James and the Giant Peach

…by Roald Dahl.

At the age of four, James Henry Trotter is orphaned and sent to live with his aunts Spiker and Sponge. Once he lives with his mean aunts, James’ life changes from the fun and idyllic times with his parents. His aunts are mean and nasty and put James to work. James leads a miserable life for about 3 years until he experiences something incredible. He meets a strange man who gives him a bag with thousand litte green things in it…magical things which are going to help James not feel miserable any more. Alas! James in his excitement, drops the bag and sees all the green things get sucked into the soil. However, when he wakes up the next morning, something strange is in store for him. A peach tree, that has never borne any peaches, has started to grow one. And it’s no ordinary peach. Rather it is a gigantic one. And when James looks at it at night, he finds an opening into the peach and meets the most unusual creatures in there — a Grasshopper, a Centipede, an Earthworm, a Ladybird, a Spider, a Glowworm and a Silkworm. All giants themselves. And waiting for James to join them. And thus, they embark on the most amazing journey and adventures as the peach leaves the garden.

This book by Dahl brought back memories of my Enid Blyton reading days. There was an essence of strange lands and strange people. With animals and creatures taking a human role, it was very much like the wonderful stories I enjoyed as a child. And the adventures…oh the adventures…they are brilliant! You find yourself smiling through most of the book once the group embarks on their journey. And there are moments of strife where you hold your breath. All in all, a brilliant children’s book by Dahl! I give it a rating of 4.

Until next time,

Cheers!!!

George’s Marvellous Medicine

…by Roald Dahl.

George Kranky lives with his parents Mr and Mrs Kranky and his maternal Grandma. Unlike most grandmas, George’s Grandma is a mean and nasty old lady who only thinks about herself and wants all the attention. Nothing is good enough for this grumpy, grumbling, grouchy lady. And so George decides to teach her a lesson. By making a concoction of his own medicine to replace the one she normally has. This medicine is made of ingredients lying all around the house. And the consequences are surprising! As Dahl warns kids in the beginning, Do not make this at home!

Once again, this is a creatively woven story that appeals to the rule-breaker in all of us! I’m sure we all go through phases where we don’t like someone and wish we could teach them  a lesson. Through George, we all get to live this! Once again, I am amazed at Dahl’s creative genius. He is able to get into a child’s mind so perfectly. Once again, a book I would recommend for you to read to your kids. Or with them. Or to read yourself and re-visit your childhood!

I rate it a 4.

Until next time,

Cheers!!!

The Twits

…by Roald Dahl.

Mr and Mrs Twit are two disgusting individuals. Mr Twit has a long shaggy beard and Mrs Twit has an ugly face due to a lifetime of being nasty and having nasty thoughts. They smell. They don’t wash. They fight. They play tricks on one another. They hate children. They trap birds to eat. And they have a family of four monkeys caged in their backyard to do their bidding. Eventually, the monkeys (Mugglewump and family) with the help of the Roly-Poly Bird and other birds get their revenge on the Twits in a very amusing way…giving them a taste of their own nasty medicine!

This is possibly the funniest Dahl book I’ve read so far and you can bet kids are going to love it. His description of the Twits, particularly Mr Twit is so disgustingly hilarious, you can practically hear kids squealing with delight and disgust. And his insight into some human characteristics is quite amazing. I loved his description of Mrs Twit as being ugly but not because she was born ugly. Rather, as Dahl puts it “If a person has ugly thoughts, it begins to show on the face” [p. 7]. And following that is a beautiful description of how a light shines out of a person with good thoughts despite physically not being attractive. I think it’s a wonderful thing to teach kids — that beauty is from within! And a special mention must be made to the illustrator Quentin Blake as well. His pictures are pretty funny and add to sensational writing. Finally, Dahl’s creativity shines through once again with terms such as ‘Muggle-wump’, ‘Hugtight glue’, Roly-Poly bird and a few others. It’s a brilliant book for a laugh…even as an adult!

I rate it a 5.

Until next time,

Cheers!!!