The Witches

Title: The Witches

Author: Roald Dahl

Sci-Fi/Fantasy #2

"It doesn't matter who you are or what you look like, so long as somebody loves you." – Roald Dahl

The Witches is not my favorite Roald Dahl book. However, it is still worth reading. The story is about a young boy who experiences real witches. As Dahl describes, real witches do not wear black hats and ride broomsticks – they have ordinary lives and look like everyday people, making them extremely hard to find and catch. The only thing is, real witches hate children, and I mean hate them! Come to find out, even though the witches appear to look normal, they are truly bald and wear wigs, must wear gloves to hide their ugly fingers, and have eyes that can change colors. The main character gets turned into a mouse though his grandma still loves him despite what he looks like. To be entirely honest, this may have scared me a bit as a child.

Still, I think this book would be useful in the classroom. Some children were certainly enjoy it very much. Therefore, I would recommend that teachers in 4^th-6^th grade keep a copy in their classroom library. In the end, I believe the story teaches children to be loving and accepting of everyone. This is exemplified when the grandmother loves the boy even though he is now a mouse. The book is also good simply because of the fantasy world Dahl is able to create. Yet again, I felt completely transported and disconnected from reality. His books are truly engrossing and very, very good. After re-reading some of these childhood classics, Dahl is quickly moving up the list of my favorite authors of all time.