The Witches (novel) facts for kids
First edition cover
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| Author | Roald Dahl |
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| Illustrator | Quentin Blake |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Genre | Children's fantasy Dark fantasy |
| Publisher | Jonathan Cape |
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Publication date
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1983 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 208 |
| Awards | Whitbread Book Award (1983) |
The Witches is a very popular children's fantasy novel. It was written by the famous British author Roald Dahl. The story takes place in two countries: Norway and England. It follows a young English boy and his Norwegian grandmother. They live in a world where secret groups of witches exist. These witches secretly hate children.
The witches are led by a very mean and powerful witch called the Grand High Witch. She comes to England with a terrible plan. Her goal is to turn all the children in England into mice.
The Witches was first published in 1983. Jonathan Cape released it in London. Quentin Blake drew the pictures, just like in many of Dahl's other books. This book has been made into many different things. These include an audio reading, a stage play, and a radio show for the BBC. There was also a movie in 1990 starring Anjelica Huston. Later, an opera in 2008 and another movie in 2020 were made.
Story Summary
The story is told by a seven-year-old English boy. His parents sadly die in a car accident. So, he goes to live with his Norwegian grandmother. The boy loves all his grandmother's stories. But he especially loves tales about real-life witches. She tells him that witches are horrible, evil women. They want to harm human children.
How to Spot a Witch
His grandmother teaches him how to recognize a witch. She says a real witch looks like a normal woman. But there are special ways to tell. Real witches have claws instead of fingernails. They hide these with gloves. They are bald, so they wear wigs. These wigs often make them itchy. Witches also have square feet with no toes. They hide these with uncomfortable pointy shoes. Their eyes have pupils that change colors. They have blue spit, which they use as ink. And they have large nostrils. They use these to sniff out children. To a witch, a child smells like dog poop! The dirtier a child is, the less likely a witch will smell them.
The grandmother also shares her own experience. When she was young, she met a witch. This encounter made her lose her right thumb. She tells the boy she used to hunt witches.
Moving to England
The boy and his grandmother move back to England. This is where he was born and went to school. His parents' will said he should live in the house he inherited there. But his grandmother warns him to be careful. English witches are known to be very mean. They often turn children into gross creatures. Then, adults might accidentally kill them.
The grandmother explains that witches in different countries have different habits. Witches in one country work together. But they are not allowed to talk to witches from other countries. She also tells him about the mysterious Grand High Witch of All the World. This witch is the scary leader of all witches. She visits witch meetings in every country each year.
First Encounter
Soon after arriving in England, the boy is playing. He is on the roof of his tree-house. He sees a strange woman in black looking up at him. She has a creepy smile. He quickly realizes she is a witch. The witch offers him a snake to tempt him. He climbs higher in the tree. He stays there until his grandmother finds him. This makes the boy and his grandmother extra careful. He starts watching all women closely. He tries to figure out if they might be witches.
The Hotel Meeting
His grandmother gets sick with pneumonia. The doctor tells her to cancel their trip to Norway. Instead, they go to a fancy hotel in Bournemouth, England. The boy is training his pet mice, William and Mary. His grandmother gave them to him after his parents died. He trains them in the hotel ballroom.
Suddenly, a group called the "Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children" arrives. They are having their yearly meeting. One woman scratches her head under her hair with a gloved hand. The boy then realizes this is the yearly meeting of England's witches! He is trapped in the room.
The Grand High Witch's Plan
A young woman goes on stage. She takes off her whole face, which is a mask. She reveals herself to be the Grand High Witch! She is angry that the English witches haven't gotten rid of enough children. She demands they kill all children before the next meeting.
The Grand High Witch then shares her big plan. All of England's witches will buy sweet shops. They will use fake money she printed from a magic machine. They will give away free sweets and chocolates. These treats will have a special potion. It's called "Formula 86 Delayed-Action Mouse-Maker." This magic potion turns the person who eats it into a mouse. The witch can set the exact time it happens. The idea is for teachers and parents to accidentally kill the mouse-children. This way, no one will ever suspect the witches.
Bruno and the Boy Transformed
To show how the potion works, the Grand High Witch brings in a boy named Bruno Jenkins. Bruno is rich and often greedy. He was tricked into coming with the promise of free chocolate. She says she gave Bruno a chocolate bar with the formula the day before. She set the "alarm" for the meeting. The potion works! Bruno turns into a mouse right in front of all the witches.
Soon after, the witches notice the narrator. They corner him. The Grand High Witch pours a whole bottle of Formula 86 down his throat. The huge amount instantly turns him into a mouse. But the boy still thinks, acts, and even talks like himself. He finds Bruno. Then, he goes back to his grandmother's hotel room. He tells her everything he learned. He suggests they turn the tables on the witches. They could put the potion in the witches' dinner. With some effort, he gets a bottle of the potion from the Grand High Witch's room.
The Witches' Downfall
They try to return Bruno to his parents. But it goes very wrong. Mrs. Jenkins is terrified of mice. So, the grandmother takes Bruno and the narrator to the dining hall. The narrator goes into the kitchen. He pours the potion into the green pea soup. This soup is for the witches' dinner. On his way back, a cook sees the narrator. The cook chops off part of his tail with a knife! But the boy escapes back to his grandmother.
Within minutes, all the witches turn into mice. They had huge amounts of the potion, just like the narrator. The hotel staff and guests panic. They accidentally kill the Grand High Witch and all of England's witches.
A Plan for the Future
Back home, the boy and his grandmother make a new plan. They want to get rid of witches everywhere. They will travel to the Grand High Witch's castle in Norway. They will use the potion to change her next leader and helpers into mice. Then, they will release cats to destroy them. They will use the Grand High Witch's money-making machine. They will also use information about witches in other countries. This way, they can try to get rid of witches all over the world.
The grandmother also tells the boy that as a mouse, he will probably only live for about nine more years. But the boy doesn't mind. He doesn't want to live longer than his grandmother. She is 86 and will likely also live for only nine more years. He would hate for anyone else to take care of him.
Book to Screen and Stage
1990 Film Adaptation
In 1990, the year Roald Dahl passed away, The Witches was made into a movie. It starred Anjelica Huston and Rowan Atkinson. Nicolas Roeg directed it. Jim Henson helped produce it. In this film, the boy is American and named Luke Eveshim. His grandmother is Helga Eveshim. The Grand High Witch is called Evangeline Ernst.
The biggest change from the book is the ending. In the movie, the boy turns back into a human. This happens thanks to the Grand High Witch's assistant. This assistant character is not in the book. Roald Dahl himself said he found this movie "utterly appalling."
Radio Show
In 2008, the BBC broadcast a two-part radio show of the novel. Lucy Catherine wrote it, and Claire Grove directed. The cast included Margaret Tyzack as the Grandmother and Toby Jones as the Narrator.
Opera Version
The book was also turned into an opera. A Norwegian composer, Marcus Paus, created the music. His father, Ole Paus, wrote the story for the opera. It first showed in 2008.
Graphic Novel
A graphic novel version of The Witches came out in 2020. Pénélope Bagieu wrote it. It tells the story of the boy and his grandmother. It covers their move to the hotel and the witches' meeting. It also shows the boy and Bruno turning into mice. The graphic novel follows their plan to defeat the witches.
2020 Film Adaptation
Another movie version was released on October 22, 2020. Robert Zemeckis co-wrote and directed it. It came out on HBO Max because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This movie takes place in 1968 Alabama. The main character is an African-American boy called "Hero Boy." This film's ending is like the book's. The main character stays a mouse at the end.
See also
In Spanish: Las brujas para niños
