In 2012, The Witches was ranked number 81 among all-time children's novels in a survey published by School Library Journal, a monthly with a primarily US audience. It was the third of four books by Dahl among the Top 100, more than any other writer.[9] In November 2019, the BBC listed The Witches on its list of the 100 most influential novels.[10] In 2023, the novel was ranked by BBC at no. 61 in their poll of "The 100 greatest children's books of all time".[11]
The novel received mainly positive reviews in the United States, but with a few warnings due to the more fear-inducing parts of it.[5] Ann Waldron of the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote in her 1983 review that she would suggest not gifting the book to a child who is more emotional to particularly frightening scenarios.[5] Other mixed receptions were the results of Dahl’s depiction of the witches being monstrous in characterisation.[12] Soon after its publication, the novel received compliments for its illustrations by Quentin Blake.[5]
The Witches was criticised for being misogynistic, and banned by some libraries as a result.[13][14] It appears on the American Library Association list of the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990 to 1999, at number 22.[15] During the editing process, the editor Stephen Roxburgh told Dahl that he was concerned about misogyny in the book. However, he dismissed these concerns by explaining he was not afraid of offending women.[7] The feminist critic Catherine Itzin claimed that the book 'is how boys learn to become men who hate women'.[16]
Jemma Crew of the Newstatesman considers it an "unlikely source of inspiration for feminists".[17] The Times article "Not in Front of the Censors" suggests that the least interesting thing to a child about a witch is that they appear to look like a woman, and even offers the perspective that a witch might be a very feminist role model to a young school girl.[14]
Questions have also been raised about the ending of the book, with some critics suggesting it might encourage suicide in children by telling them they can avoid growing up by dying.[18]
