This was one of my favorite books as a kid. I last read it 15 years ago. Read it on audio this time. Its about Danny and his Father and the hijinx they get up to, sticking it to the rich snobbish landowner. Still an excellent book, but it seems a lot shorter than my memory of it as a kid. Well, I guess, after all it is a children's book. ( )

DNF @ Page 40 - Don't like the talk of being mean to birds and poaching! ( )

Even taking into account how deserving the victim is, Danny is a champion of stealing and revenge/retaliation.

Eight year-old Danny and his widower father have lived in a caravan behind their auto repair and filling station for Danny's whole life. His father is kind and attentive, always happy to teach Danny a new skill, and Danny loves being with his dad. But their village has a wealthy man who demeans Danny and his father, so Dad needs revenge. He and Danny make a plan to ruin the annual pheasant shoot, taking the rich man's birds for themselves and humiliating him in the process.
I expected a whimsical Dahl story, but this isn't like other Dahls. There's a villain who needs to be taught a lesson, but otherwise, this is the most realistic story I've read from Dahl. Danny and his father have a good relationship, though Dad doesn't have the best judgement, such as holding five year-old Danny out of school until he's seven. But the main plot point of this book, which is longer than the average Dahl, is that of poaching pheasants. Danny's dad adores poaching and once the topic is introduced, he explains how it's done and how he does it, and then Danny gets involved, SPOILER* by suggesting that they drug the flock of pheasants. His dad thinks it's a great idea. I'll have to put this plot down to a different time and place, because the idea of getting even with a human by wiping out a flock of a hundred birds is bizarre. I would have given this a lower rating if not for the good relationship of Danny and his dad. Didn't hate it, but certainly not my favorite. ( )

I just reread this book because I remember checking it out over and over as an elementary school student (I went through a big Dahl phase. I enjoyed the writing and the relationship between Danny and his dad- though I didn't love the topic (poaching pheasants). Glad to have reread it and I am thinking back in the day I must have loved the way Danny and his dad are with each other. :) ( )