Week 3 Readings (Alicia)

My week 3 Readings were-

The Witches by Roald Dahl & Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

The Witches tells a story of a young boy who lives with his grandmother after the untimely death of his parents in a car crash.  She tells him all sorts of stories- especially about witches....r-e-a-l...w-i-t-c-h-e-s!  The boy gobbles up his grandmothers stories about how to spot witches(ex-wearing gloves to hide their talons. wigs because they are bald and blue saliva).  The story continues on at a hotel on the south coast of England for school holiday.  Little do they know this is the SAME place the witches are having their annual meeting.  The plot twists and turns using themes such as overcoming the monster, the quest, voyage and return, tradgedy, comedy and rebirth.  It is a touching tale for all ages that has been adapted for the stage and screen and remainsa classic since it's initial printing in 1983.


Where the Sidewalk Ends is a childrens book of poetry filled with fanciful characters and wonderfully illustrated line drawings (also by Silverstein).  Each page has a new character accompanied by a short almost always humerous tale told in rhymes.  I'd also like to mention that while researching this author for my author study I discovered that Silverstein was personally involved in the printing process of this book.  He had picked the type of paper and weight for his book to be printed on as this was just as important to him as an artist as the book itself was a work of art, an experience.  I remember reading these books over 25 years ago as a child and couldn't get enough of them, it's been so fun revisiting them again as an adult and I look forward to reading these poems to my daughter.