The Witches - Roald Dahl

[goodreads]

Title: The Witches
Author: Roald Dahl
Genre: Childrens
Rating: 4/5
# pages: 200
Date read: September 2010

When the narrator's parents die in a car crash on page two, 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 centerpiece 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.

I remembered this book as being an amusing read, and was surprised to find that it's actually part horror! Well, horror for kids anyway, and phrased in such a way that it never struck me as particularly horrific as a child. The main character is turned into a mouse? Well, he doesn't mind, so why should I?

Roald Dahl definitely understands how to address children, and his books are probably the type that work best either when read as a kid or read to a kid.

I saw the movie version of this when it first came out, but remember absolutely nothing of it, so couldn't say how true to the book it is.