Review – Audiobook: The Witches by Roald Dahl
The Witches
by Roald Dahl
Narrated by Miranda Richardson
Genre: Children
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Publish Date: September 26th 2013 (Orig. 1983)
Format: Audio, 4 hours | 30 minutes
Audio Listening Level: Easy
Rating: 5 of 5
Publisher’s Synopsis:
Grandmamma loves to tell about witches. Real witches are the most dangerous of all living creatures on earth. There’s nothing they hate so much as children, and they work all kinds of terrifying spells to get rid of them. Her grandson listens closely to Grandmamma’s stories—but nothing can prepare him for the day he comes face-to-face with The Grand High Witch herself!
My Thoughts:
A young boy (if he had a name I didn’t catch it) whose parents die in an accident is sent to live with his grandmother in Norway. Grandma warns him about witches who steal children. They are everywhere and he must learn how to identify them. She then tells him a series of stories to help him stay safe.
There was a lot I didn’t know about witches. First of all, they look like everyone else. No pointy hats and broomsticks, but there are ways to find them. They are bald and always wear wigs, they have nasty fingers and wear gloves to hide them, and they can smell clean children but not dirty ones. Grandma advises the boy to stay dirty and not take a bath. They can turn children into mice and do lots of other scary things.
Although this is a children’s book, some of the images it conjures up could be a little scary. Most children will find this fun, others might want to hide under the bed! As an adult, I enjoyed the wit and humor.
I listened in the car over the past week while I did errands. The book is broken into a series of stories about witches making it easy to stop and pick up again. The narration, performed by Miranda Richardson, was delightful, dramatic and entertaining. It would have been even more fun if I had a young person listening with me but still very enjoyable by myself. Perfect for Halloween.
——————————–
Kid Konnection is hosted every Saturday by Julie at Booking Mama.
——————————–
Source: Review copy provided by Penguin Audio.
© 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Under My Apple Tree 
Love Roald Dahl stories, read them all to the kids. We saw The Witches performed at the theatre, absolutely brilliant 🙂
LikeLike
This sounds delightful! I stayed dirty when I was a kid so the witches left me alone.
LikeLike
I have a collection of Roald Dahl stories in the car, and have been gradually working my way through them, they’re great listening. I haven’t listened to The Witches yet. I’m sure it’s Dahlicious.
LikeLike