The Witches by Roald Dahl
Reviewed by JenniferRatings
Content Ratings based on a 0-5 scale where
0 = no objectionable content and
5 = an excessive or disturbing level of content
LANGUAGE
VIOLENCE
SEXUAL CONTENT
ADULT THEMES
Ratings Explanation
Violence: A witch sends sparks out of her eyes into another witch. The second witch goes up in a puff of smoke and the smell of burning meat.
Adult Themes: The narrator’s parents are killed in a car accident and he goes to live with his grandmother. The witches hate children and want to kill them all. They devise a plan to rid England of children altogether. Two boys are turned into mice.
Synopsis
Witches are everywhere, but it’s very hard to tell a witch from just an everyday nice lady. There are signs, if you know what to look for, but you better pay close attention because witches are out to get children, and I mean ALL children.
One little boy and his cigar-smoking grandmother become personally involved with a nasty brood of witches when he is unfortunately turned into a mouse by The Grand High Witch of all the world. His smallness becomes an asset, however, as he and his grandmother plot to beat the witches at their own game and then to rid the world of all witches, “the most dangerous of all living creatures on earth.”
I read The Witches out loud to my 10 and 5-year olds and they ate it up! I was a little worried that witches wanting to kill children would be upsetting for the 5-year-old, but Dahl’s writing somehow lessens the ugliness of such a plan and made it fun! How is that possible? I’m not sure, but he managed it quite well.
The grandmother is a gem of a character and the second to last chapter entitled “The Heart of a Mouse” is possibly the most tender chapter ever written. In it, the grandmother helps her little mouse adjust to his new life and they discuss how long each of them will likely live. So sweet.
The Witches is on the front cover of the Scholastic Arrow book order this month for $1 – what a deal for a bewitching Halloween read! Recommended for readers grades 4 and up and younger for a read-aloud.