Dirty Beasts - Roald Dahl

Presently,it's all about Roald Dahl in Junior's world. It started with The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me and The Fantastic Fox. The collection is steadily building up.

The lastest entry is Dirty Beasts.

  The description on the back cover says

" Roald Dahl has created a ghastly assortment of wicked beasts getting up to some extra ordinary and unmentionable things in this comic collection of verse. Meet the clever pig with a plan to save his bacon, the scorpion who likes to sting, the giant toad who can jump from England to France, and lots more."

My personal experience:

We had not read any of Roald Dahl's poems before. We were very excited. At bedtime, Junior and I took turns to read them aloud. We were rolling with laughter. The excellent illustration by Quentin Blake made the situations more comical.

 Suggestions : 

I would recommend it for children( 7 years +) who have read Roald Dahl books earlier and are familiar with his style and  humor.

Excellent  for parent-child bonding actvity. Please read it aloud along with your children. The stories though dark, are clever, fast paced and full of action. You might find your little ones giggling and squirming with disgust at the same time.( Some kids may not like the idea of an ant eater eating humans or crocodiles having boys and girls for lunch. But most 7 year olds I guess enjoy the yucky stuff :) ).

The poems are lengthy, vary from 2 to 4 pages ( except The Lion). There  are some sentences, which require careful handling and parental guidance. For instance, in The Cow,the reference to the man from Afganistan as horrid and cow dropping cow pat on his head. Also,The Scorpion, maynot be a good choice for bed time reading. It could be nightmare inducing.

All said and done, inspite of people being eaten and stinging scorpions, it's a must read. Funny,  nonsenscical, engaging....

Oh yes, it might encourage your kid to try writing some funny verse too. Junior got creative and wrote his nonsensical piece :

The lion came out of his lair

To eat a pear.

Is it fair ?

Are you sure, it is not a hare ?

A vegetarian tiger ! it's a night mare.

Such rumours are flying in the air.

 Next the lion wanted to cut his hair.

He went and sat on the barber's chair.

The other customers in the shop got a scare.

They ran as fast as a hare.

The barber shouted " Get up from the chair !"

The sad lion went back to his lair.

 
Image courtesy : http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91zVXZSIurL._SL1500_.jpg

 

The Mouse And The Motorcycle

" Now come on. Tell me, did you or didn't you ride my motorcycle off the bedside table ?"

This took Ralph by surprise. He had not expected the boy to guess what happened.

" Well, yes. I guess you might say I did," confessed Ralph, rubbing his aching muscles.

"I thought so," neither the mouse nor the boy was the least bit surprised that each could understand the other. Two creatures who shared a love for motorcycles naturally spoke the same language.

This marked the beginning of a wonderful friendship between an adventurous mouse named Ralph and a boy named Keith. They met when Keith and his family decided to stay in an old motel in the California foothills for a vacation. Ralph's family ( mother and siblings) and extended family ( countless Uncles and Aunts) lived in the mouse holes and knot holes of this motel and survived on the crumbs guest left in their rooms.

Ralph was not an average mouse,nervous and scared. Per his worried mother, he was ' a reckless mouse' who loved to stay out late in the daytime when he should be sleeping safely at home.

'Pb-bb-bb' 'Pb-bb-bb' that's how you start a toy motorcycle, Keith taught Ralph. The little mouse went zooming around in the motel.

The story is a very engaging one. Readers will love to roam the corridors of the motel along with Ralph.At times, it also takes readers to mouse world where a mouse house is furnished with a clutter of things - bits of Kleenex, hair and raveling people drop on the motel floor. 

The story has it's share of climax too. Ralph like a real hero, saves himself from near death situation when he lands up in a laundry pile. He like a true friend, risks his and his families life to help his friend Keith.

As a Mom, I loved what Keith had to say when Ralph asked him if he was mad at him for losing the motorcycle.

"I guess you might say I'm mad but not real mad,"Keith decided. " I've been lying here thinking. It wouldn't be right for me to be real mad, because I get into messes myself. My mom and dad tell me I don't stop to use my head."

Wow ! it takes courage to own up that even we make similar mistakes and therefore, be kind to the offender.

A enjoyable read for readers aged 7 and above. Paper back, 184 pages.

The Penguin Who Wanted to Find Out

The 2005, award winning nature documentary 'March of the Penguin', captured the  yearly journey of  the Emperor Penguins of Antarctica. It renewed our interest in the life of these beautiful creatures.Though it is a wonderful documentary, it does contain occasional imagery that are disturbing - some penguins freezing to death, others being killed by predators. Parents might not think it as appropriate for their little children's viewing.

'The Penguin Who Wanted to Find Out' by Jill Tomlinson tells the story of Otto, the penguin chick.Through Otto,the author traces the journey of transformation of a penguin, from chick to adult.

Otto is a curious penguin. He asks a lot of questions to wise Claudius, a male Emperor Penguin,who carries him around on his feet. The questions that Otto asks are the many questions that young readers might have about penguins and their life in Antarctica.The books gives a vivid description of the climatic conditions,the prevailing topography and how penguins survive in the harsh weather.

 Otto, being the first chick, takes care of the other chicks.He learns that penguins help and take care of each other. The book tells how all the adult penguins in the community take turn to feed and nurture all the chicks.

Otto along with other chicks - Leo, Nap, Gusto, Alex grow up together, eagerly wait for their adult feathers to come through and finally toboggan into the sea.

A wonderful, easy and fun way for our curious kids to know more about the life of  Emperor Penguins.