The "Witches": Plays for Children (Paperback)

by David Wood (Adapter), Roald Dahl (Author), Felicity Dahl (Foreword) "I myself had two separate encounters with witches before I was eight years old..." (more)
Key Phrases: Dining Room, Bruno Jenkins, Delayed-Action Mouse-Maker (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
This Roald Dahl classic tells the scary, funny and imaginative tale of a seven-year-old boy who has a run-in with some real-life witches! "In fairy tales witches always wear silly black hats and black cloaks and they ride on broomsticks. But this is not a fairy tale. This is about REAL WITCHES. REAL WITCHES dress in ordinary clothes and look very much like ordinary women. They live in ordinary houses and they work in ordinary jobs. That is why they are so hard to catch." Witches, as our hero learns, hate children. With the help of a friend and his somewhat-magical grandmother, our hero tries to expose the witches before they dispose of him. Ages 7-12. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
"An orphan boy...discovers the true nature of witches and then has the misfortune to be transformed into a mouse by The Grand High Witch of All the World...A curious but honest tale which deals with matters of crucial importance to children: smallness, the existence of evil in the world, mourning, separation, death." --The New York Times Book Review
-- Review --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Puffin Books (March 25, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0141310847
• ISBN-13: 978-0141310848
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (263 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,648,960 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a Riot!, March 10, 2002

By	C. A. Matha (Erie, PA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Witches (Hardcover)

I purchased this book for the purpose of reading it allowed to my daughter who is 5. Boy did we BOTH enjoy it. I found myself laughing out loud to many parts in this book, what a fun sense of humor! It read very quickly. It is interesting he (the author) uses his heritage of Norwegian parents and living in Wales. The book takes place between Norway and England. Even though I am not completely for making witches the vile things as he presented, his sense of humor made it a very worth while read. We really really enjoyed this book and will be looking for his other works.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A 10-year-old from Canada says:, April 9, 2001

By	Katie T. (Hamilton, Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Witches (Paperback)

This is the third Roald Dahl book I have read. The first was called Matilda, and I think it is his most famous. I have also read George's Marvelous Medicine. The Witches is a funny book and has wonderful drawings.

The witches in this book wore wigs and pointed shoes to hide their bald heads and square feet with no toes! The witches in this book had eyes that changed colours, and were mean and mischivious. The witches in this book where cruel to children and turned them into mice. They live in a castle in Norway. The other characters in this story are a grandmother, her 7-year-old grandson, and the grandson's friend, Bruno. The witches were having a meeting in the hotel where the others where staying. The witches turned the children into mice, but in the end the children get even.

I really enjoyed this book. Roald Dahl is a wonderful children's writer. I would recommend all his books!

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Loads of Fun!, November 15, 2000

By	rzaster - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Witches (Paperback)

The Witches by Roald Dahl was a true treat for me. One day while bored I came across this book and voila, I read it. It has a truly funny story that any child or adult alike would love. The book is about "a boy,"(the boy is not named) and his grandmother who encounter The Witches. The boy accidentaly gets into a top secret meeting of the witches and learns their new plan. He must stop them immediatly. With the help from his grandmother and food loving bruno(who was turned into a mouse by the witches with the secret formula) fight all the witches and bring the highest witch down. They finally succeed and the witches get a taste of their own medicine. This book is a really funny book that all people will enjoy!