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The Witches
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The Witches (1983) (edit title/settings)

by Roald Dahl (Author), Quentin Blake (Illustrator) (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

Meet a hero, a wise old grandmother, and the most gruesome, grotesque gang of witches imaginable! And don't forget the mice! Roald Dahl is one of the most beloved storytellers of all time, and his books have been children's favorites for generations. The book, like many of Dahl's works, is... read more

Summary edit see section history

This book is about a little boy whose parents died in a car crash. He lives with his grandmother. His grandmother tells the boy about witches, and after learning about how they look like, he finally meets one. Well, not just one. Hundreds of them! They all have a plan to turn all children into... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

This book is about a little boy whose parents died in a car crash. He lives with his grandmother. His grandmother tells the boy about witches, and after learning about how they look like, he finally meets one. Well, not just one. Hundreds of them! They all have a plan to turn all children into rats, but at the end, they turn into rats themselves! Instead of the witches doing most of the potions, it is the non-witches that know about witches doing most of the potions.

The Witches By Roald Dahl Illustrations by Quentin Blake 2-4 Fantasy
A grand mother tells her grandson how to identify a witch. She tell him that they wear gloves, wigs and they have no toes.
Illustrations are simple, this is a chapter book, the mood is scary and exciting.
Uses for the book: Read aloud and to encourage reading

Characters edit see section history

  • The boy: Luke is the main character of the book. He is small and he has blonde hair. He wears glasses. He gets changed into a mouse by witches.
  • Grandmother: Luke's Grandma. She informs Luke about witches and tells him all these crazy stories of little children who experience witches. She is helpful and mostly kind.
  • Grand High Witch: The leader of all the witches. She is the strongest, scariest, ugliest one of them all. She is cruel and is in disguise. She hates children and planned to get rid of all of the kids in England.
  • Bruno Jenkins: A snotty over weight boy who Luke meets at the hotel. They both get turned into mice.
  • William: One of Luke's new mice friends in which Grandma gave Luke for his birthday. He is brothers to Mary.
  • Mary: Mary is Luke's other white mouse. She is also given to him on his birthday by Luke's Grandma. She is William's sister.
  • Solveig: A little girl who gets trapped inside a painting and proceeds to grow older.
  • Birgit: A young girl who gets turned into a chicken
  • Leif Erikson: A little boy who is turned into a porpoise.
  • Ragnhild: A little girl who gets stolen by a witch.
  • Boy's Mum: Lukes mom. She died in a fateful car accident.
Show all 11 characters
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Quotes edit see section history

  • “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.”
  • “She might even--and this will make you jump--she might even be your lovely schoolteacher who is reading these words to you at this very moment. Look carefully at that teacher. Perhaps she is smiling at the absurdity of such a suggestion. Don't let that put you off. It could be part of her cleverness.”

Setting & Locations edit see section history

  • Bournemouth, England: A town on the Southern Coast of England, where the boy and his grandmother holiday while she is recovering from pneumonia.
  • Norway: Location of the Grand High Witch's Headquarters.

Organizations edit see section history

First Sentence edit see section history

In fairy-tales, witches always wear silly black hats and black cloaks, and they ride on broomsticks.

Table of Contents edit see section history

A Note About Witches (Pg.7-12)
My Grandmother (Pg.12-24)
How to Recognise a Witch (Pg.24-34)
The Grand High Witch (Pg.34-47)
Summer Holidays (Pg.47-61)
The Meeting (Pg.61-65)
Frizzled Like a Fritter (Pg.65-77)
Formula 86 Delayed Action Mouse-Maker (Pg.77-88)
The Recipe (Pg.88-97)
Bruno Jenkins Disappears (Pg.97-106)
The Ancient Ones (Pg.106-112)
Metamorphosis (Pg.112-118)
Bruno (Pg.118-124)
Hello Grandmamma (Pg.124-137)
The Mouse-Burglar (Pg.137-147)
Mr and Mrs Jenkins Meet Bruno (Pg.147-154)
The Plan (Pg.154-158)
In the Kitchen (Pg.158-179)
Mr Jenkins and His Son (Pg.179-184)
The Triumph (Pg.184-191)
The Heart of a Mouse (Pg.191-198)
It's Off to Work We Go! (Pg.198-END)

Series & Lists edit see section history

This is book 169 of 200 in BBC 'Big Read' Top 200 Novels, 2003. (authoritative list)
This is book 47 of 216 in Whitcoulls Kids' Top 50 (2011). (authoritative list)
This is book 22 of 100 in ALA's Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books: 1990-1999. (authoritative list)
This book is in Most Surprising Banned Books. (community list)

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Roald Dahl (Author) - Wrote the story.
  2. Quentin Blake (Illustrator) - Drew the pictures.

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Jonathon Cape
Country: Great Britain
Publication Date: 1983
ISBN: 9780141322643
Page Count: 208

Awards edit see section history

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Reading Level: Ages 9-12

If you want your child to read a challenging but fun book to read, you should have your child read this book.

Movie Connections edit see section history

More Books Like This edit see section history

   
  • Matilda
  • The BFG
  • The Twits

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