. Anna's consequent distress led all of her fellow citizens to get out all of their brooms, and to vow that they would never let their city get so dirty again...

Published in 1977, Anna's Magic Broom was author/illustrator Barbara Westman's second "story book," as the dust-jacket blurb describes it, following upon her 1976 A Beacon Hill Christmas. Prior to that, she had created two more informational picture-books, The Bean & The Scene: Drawings of Boston and Cambridge (1969) and The Beard and the Braid: Drawings of Cambridge (1970). I had never heard of Westman's work, before seeking this one out, and I only stumbled across it because of my periodic search for new witchy picture-books - a perennial pet project of mine. As it happens, Anna is never described as a witch, although her many cat companions, her witchy hat and striped stockings - all visual clues - and the fact that the magic broom seeks her out, all seem to hint that she might be. However that may be, I have kept this on my "witchy-witches" shelf, as it has enough witchy content to qualify, I think.

In terms of the story itself, it was engaging, if a bit trippy, in that distinctly 1970s way, with a surreal sequence of events that must simply be accepted in the course of the story. Despite the magical trappings, in the end this was a book about civic engagement, and the responsibilities of citizens, in keeping their city and the environment clean. The artwork was charming - again, in a distinctly 70s way - and there were plenty of little visual details and speech bubble asides to examine, in every scene. All in all, a fun little book, one I would recommend to those who enjoy vintage picture-books, as well as those seeking unusual, quirky tales of magic doings. ( )