Danny the Champion of the World is different from a typical Dahl story in that there is nothing fantastical in the story, and Danny has a caring, loving home life. Although Danny’s mother died when he was an infant, leaving Danny alone with his father William (Danny’s father’s name is hidden about halfway through the book), Danny's father is kind, caring, thoughtful, and playful. They live in a caravan behind the filling station and auto shop owned and run by William. The caravan has no electricity, running water, or heat, relying on gas lamps and a gas burner for such things. Danny’s life is still idyllic in a rustic way. He helps his father work on cars (his father even lets Danny delay entering school for a few years to learn how to be an auto mechanic). His father takes time off to play with him, making kites and hot air balloons, and the two of them generally spend most of their waking hours together.

This happy existence is interrupted (and the adventurous elements of the book are introduced) by two elements. The first is a visit from Victor Hazell, the local wealthy bully (who, in the tradition of Dahl villains, is also quite fat). After Hazell threatens Danny, William declines to serve him, and ejects him from his property triggering a series of inspectors to come and harass Danny's father. The second is the mysterious nighttime disappearance of Danny's father, which Danny learns is because his father has been poaching pheasants in Hazell's Wood.

The rest of the book details the various adventures Danny and his father have illegally hunting pheasants on Victor Hazell's property. William teaches Danny the secret of pheasant poaching (raisins are the key). Danny has to rescue his father from a pit trap in which William breaks his ankle, and the two collaborate to try to poach every single pheasant in Hazell's Wood just before a planned hunting event hosted by the bullying Victor Hazell. Oddly, it turns out that virtually everyone in the small village where Danny and his father live is involved in the poaching business in some way, as they find allies in their quest at every turn.

Danny comes up with the idea of using raisins filled with sleeping powder from his father's prescribed sleeping pills (for use to help him sleep with a broken ankle) to catch the pheasants, leading his father to dub him the "champion of the world" at poaching. IN the end, Hazell is humiliated (and his car is ruined) and although the pheasants (mostly) escape, a few stick around for dinner and all ends well as Danny and his father plan more adventures.

Engaging in a little speculation, I note that Dahl's own father died when he was a toddler, and he was sent to a series of boarding schools (at his father's behest, as he thought the English education system was the best in the world despite being Norwegian). Dahl apparently hated the schools, but never told his mother this, because he knew she was thinking of his welfare. Dahl was also horrified by the practice of corporal punishment used in English schools, which is reflected in a scene in Danny in which Danny is unjustly caned by his teacher, arousing his father's ire.

One can feel the ache Dahl had for a childhood with a loving father. Danny's father brings him up in a way almost opposite Dahl's own upbringing: his father is ever present, protective, fun, and caring. If Danny is in trouble, William protects him. If Danny is scared, William comforts him. If Danny is bored, William plays with him. Despite their material poverty, Danny is wealthy in ways that one can only assume Dahl felt that he was deprived. In the end, Danny the Champion of the World is a touching love letter to a father that the author never knew. ( )

You won't be surprised to hear that this is not the first time I've read this book, I don't know how old I was when I first devoured the Roald Dahl books, but I'd reckon it was when I was about 9 or 10 years old.

I've always enjoyed reading, and therefore it was only natural that I'd read all of his books, Danny was first published in 1975, my copy is the Penguin edition and therefore published in 1977 - so it wasn't long afterwards that I came to it.

The story of a boy and his father, their simple life together in an old gypsy caravan, and their amazing adventure on the wrong side of the law!! Simple days when poaching was fun and everyone from the local doctor to the village bobby was in on the act!

Roald Dahl books are timeless, and although the story is simple - no sub-plots or even much back story - it's compelling and so well written that the book is difficult to put down (and that's when I already knew the story!). Danny and his father come up with a wonderful plan to get their own back on the local nasty landowner - and get some scrummy dinner at the same time!

I'd recommend this book to anyone, of any age. Great for children, but still wonderful for anyone who likes a nice simple engaging story.

The other nice thing is that something that I remember with such fondness from my childhood has completely stood the test of time, it's as good as I remember it being - and how often does that happen? ( )

You won't be surprised to hear that this is not the first time I've read this book, I don't know how old I was when I first devoured the Roald Dahl books, but I'd reckon it was when I was about 9 or 10 years old.

I've always enjoyed reading, and therefore it was only natural that I'd read all of his books, Danny was first published in 1975, my copy is the Penguin edition and therefore published in 1977 - so it wasn't long afterwards that I came to it.

The story of a boy and his father, their simple life together in an old gypsy caravan, and their amazing adventure on the wrong side of the law!! Simple days when poaching was fun and everyone from the local doctor to the village bobby was in on the act!

Roald Dahl books are timeless, and although the story is simple - no sub-plots or even much back story - it's compelling and so well written that the book is difficult to put down (and that's when I already knew the story!). Danny and his father come up with a wonderful plan to get their own back on the local nasty landowner - and get some scrummy dinner at the same time!

I'd recommend this book to anyone, of any age. Great for children, but still wonderful for anyone who likes a nice simple engaging story.

The other nice thing is that something that I remember with such fondness from my childhood has completely stood the test of time, it's as good as I remember it being - and how often does that happen? ( )

"Danny The Champion Of The World" is the story of a young boy and his lovable father, living in a gypsy caravan behind their humble filling station. They're poor and alone, but resourceful and fun-loving. When Danny discovers his father's dark secret, it serves only to make them grow closer as they embark on some very exciting adventures!

This is my favorite Roald Dahl book, and one of my favorite children's books altogether. It's a very quick read, and I've read it no less than fifteen times. I don't have a lot to say about it, because it's just a good book, plain and simple. ( )

I've loved Roald Dahl since I was a child, and to this day still revere the novels that I knew well before I even hit double-digits. I had never heard of Danny, the Champion of the World until I got it as a Christmas gift a few years ago, so gave it a try this year.

It's fairly clear that children are the primary targets for this novel, and it doesn't seem to have the expansive appeal that makes it interesting for adults as well as the children for whom it was intended. Danny is a sweet character, if somewhat lacking in depth, and his father's faults seem contrived at best. It's a very bland good-vs-evil scenario from start to finish. With that clear, I think the book would be a valuable one to read with children, as it could prompt some interesting discussion about morality, stealing and what it means to be a 'good' person. The book isn't horrible by any stretch of the imagination. I simply wasn't as enthralled with it as I hoped I would be. ( )