Helpful Score: 4
This is a dark-edged children's tale about a group of witches who despise children who they believe smell like "dogs droppings". These witches don't hold back their hatred for these "small piles of filth" and at their annual meeting they devise a plan to rid the earth of these vomit inducing creatures by turning them into mice and exterminating them. What they haven't planned on is the ingenuity of one brave little boy who overhears their dastardly plans and does his best to thwart them.
This book is a lot of fun and though it portrays witches in a pretty bad light it's not all anti-woman and is all in good fun. Grandmamma is a fantastic character, described as a "tough old bird", she smokes cigars and I can't help but think it's her influence alone that has made the hero of this tale such a brave, clever little guy.
This book is a lot of fun and though it portrays witches in a pretty bad light it's not all anti-woman and is all in good fun. Grandmamma is a fantastic character, described as a "tough old bird", she smokes cigars and I can't help but think it's her influence alone that has made the hero of this tale such a brave, clever little guy.
Helpful Score: 3
Earlier this year I wen on a Roald Dahl kick, and re-read many in his collection. The witches was one of my favrorites, partially because it was longer so it could have more thorough characters and a longer plot line. It's a cute story, and one that I think children would like - what's more exciting than witches, and being turned into mice?
Helpful Score: 3
impressive piece of work, I will never grow old of it
Helpful Score: 2
i've loved the movie since it was released years ago, so i thought i'd read the book and see how they compare. what a great book! the movie did a good job of following the book -- i'd say the book is only marginally better, because there are more details than there are in the movie.
i'm so glad i finally got to read this... and it's on the banned books list, so it counted for my 10 banned books this year.
i'm so glad i finally got to read this... and it's on the banned books list, so it counted for my 10 banned books this year.
Helpful Score: 1
A funny disgusting story that children will LOVE
Helpful Score: 1
I reread it again last month, and it's as funny the 3rd time!
Helpful Score: 1
This is not a fairy tale.
This is about REAL witches.
Grandmamma loves to tell about witches. Real witches are the most dangerous of all living creatures on earth. There's nothing they hate so much as children, and they work all kinds of terrifying spells to get rid of them. Her grandson listens closely to Grandmamma's stories-but nothing can prepare him for the day he comes face to face with The Grand High Witch herself!
This is about REAL witches.
Grandmamma loves to tell about witches. Real witches are the most dangerous of all living creatures on earth. There's nothing they hate so much as children, and they work all kinds of terrifying spells to get rid of them. Her grandson listens closely to Grandmamma's stories-but nothing can prepare him for the day he comes face to face with The Grand High Witch herself!
Helpful Score: 1
a fabulous roald dahl masterpiece! clever, entertaining, potentially scary but delightful with roald dahl!
Roald Dahl has a way of keeping his reader hooked. Good plot, great characters, if you enjoyed the movie, you'll enjoy the book.
I loved this book! My kids love it now!
Dahl at his subversive best. Children fight witches, witches torment children, and one boy's bravery saves the day. I can't begin to guess how many times I've read this book since I was a child. It never gets old, and Dahl's cutting humor goes down to the bare bone and made me gasp and laugh. And I have to wonder if a kid's book where a grandma proudly smokes cigars would ever make it past the publisher today!
this is a great book for kids. he makes you almost beleive that there really are witches!!
It's a very quick and enjoyable read. If you like the book, you should rent the movie that was based on the book. Follows the book very well.
Roald Dahl cannot write a bad book. The Witches is no exception! I've loved all of his books, since I started with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. They're great!
Grandmamma loves to tell about witches. Real witches are the most dangerous of all living creatures on earth. There's nothing they hate so much as children, and they work all kinds of terrifying spells to get rid of them. Her grandson listens closely to Grandmamma's stories - but nothing can prepare him for the day he comes face to face with the Grand Hich Witch herself!
A fast-moving, well-paced adventure that children will love.
A fast-paced adventure that children will love!
A bit scary. Not my favorite of his books but worth reading.
very cute a little more detailed then the movie. nice read for a9 to 12 year old
Cute book. My daughter read it every night before bed. I also enjoyed it as well.
You can't go wrong with Roald Dahl! I adored this book as a child and just got it for my 7 year old who also devoured it! Kids save the day, bad grownups lose, a bit of magic, love!
This was a very good read aloud book. I'd never read it until my grandson was assigned this book for summer reading between 3rd and 4th grades. We both enjoyed it very much. The other reviews are "right on target". A very unusual book but very typical of this author who is full of surprises.
A good scholastic chapter book for pre to young teens.
I wondered how you would read this to children without giving them nightmares. Then I read the last chapter. I guess it is up to the parents to let the children know the boy and his grandmother did kill all the witches. I won't relate how, as that is a spoiler.
I would call this a charming, enlightening and inspiring modern fable, but, no, the author is adamant: this is NOT a fairy tale - it's about REAL witches. Thus, one could call it an expose on the diabolical, if you will, so perhaps it's something everyone should read, if ever they should find themselves in the company of said creatures.
Witches, it turns out, are everywhere: many of life's unfortunate circumstances can often be ascribed to their machinations, apparently. They have real jobs: like working as a cashier, or a secretary, or any number of mundane occupations, even those involving children - like one's very own schoolteacher! Witches are clever, and, as it turns out, hate children "with a red-hot sizzling hatred that is more sizzling and red hot than any hatred you could possibly imagine." And, the author reveals, the sole purpose of a witch is to rid the vicinity of any and all children... it's less clear whether the sorceresses of Dalh's imagination steal their essence to live forever, ala another popular account about witches in Salem. According to the author, witches trap children in paintings, turn them into hens, and, most effectively, just make them disappear!
In this account, a Boy, a Norwegian but English by birth, goes to live with his grandmother after his parents were killed in a tragic accident. He has had a lifelong love of her stories, especially the ones about witches, as it appears that she has had some run-ins with them in her earlier life, as well. In fact, his grandmama eventually reveals that she herself was a retired witch-hunter (after an encounter left her with a missing thumb!). She also knew of several children in her own youth who fell victim to witches. What follows is a somewhat dark and fanciful tale of the Boy and his grandmother, whose misadventures take a turn when they discover how to rid the world of witches once and for all!
I don't want to provide too many spoilers (and most people are familiar with the book or films anyway), but this delightful tale (expose?) is one of literary luminary Roald Dahl's most popular. Norwegian himself, one wonders if Roald himself (who was actually born in Wales) had any similar experiences with witches in his youth! First published in 1983, this popular children's novel has been adapted into not one but TWO motion pictures - the first one with Anjelica Huston as the grand high witch is a forever classic - and was also the subject of a 2008 opera by Marcus and Ole Paus. There are quite a few difference between the book and movie adaptations, however, primarily that in the first film the boy (who remains unnamed in the book) is turned back into a human by a "good witch," but remains a mouse for life in the book.
This is a wonderful book for children and adults alike; highly recommended, but perhaps not as a bedtime story!
Witches, it turns out, are everywhere: many of life's unfortunate circumstances can often be ascribed to their machinations, apparently. They have real jobs: like working as a cashier, or a secretary, or any number of mundane occupations, even those involving children - like one's very own schoolteacher! Witches are clever, and, as it turns out, hate children "with a red-hot sizzling hatred that is more sizzling and red hot than any hatred you could possibly imagine." And, the author reveals, the sole purpose of a witch is to rid the vicinity of any and all children... it's less clear whether the sorceresses of Dalh's imagination steal their essence to live forever, ala another popular account about witches in Salem. According to the author, witches trap children in paintings, turn them into hens, and, most effectively, just make them disappear!
In this account, a Boy, a Norwegian but English by birth, goes to live with his grandmother after his parents were killed in a tragic accident. He has had a lifelong love of her stories, especially the ones about witches, as it appears that she has had some run-ins with them in her earlier life, as well. In fact, his grandmama eventually reveals that she herself was a retired witch-hunter (after an encounter left her with a missing thumb!). She also knew of several children in her own youth who fell victim to witches. What follows is a somewhat dark and fanciful tale of the Boy and his grandmother, whose misadventures take a turn when they discover how to rid the world of witches once and for all!
I don't want to provide too many spoilers (and most people are familiar with the book or films anyway), but this delightful tale (expose?) is one of literary luminary Roald Dahl's most popular. Norwegian himself, one wonders if Roald himself (who was actually born in Wales) had any similar experiences with witches in his youth! First published in 1983, this popular children's novel has been adapted into not one but TWO motion pictures - the first one with Anjelica Huston as the grand high witch is a forever classic - and was also the subject of a 2008 opera by Marcus and Ole Paus. There are quite a few difference between the book and movie adaptations, however, primarily that in the first film the boy (who remains unnamed in the book) is turned back into a human by a "good witch," but remains a mouse for life in the book.
This is a wonderful book for children and adults alike; highly recommended, but perhaps not as a bedtime story!
Great book unless you are a Wiccan and don't mind being portrayed as stereotype. And of course put it into a children book for another generation to absorb. Oh what fun. Disney pulled "Song of the South" because of it cute portrayal of Black Americans but Witches..... oh well got to have someone to target.
It was a great, fun book! I read it as a child, and am now reading to my daughter!
What a delightful book! I've read other books by this author and found this one even better. Perhaps the best part was the pages written at the end where the progress of the book is detailed. I loved it! It's grand to view the changes and comments between the author and his editors.
The book itself is about witches which, according to Grandmamma, exist in every country. When her grandson's parents are killed in an accident she must move from Norway to England so he can continue his English education. It is there that the grandson has his encounter with witches. He and Grandmamma must work to save the children of England from distinction. This is their story and a grand one it is.
The book itself is about witches which, according to Grandmamma, exist in every country. When her grandson's parents are killed in an accident she must move from Norway to England so he can continue his English education. It is there that the grandson has his encounter with witches. He and Grandmamma must work to save the children of England from distinction. This is their story and a grand one it is.
