I had only vague but happy memories of reading this book as a little girl, remembering the slightly incompetent witch who rode a vacuum cleaner instead of a broom and her talking black cat who helped a little girl with her homework. Rereading this as an adult was a pleasure, though the story is certainly dated now. But the humor and delightfully sensible nonsense is still there. Most of all, I was thrilled to uncover the origin story of one of our family quirks: Whenever we pile in the car after a long day’s activities, we all say, “Home, James!” I had forgotten why, except that it was just one of those silly things that families do. And now I remember how it started: In this book, the flying vacuum cleaner is named James, and when the witch is done making mischief on Wednesdays, she mounts the vacuum and shouts, “Home, James!” ( )

Quick read, lots of fun! Really kept me turning pages. Lovely tiny sketches in the corners of the pages. ( )

00001844

This is a cute story with unexpected happenings. It is Ruth Chew's best, in my opinion. ( )

Oooh, I love this book. It is one of my favorites from childhood, and I was very happy to find an old "weekly reader's" copy for our kids' library. It's a silly story about a hapless witch who rides a vacuum cleaner with great, silly pictures to match.