We’ve made it through a dozen Roald Dahl books this year as a family, me reading them all to the wife and kids at night. This is an achievement to be sure (since by my count we’ve read 30 books together this year), but when one of the books is as short at this one (72 grandly illustrated pages), it almost feels like cheating.
Nevertheless, since Roald Dahl’s publishers weren’t concerned with word count so long as the stories were great, neither should we be. Besides, we supplemented any short books with the Harry Potter series, so I think it all evens out.
This book was as silly as they come, and while my kids enjoyed the humor, it wasn’t our favorite Dahl offering—especially since we had just finished the way-more-serious (and far longer) Danny the Champion of the World.
My kids (ages 10 and 11) haven’t yet grown out of the silly stage, but the dark clouds of seriousness are forming on the horizon, so I think we need to get them out as soon as we can! I don’t plan ever to stop having our family story time at night, even into the teen years (though I may only be kidding myself), but books like this will have to go by the wayside once young adulthood commences. Thankfully, a decade or two later they’ll be back on the menu, because Dahl’s as much an author for adults as he is for middle school children.
There are only 6-7 characters in this brief story, including three animals, so the voice options when reading aloud vary wildly. This was a fun book for that reason, and I’m glad that we finished it all in once sitting so I wouldn’t forget the characters or their personalities!
There was a nice shout-out to Willy Wonka‘s candy, since Billy had always dreamed of opening a “grubber” or sweets shop. I like the cross-hatching of elements from Dahl’s stories over the decades. He’s crafted his own universe where scenes, characters, and stories overlap if only for a moment. That itself lends to the magic and is just another point in the win column for this most fascinating of authors.
©2022 E.T.
Read More from Roald Dahl:
- Adult Short Stories:
Over to You (1946)
Someone Like You (1953)
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (1977) - Children Fiction:
James and the Giant Peach (1961)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964)
The Magic Finger (1964)
Fantastic Mr. Fox (1970)
Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator (1972)
Danny the Champion of the World (1975)
The Enormous Crocodile (1978)
The Twits (1980)
George’s Marvelous Medicine (1981)
The BFG (1982)
Dirty Beasts (1983)
Boy: Tales of Childhood (1984)
The Giraffe, the Pelly, and Me (1985)
Going Solo (1986)
Matilda (1988)
Esio Trot (1990)
The Minpins (1991)
The Vicar of Nibbleswicke (1991)