“In fairy-tales, witches always wear silly black hats and black cloaks, and they ride on broomsticks.”

From Roald Dahl’s The Witches.

Orphaned and sent to live with his grandmother, a boy is learning the truths and dangers of witches.  The boy’s grandma tells him that witches wear wigs to cover their bald heads, long gloves to cover their clawed fingers, and their hatred of children pushes them to constantly try to destroy them.  His grandmother warns especially of one witch, the Grand High Witch, who leads all the other witches into following her plans.  The boy, his grandmother, and his pet mice, take a vacation at a hotel and they find a bustling hotel.  Seeking a quiet place to train his mice, the boy finds a marked-reserved ballroom, but since the room is empty, he decides to use the space.  When the room starts to fill up with women, the boy hides and waits for their meeting to end, but when he realizes that all the women are wearing wigs and gloves, he knows he’s been trapped in a witch meeting.  The boy overhears the High Witch’s plans to wipe out all children with her mouse-maker formula; he’s doubtful until the witches test it on a greedy boy named Bruno and he’s turned into a talking mouse.  Before the meeting ends, the boy is found and turned into a mouse, but manages to escape to tell his grandma about the High Witch’s terrible plans.  Refusing to quit, the boy hatches a dangerous plan to steal the formula and use it on all the witches to save the world.

Dahl’s classic story is filled with adventure, humor, and a touch of horror to keep readers engaged.  The unnamed young hero is easy to cheer on as readers learn about witches along with him.  The Witches moves quickly and tells a captivating story for readers of all ages.