The Witches - Hardcover

Dahl, Roald

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0374384592 ISBN 13: 9780374384593

Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux, 2013

Synopsis

When the young hero of Roald Dahl's story is orphaned in an automobile accident, he is left in the care of his aged grandmother--a formidable cigar-smoking lady who happens to be a retired expert on dealing with witches. In spite of her warnings about how to spot these horrific creatures, her grandson accidentally wanders into the annual convocation of the witches of England--and overhears the horrifying plans in store for every child in the country. But before he can escape to reveal the witches' plot, he is captured and turned into a mouse. However, he is no ordinary mouse and this is no ordinary tale.
Along with a new introduction--in which James Patterson guarantees this book will "get kids addicted to reading!"--this thirtieth-anniversary edition includes photographs, reproductions of original manuscript pages, and a fascinating and funny reminiscence by editor Stephen Roxburgh on working with Roald Dahl.

About this title

Review:

"This is not a fairy tale. This is about real witches." So begins one of Roald Dahl's best books ever, and, ironically, it is such a great story because the premise is perfectly plausible from the outset. When the narrator's parents die in a car crash on page two (contrast this terribly real demise with that of James's parents who are devoured by an escaped rhinoceros in James and the Giant Peach), he is taken in by his cigar-smoking Norwegian grandmother, who has learned a storyteller's respect for witches and is wise to their ways.

The bond between the boy and his grandmother becomes the centrepiece of the tale--a partnership of love and understanding that survives even the boy's unfortunate transformation into a mouse. And once the two have teamed up to outwitch the witches, the boy's declaration that he's glad he's a mouse because he will now live only as long as his grandmother is far more poignant than eerie.

Of course, there's adventure here along with Dahl's trademark cleverness and sense of the grotesque. Dahl also communicates some essential truths to children: if they smoke cigars, they'll never catch cold, and, most importantly, they should never bathe, because a clean child is far, far easier for a witch to smell than a dirty one. (Ages 7 to 10, or read aloud to younger children) --Susan Harrison

Review:

"'The Witches' is a heroic tale. A schoolboy is transformed into a tiny mouse (with, however, the mind and language of a very bright child), and through his extraordinary bravery, he manages to save all the children of England from the same fate. Under the surface of this deceptively simple tale, which whizzes along and is great fun to read, lurks an interesting metaphor. This is the equation of childhood with mousedom. A child may be smaller than all the witchy, horrifying adults, but he can certainly outwit them. He is tiny and crushable, but he is also fast and well-nigh invisible. With the assistance of his benevolent Grandmamma (who hoists him up to things he can't reach, secretes him in her handbag, feeds and cuddles him), he is able to outsmart nearly the whole adult world . . . The boy doesn't mind being a mouse, he says, because 'It doesn't matter who you are or what you look like so long as somebody loves you.' And, indeed, the hero of this tale is loved. Whether as a boy or a mouse, he experiences the most extraordinary and unqualified approval from his grandmother--the sort of unconditional love adults and children alike crave." --Erica Jong, The New York Times Book Review

About this edition

• Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0374384592
• ISBN 13: 9780374384593
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 218
• Illustrator: Blake Quentin