The Grand High Witch and her subordinates have a plan to get rid of all English children by turning them into mice. Unluckily for them, a boy and his grandmother come up with their own plan to get rid of all witches.

This is a very creepy tale about evil witches with bald heads, clawed hands, massive nostrils and square feet. A Norwegian grandmother tells her grandson all about how to spot them by looking for the above features and avoid them by not bathing so they can't smell him. Unfortunately all is for naught when the boy manages to overhear the secret witch annual meeting and is caught trying to flee. Turned into a mouse, the boy and his grandmother plot to bring the witches down.

I hated this tale as a kid and I hate it at least as much upon rereading. The crass - apparently children smell of dog droppings, the gross - a witch getting burnt alive and the smell of burning meat filling the room and the horrific - hundreds of mice everywhere all combined to make this my nightmare. Props for the title (I generally love a good witch) - thumbs down for the content.

2 stars for target audience, 1 star for me. ( )

god i got nightmares from this book as a kid. but even so, even at that time, i realized that it was a sexist mess. ( )

It's a great book, I've read it before in English. I just lost steam this time and got distracted with other stuff. ( )

One of the best books ever written!

My 3rd grader read this book for a school project, so I read it too. Roald Dahl's books are usually fun, quirky, and smart, and this one was not an exception. It does have some parts that might trouble some children, but it is pretty clear that the book is pure fantasy. I did have some trouble with the notion that any female just might be a witch in disguise. ( )