The Witches

The Witches
Written by Roald Dahl
Illustrated by Quentin Blake 
Author study 2

I really enjoyed this book! I did a little research and found out that his parents were from Norway and Scandinavia. So the fact that this book is set in Norway, gives us a little insight into his life. This book is about a little boy and his grandmother who live together. Grandma told him all about the witches of Norway and how to figure out which woman is really a witch. Along their journey, they ran into a witch convention! All of the witches of England were there, even the Grand High Witch her self!!  It was fascinating to read Dahl's creative work. I was in awe by how he constructed the plot for the story. I had no idea what to expect when I started to read these books.My friend told me it was a strange book. I did not think it was too strange. Yes, it was different, but it was not out of the blue or too strange to comprehend. It was clever and funny. The story was a great way to add another story about witches.

I did some research and it was said that this book had caused some controversy. Critics believed that it was too violent for children to read. I did not agree with that. It hinted about what the witches did to children, but it left it up to the imagination of the reader. I thought "violence" in the book was hilarious!! Formula 86, which is designed to turn children into mice, was the potion the witches were going to use to exterminate all of the children in England! It was also stated that it is sexist because all witches are women. Yes, it does say all witches are women, but it says that some men are ghouls. Dahl explains that not all women are witches, and some women are extremely nice. Along with that, it states that they were not human.