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 lady who happens to be a retired witchophile, an expert on all witchy matters. Even though she tells him (and us) everything known about how to identify a witch, he accidentally wanders into the annual convocation of the witches of England. The meeting is presided over by none other than The Grand High Witch of the World, the most dangerous of them all. He overhears the horrifying plans she has in store for every child in England, but before he can escape to reveal with witches' plot, he is captured and turned into a mouse. However, he is no ordinary mouse-and this is no ordinary tale.
True to his reputation as one of the most gifted and popular writers for children in the world, Roald Dahl tells the rollicking story of how a mouse-hero, undaunted by his diminutive stature, and his intrepid grandmother take on The Grand High Witch and her coven.
This was such an adorable, entertaining book! I really thought it was great. I cannot imagine why it would be banned, as it did not offend me in the least. Then again, I'm openminded about other people's religious choices, and I keep in mind that I am reading fiction.
Things that might offend people in this book: witches, magic, smoking, violence (against children & animals), cannibalism of a sort (witches turn kids into hot dogs so their parents will eat them), breaking & entering, poisoning/transformation, and finally...encouraging children not to bathe.
As long as people understand that this is make-believe, it is a wonderful adventure, and I'm definitely letting my seven year old read it. I'll leave you with a great quote from the book:
"It doesn't matter who you are or what you look like so long as somebody loves you."
1 comments:
I loved this book as a kid, and I really enjoyed sharing it with my kids too.
It seems crazy to have banned this book, all the possibly offensive things found in The Witches are presented in such a clearly innocent way. It's so obviously meant to be silly and fun, how could people think otherwise?
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