The Witches (Puffin Novels)

Rating:
Summary: Great for everyone who likes fantasy.
Review: I just read this book for my 5th grade class and I really enjoyed it. It is a very interesting and well written book that made me want to keep reading and not put the book down. The story centers around a young boy who's grandmother cares for him after he lost his own parents in a tragic accident. After the grandmother got sick they went to England and stayed in a hotel. While at the hotel the boy went into the ballroom to train his mice and some ladies came in. Luckily he was hidden behind some curtains and he overheard them talking about a new ingredient they made that was designed to kill every child in England. Even though he is eventually changed into a mouse, he somehow manages to outwit the witches (but you'll have to read the book to find out how)! I really recommend this book by Raold Dahl!

Rating:
Summary: My Review
Review: I read the book called "The Witches" by Roald Dahl. I'd say that this is one of the best books that I have ever read and that other people should share the experience I had too. I gave this book the full five star rating because it was hard for me to put it down. This is a somewhat rare thing for me due to the fact that I can't ever find a book that I qualify as a book worth reading. The book had a good plot - it kept you interested from the first page to the last. It was written so well that in the back of your mind you knew that this story could be true. This book starts out with a little boy living with his grandmother in Norway because his parents had recently died in a car crash. The grandmother starts telling the boy about witches to make him feel better and he is so intrigued that he won't let his grandmother stop talking. She starts telling him about what you can look for to see if some one is a witch. The grandmother tells him that there is a secret witch organization, run by the Grand High Witch. And witches have only one thing in mind, to get rid of all the kids in the world! One day the boy and his grandmother decide to go on a vacation to a wonderful hotel on the beach in England. While they are there the boy discovers that Witches are having a secret meeting there led by the Grand High Witch herself. He ends up inside the room along with all the witches in the meeting and he overhears a terrible plot to rid all of England from kids. The boy can't let this happen, but then he gets caught. To bad that this is all I'll say, but I guess you'll just have to read the book now, won't you.

Rating:
Summary: One you shouldn't miss
Review: I read this years ago, but I find it far more superior to Harry Potter and the like. This book by the author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is an amusing parody of witches and the myth. Imagine witches who hate children so much they will stop at nothing to destroy them. Perhaps a little dark for younger readers, this was fun. The witches cleverly disguise themselves as nice ladies and try and lure their victims with candy and the like. The only way to tell them apart is through their bald heads covered by wigs that leave nasty, itchy rashes. They have no toes and stuff their square shaped feet into pointy shoes and their teeth! Luckily a grandmother and her grandson are not content to stay at home and watch as the witches attempt to poison the world's child population. Mayhem and danger lurk around every corner in this entertaining romp and I think it a must for every child's library.

Rating:
Summary: Quarter 3 book project
Review: The Witches
By:Roald Dahl,
Reviewed by:K.L
period 3

This book is about witches terrorizing children. When the main character's parents died, in a car accident, he had to live with his grandma in Norway. The book doesn't tell you the main character's name, because he's telling the story. When he was living with his grandma, his grandma told him scary stories about witches. The boy never believed it at first, until he saw it himself. Later on the boy finds out where the all the witches met. And he over hears what their secret plan, about how they were going to get rid of annoying children. The boy sucessfully ruined their plans, but because of that he was turned into a mouse.
I liked the book because, it was an adventurous and exciting tale. I'm a fan of scary stories, so the tales about witches interested me. I liked the author's creative imagination. He made up how witches looked like, and how to avoid them."A witch has a bald head, not even a single strand of hair can grow on it." "If you pay attention to the hands you can see that they always wear gloves."
I don't like the book because it had a poorly drawn illustration. It looks like a child drew it. Another reason was because the story wasn't very interesting until the climax. Not even the rising action appealed to me.
My favorite part was when the main character was trying to prevent the witches' plans from suceeding. There was so much action and tension, i couldn't stop reading...

Rating:
Summary: Satisfying and invigorating
Review: The Witches
This book is great, it brings out the excitement and urge to read. This book is a book that makes children wonder what's next. The characters are gruesome and horrifying. The WITCHES starts with a boy and grandmother that live in england... The Boy is very young and curious and is about nine years old. His grandmother is eighty-nine who smokes a lot and she is still very healthy. One evening the grandmother had planed a wonderful trip to Norway with her grandson. Suddenly the woman got sick from her tobacco in her cigars. The doctor came to nourished her and to give her some time to recuperate. Once she had been cured she hollered down to her grandson. The sound of his trampling feet went as fast as they have ever gone. The grandson pounced into his elders arms and and hugged her tightly in his arms. He asked if they where still going on vacation. The doctor sighed and said with his head tucked into his shirt and said.
"Im afraid to say that you can't go far with your conditions, and that you can go to the hotel on the beach." After the boy received a great gift of a pair of mice (A great gift from the doctor of forgivness).They got there parcels gathered them and they left at once. When they reached there destination they unpacked and went there own way, the grandmother staying in the room knitting, and the grandson going to train his mice. Then something terrible happened, the strictly privet party or that's what they seem to call it, discovers him. which the rest is for you to find out.This book is great, the characters come alive which makes you want to read more.

Rating:
Summary: Another Wonderful Book by Roald Dahl!
Review: They are completely bald and always wear wigs, constantly sneaking hands underneath to scratch their itchy scalps. They don't have any toes and have really broad feet, but they force their feet into narrow, fashionable shoes to blend in. They have really long, curved fingernails that they usually hide by wearing gloves. They are the witches. And the meanest, nastiest witches live in England, where a boy has just gone to live with his grandmother after his parent's tragic death.

His grandmother always warned the boy about suspecting nice women who offer him candy - check for gloves, wigs and pinched feet. He is able to avoid the witches until his grandmother becomes ill and they go to a seaside resort where the English witches are having a convention just like normal people in the hotel. Stunned, the boy overhears the grand witch's plot to eliminate all of the children in England by feeding them candy that will turn them into mice! When he is discovered, the boy knows that the witches are going to kill him, but they test the potion on him instead. Now in mouse form, the boy and his grandmother must use all of their wits and cleverness to defeat the witches' evil scheme!

The Witches is a highly entertaining book by the always inventive Roald Dahl. You would think that a book about witches would be scary, but Roald Dahl has just the right combination of humor and lightheartedness to balance out the scariness. I loved this book when I was growing up and have enjoyed sharing it with my younger siblings and nephews. It is true that it has a couple of slow parts as the author takes the time to set up the story, but the storyline is just so imaginative that you get caught up in the story and don't really notice until you have read it a couple of times. With all of the many details, Roald Dahl can easily convince you that witches are real and that there really are women out there like that! Humor aside, it does show that you should never take candy from strangers - no matter what they look like! Although this book is great for reading alone, it is best when real aloud and shared with children, who always know the right parts to gasp at!