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THE WITCHES
by Roald Dahl illustrated by Quentin Blake ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 1983
By a talky, roundabout route, Dahl slyly (if deterringly) takes the narrator—ostensibly himself at seven—into the delicious, ambiguous situation of being a mouse-boy. . . who turns the tables on his tormentors. We first hear about witches: they spend their time plotting to get rid of children, "they all look like nice ladies," they are difficult but not impossible to spot. Then, we hear about Dahl's cigar-smoking Norwegian grandmother, who told him about witches and how to spot them: they all wear wigs to cover their bald heads, for one thing, and have itchy scalps. So, when Dahl and his grandmother are at a Bournemouth hotel, and the lady-delegates to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children conference start scratching away (p. 57), Dahl is wary. Then the pretty head lady takes off her mask: the Grand High Witch incarnate! To demonstrate her Formula 86 Delayed Action Mouse-Maker, she's already fed some to greedy, obnoxious little Bruno Jenkins—who turns into a mouse on schedule. Will Dahl be detected, hiding behind a screen? He hasn't washed in days, but some of that tell-tale child-scent, anathema to witches, escapes. Forcefed the potion, he joins Bruno scampering about the floor—but they still have their own voices, and his wonderful witchophile grandmother will know what to do. Actually, Dahl's wits have if anything sharpened. With his grandmother as a confederate, he steals a bottle of the potion; pours it into the witch-delegates' soup tureen; and has the exquisite pleasure of seeing them turned into mice, to be wiped out on the spot. (Bruno meanwhile is contentedly munching away—to the horror of his mouse-hating parents.) When last seen, DaM and his grandmother are quietly resettled in Norway—where he wonders if she'll live out Ms short mouse-life span, and she's plotting to get rid of the world's remaining witches. A (quicker-acting) sequel is to be eagerly expected.
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1983
ISBN: 0374384576
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Oct. 16, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1983
CHILDREN'S SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY
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More by Alice Harman
BOOK REVIEW
by Alice Harman ; illustrated by Quentin Blake
developed by Roald Dahl ; illustrated by Quentin Blake
THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL
From the school for good and evil series , vol. 1.
by Soman Chainani ; illustrated by Iacopo Bruno ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 14, 2013
Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic.
Chainani works an elaborate sea change akin to Gregory Maguire’s Wicked (1995), though he leaves the waters muddied.
Every four years, two children, one regarded as particularly nice and the other particularly nasty, are snatched from the village of Gavaldon by the shadowy School Master to attend the divided titular school. Those who survive to graduate become major or minor characters in fairy tales. When it happens to sweet, Disney princess–like Sophie and her friend Agatha, plain of features, sour of disposition and low of self-esteem, they are both horrified to discover that they’ve been dropped not where they expect but at Evil and at Good respectively. Gradually—too gradually, as the author strings out hundreds of pages of Hogwarts-style pranks, classroom mishaps and competitions both academic and romantic—it becomes clear that the placement wasn’t a mistake at all. Growing into their true natures amid revelations and marked physical changes, the two spark escalating rivalry between the wings of the school. This leads up to a vicious climactic fight that sees Good and Evil repeatedly switching sides. At this point, readers are likely to feel suddenly left behind, as, thanks to summary deus ex machina resolutions, everything turns out swell(ish).
Pub Date: May 14, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-210489-2
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2013
CHILDREN'S SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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by Soman Chainani ; illustrated by Iacopo Bruno
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by Soman Chainani ; illustrated by RaidesArt
by Soman Chainani ; illustrated by Julia Iredale
More About This Book
BOOK TO SCREEN
by Katherine Applegate ; illustrated by Charles Santoso ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 7, 2021
The young folk and (of course) the animals are engagingly wrought in this tale with a strong ecological message.
An orphan loner’s small town faces a hard future after it unwittingly disrupts a natural cycle.
Willodeen is lucky that elderly retired thespians Mae and Birdie took her in after the wildfire that killed her parents and brother, not only because they’re a loving couple, but because they let her roam the woods in search of increasingly rare screechers—creatures so vile-tempered and stinky that the village elders of Perchance have put a bounty on them. The elders have other worries, though: The migratory hummingbears that have long nested in the area, drawing tourists to the lucrative annual Autumn Faire, have likewise nearly vanished. Could there be a connection? If there is, Willodeen is just the person to find it—but who would believe her? Applegate’s characters speak in pronouncements about life and nature that sometimes seem to address readers more than other characters, but the winsome illustrations lighten the thematic load. Screechers appear much like comically fierce warthogs and hummingbears, as small teddies with wings. Applegate traces a burgeoning friendship between her traumatized protagonist and Connor, a young artist who turns found materials into small animals so realistic that one actually comes to life. In the end, the townsfolk do listen and pitch in to make amends. Red-haired, gray-eyed Willodeen is cued as White; Connor has brown skin, and other human characters read as White by default.
Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-14740-0
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: July 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
CHILDREN'S SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S ANIMALS
More by Katherine Applegate
by Katherine Applegate ; illustrated by Patricia Castelao
by Katherine Applegate & Gennifer Choldenko ; illustrated by Wallace West
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Grandmamma smokes cigars. Parents need to know that Roald Dahl's 1983 book The Witches is a highly entertaining fantasy novel with scary and suspenseful scenes. A young orphaned boy goes to live with his grandmother in Norway, and she tells her grandson true (in the world of the book) facts about witches. Dahl's superior inventiveness….
THE GRAPHIC NOVEL. A helter-skelter take on Dahl's gleefully gross rodentine ruckus. Even being transformed into a mouse doesn't keep an 8-year-old orphan boy from turning the tables on a convention of child-hating witches in this graphic makeover of the classic novel from 1983. Generous use of wordless panels and close-up, exaggerated ...
There are slight gaps in the storytelling and the pacing is occasionally uneven, but Lina is full of spunk and promotes self-acceptance. A jam-packed opener sure to satisfy lovers of the princess genre. (Fantasy. 5-8) Share your opinion of this book. By a talky, roundabout route, Dahl slyly (if deterringly) takes the narrator—ostensibly ...
The Witches, Roald Dahl The Witches is a children's fantasy novel by the British writer Roald Dahl. It was originally published in 1983. The story is set partly in Norway and partly in the United Kingdom, and features the experiences of a young British boy and his Norwegian grandmother in a world where child-hating societies of witches secretly exist in every country.
Book Review: The Witches by Roald Dahl. - January 15, 2020. Not too long ago, I was reminded of the movie The Witches that came out in 1990. The first time I watched the movie was when I rented it from a video store in middle school for a slumber party. I remember being completely freaked out by the movie, so much so that I made my dad watch it ...
The Witches is a 1983 children's novel by British author Roald Dahl.A dark fantasy horror, the story is set partly in Norway and partly in England, and features the experiences of a young English boy and his Norwegian grandmother in a world where child-hating societies of witches secretly exist in every country. The witches are ruled by the vicious and powerful Grand High Witch, who arrives in ...
This fantasy book by Roald Dahl is published by Puffin Books, a division of Penguin Books. It has also been published by many other publishers. The Witches is written for kids ages 7 and up. The age range reflects readability and not necessarily content appropriateness.
The Witches by Roald Dahl: Book Review September 23, 2014 No Comments. I have an affiliate relationship with Bookshop.org and Malaprop's Bookstore in beautiful Asheville, NC. I will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you if you purchase merchandise through links on my site.
ISBN-13: 9781984837165. ISBN-10: 1984837168. Published on 9/3/2019. Binding: Hardcover. Number of pages: 224. Show More. The Witches has 153 reviews and 127 ratings. Reviewer rosemary_books wrote: "I love Roald Dahl, and The Witches is no exception! It's a great book full of suspense, jokes, and an intriguing story!"
These witches have been walking among the earth for centuries and centuries, always on the lookout to quench their sinister thirsts of killing children. The despise each and every child and their sole reason for existence is to make sure each and every one of them perish in a terrifying and senseless manner. The narrator and his grandmamma live ...
The Witches is a middle grade humorous and horror book written by Roald Dahl and illustrated by Quentin Blake. It was published in 1983 and is a really short read of around 200 pages. Book Blurb (acc. to Goodreads) This is not a fairy-tale. This is about real witches. Real witches don't ride around on broomsticks.
Review: The Witches. No Halloween book line-up could be complete without the master of strange, Roald Dahl. He may be overtly known for his nonsense stories, but Dahl was also a writer of eerie renown and The Witches is one of his best. The thing about Roald Dahl is that he not only writes amazing stories, he writes well.
The Witches Summary. The unnamed protagonist, known only as the boy, moves in with his grandmother after he is left an orphan. The boy and his grandmother are great friends. She tells him many stories about witches, specifically how to recognize them so he will be safe from them. Aside from a few distinguishing physical characteristics (they ...
A witty and funny book of Roald Dahl, this book is recommended to all children and any Roald Dahl supporter. I liked the grandmother and her grandson the best, and the witches the worst, particularly the Grand High Witch. 05 Aug 2024. A little boy lived in a little house in Europe he had only three relatives his father his mother and his ...
The Witches. (35 reviews) Author: Roald Dahl Illustrator: Quentin Blake. Publisher: Puffin. Real witches disguise themselves as lovely ladies, when secretly they want to squish and squelch all the wretched children they despise. The Grand High Witch of All the World is the worst of them all - and now she has gathered together all the witches of ...
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for The Witches at Amazon.com. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. ... I am 8 years old and have read 2 Roald Dahl books. Both were good but by far the best was The Witches. ... I especially loved Roald Dahl's funny and fun elements in the story! I think this book would be ...
From the World's No. 1 Storyteller, The Witches is a children's classic that has captured young reader's imaginations for generations. This edition has a special glow-in-the-dark cover. 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 ...
The Witches, a novel written by Roald Dahl and published in 1983, is partly based on Dahl's childhood. In Norway, where he spent his summers with his family, Dahl heard bedtime stories of witches ...
If Dahl were alive today, he might be particularly bothered by the fact that the 1990 adaptation of his 1983 novel, The Witches, has had the same (or, more probably, slightly more) cultural staying power than the novel it loosely adapts.Indeed, Dahl is on record as having called the adaptation "utterly appalling," yet for a disturbing interpretation to his work, the film remains a cultural ...
The Witches Parent Review written by the Hobbit on 10/23/2020 This post contains affiliate links, you can find out more on our policies page or in the disclaimer at the bottom of the blog. Know Before You Watch. Movie: The Witches (Based on the 1983 Roald Dahl Book) Rating: PG Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Light Horror Age suggested: 10 and up
The Witches is a great new reimagined story based on Roald Dahl's classic 1983 children's book. The film has just the right amount of campy and creepy. Rated: 9/10 • Jan 16, 2023. a wickedly ...
Roald Dahl knew how to capture the imaginations of children, and he always respected them as readers. His books often take extreme plot twists, conveying how dramatic ordinary events can appear to a kid, and how capricious, mysterious, and unfair adults can seem. In painting with broad strokes, Dahl makes life feel true to kids, who […]
This is a fully resourced primary scheme for guided reading or a book study of 'The Witches' by Roald Dahl. The focus is on reading and analysing this well-loved book, including developing key comprehension skills through shared and independent activities. ... To ensure quality for our reviews, only customers who have purchased this ...
— The New York Times Book Review. Read more Report an issue with this product or seller. Previous slide of product details ... Puffin Books by Roald Dahl. The BFG. Boy: Tales of Childhood. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ... The Witches, and The BFG. He died in November 1990. See more on the author's page. Quentin Blake. Brief content ...
This is a set of comprehension worksheets for use during guided reading or a book study of 'The Witches' by Roald Dahl. The focus is on developing key comprehension skills after shared reading and analysis of this well-loved book. ... To ensure quality for our reviews, only customers who have purchased this resource can review it. Report ...
Book: The Witches . Author: Roald Dahl . Illustrated by Quentin Blake. Type: Paperback. Ages: 8-11 years (Note from Asha: This is being posted by me on behalf of my childoo Aarini, aka #the11yearold) A tween book with both funny and scary in the right proportion! The Witches' motto: "One child a week is fifty two a year.
Dahl's many children's books - among them, James and the Giant Peach, The Witches, Matilda, The BFG, and Fantastic Mr. Fox - championed kindness and decency but were, like the Mary Poppins ...
The son of Norwegian parents, Roald Dahl was born in Wales in 1916 and educated at Repton. He was a fighter pilot for the RAF during World War Two, and it was while writing about his experiences during this time that he started his career as an author. His fabulously popular children's books are read by children all over the world.
These are the greatest children's authors of all time - and Roald Dahl definitely isn't one of them Sam Leith 17 Aug 2024, 10:45am Mark Haddon's dark new stories will make you feel grimly ...
August 17, 2024 at 6:00am BST. Audiences are invited to a world of 'pure imagination' as the stage production of the musical based on Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory comes to ...