The Witches - Roald Dahl - Graphic Novel - Book Review

                    As a kid, I was more into picture stories like Champak, Chandamam, Tinkle, Gokulam, etc, and then graduated to more classic children literature and then to Hardy Boys, Famous Five, and so on. I never had any idea of writers who wrote for children like Roald Dahl and Dr.Suess. Only when I chanced to watch some movie adaptations some years back did I come to know of their existence. Now, when I take books for my kid to read I make to include them as well so that I can also read them. Recently, I saw a movie trailer of 'The Witches', and I chanced upon this graphic novel of the same and hence the read.

                    A boy whose parents passed away recently has company in the form of his loving grandmother who stays back with him after the funeral. During one of the storytime, she tells him about how witches are real and how they blend themselves with humans, and how you can identify them. When the grandmother falls sick due to over smoking, the doctor advises a trip which they undergo. To his shock, the boy finds that there is a huge group of witches posing as nice ladies; visiting the hotel on the pretext of a meeting to actually plan on turning all children into rats. At one point, he gets caught by the witches who transform into a mouse. What transpires next? Does he escape from them and change back? Does he succeed in spoiling their plans alongside his grandmother? forms the rest of the book.

                    I did like the story. The story is funny and keeps the kids at the edge. At least in the case of my daughter. She started as a normal read and did finish it in a single sitting. There is a lot of witches. But rather than making them scary, the author wrote them in such a way that the children never get scared and are able to read through. There are very minimal characters in the focus and they are just adequate. There is ample space for comedy throughout the story. Since this is a graphic novel version, the illustrations were quite enjoyable. I think Penelope Bagieu did a nice job bringing the story as comic strips. This will connect faster with the kids. The illustrations are sort of cool and give an appeal to the readers. This being adapted into a movie, the graphic novel version will be a fun ride for the kids before watching the actual movie.

                    This book is indeed special to me due to the fact that my daughter actually started becoming a serious reader with this book. The graphic novel version is a good read for kids of all ages and this being a Roald Dahl story; apart from the graphics all the other things will be in the right place mostly.