Part One
Book Information: Dalh, R. (1983). Witches. London:
Jonathan Cape.
Genre: Fantasy,
Challenge/Banned book: #22 on the 100 most frequently challenged books 1990–1999.
The reasons for the banning/challenge:
In the book, “the children
misbehave and take retribution on the adults and there's never, ever a
consequence for their actions”
The Witches is “satanic”
The book might “entice impressionable children into becoming involved in the occult”
The Witches is “satanic”
The book might “entice impressionable children into becoming involved in the occult”
Grade Level:
I recommend this book for 3-5 grades, it might be a little bit scary for some,
but it has a very humorous feel great for a young audience.
Part Two
Response to Book: My
predications and thoughts about the book’s issues/themes!
I was familiar with Dahl’s
other books like the Big Friendly Giant, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and
Matilda. This is another one of my favorites! I cannot believe that this book
was banned for witchcraft. The villains of the story are witches; therefore
witchcraft isn’t being promoted but is instead seen as pure evil. Although, the
introduction of the story does mention that witches are very much real, I do
not think this book belongs on the banned/censored book list. I think Dahl said
it best when he replied to the challengers saying, “This book is a fantasy and
an enormous joke.” I do not think the book’s ideas and premise was to be taken
seriously. The entire plot seems like a silly and humorous situation. For
children, I think that one of the main attractions will be that the book
excites their imagination. It is at times an inversion of reality. For example,
being clean is considered a bad thing and the main character goes weeks without
washing. Furthermore, Dahl gives the witches a variety of shocking,
unbelievable features, such as having no toes, blue spit and turning children
into hotdogs, which will leave children astonished and very amused. I think
this book doesn’t promote the belief in witchcraft, but promotes the importance
imagination.
Part Three
Critique
I think this is a very
interesting and entertaining book that Dahl has written. He uses tons of
descriptive language and takes you through the story of a young boy who learns
that there are witches in his world who are extremely hard to identify,
although there are several signs, which his grandmother tells him, that can
help one to identify a real witch. The whole plot is a flight of the
imagination and humor. The witches in the story despise children and aim to get
rid of them by sniffing out their scent. The boy ends up at a hotel that is
hosting a witches convention. The bond between main character, the boy, and his
kind-hearted grandmother become the centerpiece of the story. This is a
partnership of love and understanding that survives even the boy's unfortunate
transformation into a mouse. Despite this transformation the boy remains
optimistic saying "It doesn't matter who you are or what you look like, so
long as somebody loves you." I think this was a wonderful message to teach
to children. This book teaches children to be hopeful, creative, and optimistic
as well as the importance of the imagination. It reminds children they can be
heroes and that imagination is essential to survival. Imagination fuels the
soul and expands the mind. Another wonderful thing about this book is the main
character has no name. Nowhere does it mention a name, which I thought was an
interesting aspect. It's wondrous to me that a writer can go through the entire
story without giving a title to the main character, the hero. Teachers and
parents could reinforce the importance of being alert and cautious of strangers
(who may be witches!).
Part Four
Lesson Sketch
Grade: 5th
Lesson Objectives:
Students will:
- be exposed to the issues of censorship, challenged, or banned books.
- examine issues of censorship as it relates to a specific literature title.
- critically evaluate books based on relevancy, biases, and errors.
Lesson
Outline:
- From a teacher-selected list of grade-appropriate books from the Challenged Children's Books list, have groups of students select one of the books to read in literature circles, traditional reading groups, or through read-alouds.
- As the students read, ask them to pay particular attention to the features in the books that may have made them controversial. As students find quotes/parts of the book that they find to be controversial, they should add them to their T-Chart, along with an explanation of why they think that this area could be controversial. On the left side of their T-Chart, they will list the quote or section of the book (with page numbers); on the right side of the T-Chart, they will write their thoughts on why this area could be seen as controversial.
- You may also choose to invite the students to use bookmarks (in addition to or instead of the T-Chart) , so they can record page numbers and passages as they read.
Discussion Questions:
- Why do books get banned or challenged?
- Discuss censorship and challenged/banned books, and as they read their selected text, listen for comments that indicate they are identifying specific examples from the story that connect to the information they have learned.
Links to
Outside Sources:
- American Library Association: Banned & Challenged Books
- Challenged Children's Books
- American Library Association Banned Books Week
- 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books
