The Twits (1980)

SUMMARY: A couple who hates everything finally understand what it's like to be hates when their pet monkeys decide to get revenge.

REVIEW: A Roald Dahl book is sure to be favorite of mine, so of course I adore this particular novel. Dahl's funny, satirical humor gives his writing a unique style that I think kids of all ages will enjoy. This book also has some memorable quotes, such as: “...if you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.” Additionally, there is always some sort of moral lesson in each of Dahl's books. However, I think the main draw of this novel is that it is simply a fun read. ( )

I liked this book for two reasons. One reason I liked this book was for the way it was written. This book was intended to be an entertaining and funny read. The way the author wrote this book was very engaging. For example, the author used funny made up words such as "swizzle", "gnazzle", and "gnozzle" to entertain the reader. Another reason I liked this book were for the illustrations. Although this was a chapter book, there were pictures on every other page to accompany the text. I thought that the way the pictures were done and where they were specifically placed in the story really brought the story to life. Although there wasn't an overall message of this book, I thought that through the friendship between the monkeys and bird, it could teach younger children about the value of friendship. ( )

Re-reading this aloud did not match my very positive memories of the book: it was more mean than I had remembered and not as witty, with nothing much in the way of character development or plot. It seems pale compared to much of the rest of Roald Dahl. That said, it still has a lot of memorable creations, not the least of which is covering a tree in glue to trap birds for bird pie. ( )

This book has two characters: Mr Twit and Mrs Twit. He is very hairy and he doesn't wash his hairy hair. So it's so dirty and there are some food that he eats everyday. And he is also so mean. For examples, while his wife is sleeping, he made her walking-stick longer and longer. And also, he put a frog in her bed and enjoyed her screaming.
I didn't like what he was doing to her. I thought they were too mean. ( )

The Twits are the most revolting family known to mankind. They have horrible hygiene, even meaner personalities, and attitudes that are less than welcoming. While they isolate themselves from other people, they take much pleasure in pulling pranks on each other and in having random animals as pets- which are more like small prisoners to their harsh ways. However, the family of monkeys that the Twits have been keeping are sick and tired of the cruelty that they have been through, and have decided to turn the tables on the Twits to give them a taste of their own medicine and so set themselves free.
This descriptive story is a great read for young audiences and older ones as well. I think that Dahl's writing really is an excellent example of how powerful words can be and how they even have the magic to form images in the readers' minds. While being paired with Quentin Blake's illustrations, the text is pushed further, being supplemented by the expressive and playful pictures which effectively convey both grotesque and more humorous moments in the book.