Customer Reviews

The Witches

5 star:		(53)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I am currently reading this book to my children at bedtime, and it must be the most gripping book they have had so far! Unusually for them, they sit silently, listening and hanging on every word. I read just a few chapters a night and every night so far they have cried, "NOOOO! Not yet!! one more chapter...PLEASE just ONE more chapter!!".

The style in which the book is written is the key to it's success I believe. The book has been written as though it is a true story.

We have previously finished reading James & the giant peach, and although they enjoyed it, The Witches is most definitely more popular.

A truly great read. Well done Mr Dahl!

This is enchanting book, which I read to my 8 year old son at bedtime. A truly gripping story that holds no punches when appealing to a childs intrigue for ghoulish scariness. He couldn't even wait for the next installment and secreted the book into his school bag as a replacement for his class reading book the next day!

Plot: To witches children smell like dogs droppings and you never know where one is. On the outside (with a disguise on), a witch can look like any ordinary women. Without the gloves to cover their cat like claws; they wear wigs because they are actually bald; witches are very difficult to tell apart from humans, or are they?

Fact: The boy (who is unnamed) in the story's grandmother is Norwegian and is really based on Roald Dahl's mother who inspired him a lot!

Rating and recommendation: I would rate this brilliant book 7/ 10; I think would recommend this perfect paperback to all Roald Dahl fans, especially 7 - 12 year
olds

Are you at home right now? I hope so. Oh, you're not. You're in one of those internet cafes. Oh dear. Then - and I don't want to scare you - you're not safe. Not at all safe. Put down that sticky slab of chocolate cake and sneak a look at the person sitting beside you. Is it a lady? Oh it is.

Is she a witch?

Well you wouldnt know would you. I didn't before I read this book. And you MUST read this book: not just so that you're able to tell the difference between a witch and a regular kind old lady but because this is deliciously good fiction.

The Witches is a classic Dahl recipe in every sense: a simple and plausible premise, mixed with oodles of imagination, some super-scary baddies, a sprinkling of poignancy and morality, and a big dollop of dark-edged humor. This is Roald Dahl writing at his very best, at his haughtiest and naughtiest; and the effect is spellbinding.

This book is about a boy and his grandma. Unfortunately his parents died
so he went to live with his Nan in England. In the 6 weeks holiday he was going to Norway but his Nan had pneumonia so he could not. He went to Bournemouth instead. In the hotel there were roughly 99 witches (including the grand high witch). He went to train his mice and he got caught in the room with them .....
I like the book because the characters were amazing.
It was just the words I wanted to read, I could not wait to read on to the other chapters. It is my all time favourite book.
I would give this novel a rating of a wicked 5.
Faran Cox Herbert Thompson Primary School

I love the book `The Witches' because the witch characters are really well described. They do not clean their toe nails. They wear long black hats. I like the boy because he his brave. It was funny because the witch was saying a funky saying.
Soraya Chamani and Jessica Kingsley Herbert Thompson Primary School

"A scalp scratching, nail biting, mind boggling book!"

Outstanding! I guarantee this jaw dropping book will make you fall off your chair with laughter! If you like humour, adventure and action, you should definitely read this book. I love the excitement in the atmosphere and I'm sure you'll love it too. With fantastic illustrations, take it from me, this is a truly brilliant book!

It starts with an eight year old boy and ends with a smaller and more hairy creature. This boy has encountered unusual human-like creatures far from our imaginations... Witches - with their peculiar features. You do not want to come into contact with one; or you're in for a frightfully bumpy ride.

Will the boy survive the encounter..?

Roald Dahl is one of the best-selling authors in the world. He is very successful and has an indescribable imagination! His story "The Witches" is not only a book but has been adapted into a stage play and a two-part radio dramatisation for the BBC.

I recommend this book to everyone!
WARNING>>>
Book may involve a highly dangerous potion - `Formula 86 Delayed-Action Mouse Maker' used by the Grand High Witch herself!
By Jessica

I recently re-read this childhood classic and to my amazement, I think I love it even more! In my wee days it scared me. Dahl's delicious descriptions could make every child's hair stand on end, but now I can enjoy Dahl's brilliant abilities of observation and talent for description.

When I read the book I was so amazed I was about to faint.The book had such good ideas it was unbelieveable. Once I read the first few paragraphs I was glued to it and my mother told me to stop reading but I wouldn't let go it was it was so good.I would recomend other people to read the book to.

I am reading The Witches in school at the moment and I think it is brilliant! I am up to the bit where two little boys turn in to rats! The Witches have blue spit, no hair so they wear wigs and they always wear gloves because they have horrible cat like claws. I like it because The Witches are not like the witches in fairy tales so it is very different. I think this book is for people who are 7 or over because there are quite a lot tricky words in this book. If I was rating this book I would give it 5 out of 5 stars because it is such a fantastic book. The Witches is my favourite book I have read so far. I recommend you should buy this book because it is brilliant.
But be careful, there could be a witch right behind you!!

I found this the perfect bedtime read-aloud book for a seven year old boy. For me, it epitomises Roald Dahl's gift in blending the storytelling ingredients that most captivate children.

There are fingernail-chewing episodes of tension but, interspersed with comforting reassurance from a beloved grandmother, these never become too overwhelming. There are seriously scary villains, but they get their comeuppance in the end (and how!) Children are placed in horrible peril and have to cope with all sorts of major life events that you wouldn't wish on anyone, but they ultimately win through. The imagination and the wit and the genius of the writing just shine from the pages.

My son had no nightmares but was transfixed by the notion that "real witches" could be alive and well and holidaying near him. Beware, any ladies in square-toed shoes - if you pass him in the street you will receive a long, hard, stare...