The Witches - Libro en Inglés

The Witches – Roald Dahl

This is not a fairy tale. In Roald Dahl’s darkly funny classic The Witches, witches are real, and they are far more dangerous than the ones in storybooks. They look just like ordinary women, they hate children more than anything in the world, and they are secretly plotting to get rid of every child in England.

The story is told by a young English boy who goes to live with his Norwegian grandmother after his parents are killed in an accident. His grandmother, a cigar-smoking former witch hunter, teaches him how to recognize a real witch, from their gloves and wigs to their square feet and blue-tinged saliva. The boy hopes he will never meet one.

But while staying at a grand seaside hotel in England, the boy accidentally stumbles into a meeting of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, which turns out to be a gathering of all the witches in England, led by the terrifying Grand High Witch. There, he overhears their plan to turn children into mice using a magical formula. When he is discovered, he and his friend Bruno face the witches’ wrath, and he must find a way, with his grandmother’s help, to stop their evil plot.

Full of Dahl’s trademark wit, inventive language and delightfully gruesome details, the story is both funny and scary, and it celebrates courage, love and the special bond between a boy and his grandmother. Illustrated by Quentin Blake, this Puffin edition is perfect for young readers.

A beloved classic, The Witches is a thrilling read for children aged around seven to eleven and a fun family read-aloud. Some scenes may be frightening for younger children.