Zip! Zoom! On a Broom

In a dark-humored counting book from the team behind Pablo in the Snow, 10 witches share a wild broom ride through the night. Sloat introduces the witches while counting up to 10 (“Seven chant. Eight incant./ Nine wicked witches rave and rant”), but after their midflight fight causes their shared broomstick to plunge, they drop off one by one: “Six plummet down, still holding on./ One gets zapped by lightning—gone!” (While Sloat’s humor tilts toward the edgy, the final spread reveals that all 10 witches survive the ordeal.) Working in ink and watercolor, Bonnet’s illustrations have a chaotic, wobbly quality that suits this story of a late-night haunting gone wrong. Readers will want to pore over the details of her eerie, monster-filled nocturnal scenes—and probably enjoy a bit of schadenfreude as each witch makes her dramatic exit. Ages 4–8. (July)