Witch Checklist

Calling all kids!  Calling all kids!  You know that nice lady in your neighborhood?  Or that kind teacher you always liked?  Um, well yeah...you just might not know them as well as you thought.  They could be witches.  Here's a checklist you should use to figure out if they're one.

1.  Did they have clubbed feet with no toes?

2.  Did they often scratch their heads and wore wigs?

3.  Did they think kids smelled worse than dog poo--yes, dog poo?!

If you can answer "no" for all questions, then congratulations, you're safe.  If you answered "yes" to at least one question, then I'm sorry, you may be in danger.  That lady or teacher may be a witch!  Do not go anywhere with them, I repeat, do not go anywhere with them.  Also, just to be safe, don't take baths--or at least, not as often as you do now.  It's harder for a witch to smell a kid that way.

If you want to know more about witches, please read The Witches by Roald Dahl.  It's about a seven year-old boy who recently lost his parents.  In order to cope with this grief, his Norwegian grandmamma has been telling him scary stories about witches--and they're all true!  And of course witches hate kids the most.  In fact, destroying kids is their life long goal.  And in a stroke of bad luck, somehow, the little boy ends up being stuck in an annual witch conference.  What will happen to him?  If you want to know more, please pick up this book and read.  But beware, you just might end up using that checklist every time you meet a strange lady.  

Review:

I had mixed feelings when I completed the book.  I felt somewhat disappointed but the longer I thought about it, the more I was able to focus on other good parts of the book.  For instance, my most favorite part of the book was the boy's relationship with grandmama.  Their love and belief in one another is touching.  The boy was very strong mentally and I also liked the description the author gives of the witches.  My imagination was humming with pleasure by the descriptive scenes Dahl wrote.  There was action, some spooky witches, love, courage, and a quest to stop these horrifying witches from harming kids.

Dahl, R.  (2007).   The Witches (Blake, Q, Illus).  New York: Puffin.

ISBN-13: 978-0-14-241011-0

Grades 3-6

Cover art link from penguin.com.au