Dirty Beasts

Dahl's inimitable style and humor shine in this collection of poems about mischievous and mysterious animals. From Stingaling the scorpion to Crocky-Wock the crocodile, Dahl's animals are nothing short of ridiculous.

Among them is a clever pig with an unmentionable plan to save his own bacon (upon realization that that's the meaning of his life), a flying cow, a giant toad who can jump from England into France and an anteater with an unusually large appetite.

A classic piece of Dahl lunacy. Whether you are 5 or 50 years of age this Dahl classic will have you squirming and tittering. Quentin Blake's wonderful illustrations capture Dahl's beasts and bring them hairily to life.

Book Details:

Title Dirty Beasts
Author Roald Dahl
Reviewed By show more Purplycookie show less

Penso: dai, sono filastrocche per bambini, posso leggerle camminando. E finisce così, con i passanti che mi guardano sconcertati mentre io passo loro davanti, con il libro in mano e sghignazzando ad voce alta.
15 minuti di lettura davvero molto simpatica, con traduzione di Roberto Piumini. E scusate se è poco...

Tanto per rendere l'idea:

"Ma ce n'è ancora un'altra di schifezza:
finora io ne ho detta solo mezza,
giacché ai Francesi, perversione strana,
piace mangiare persino la Rana!
(Sì, forse è meglio prendere un catino,
voleste vomitare un pochettino...)"

Another listen for light relief. There are 9 different stories here, each a different animal. All in rhyme, these are quirky and inventive. At times rather unexpected, at times rather dark, I can see them appealing to the cheeky chappie style child. I enjoyed the turn of phrase and the use of language.

3.5. Good fun and well written. The Pig, The Anteater and The Tummy Beast are among my favourites. If the rest of the rhymes were of the same quality then I would give the book a 5 without hesitation.

I liked the book Dirty Beasts by Roald Dahl for three reasons. First, I liked the writing style of the book. The book was compiled of various poems all about animals. For example, “No animal is half as vile / As Crocky-Wock, the crocodile. / On Saturdays he likes to crunch / Six juicy children for his lunch.” The style of writing was well paced as it was written as a rhyme. The words flowed together smoothly while reading almost like listening to a song. There were no jumps or uneven patterns in the poem allowing for an overall smooth read. Second, I liked the language of the book. The language was descriptive and followed a clear pattern. For example, “Just three of each, three girls, three boys. / He smears the boys (to make show more them hot) / With mustard from the mustard pot.” The language used followed a pattern where the last word of each sentence rhymed with its previous sentence such as ‘hot’ and ‘pot’. The word choice was also descriptive such as “he smears the boys with mustard from the mustard pot.” This gives the readers a clear visual of what the text is saying as if they were there. Lastly, I liked the illustrations of the book. The illustrations enhanced the story and fit the written text as each poem had its own unique illustrations. For example, the silly poem called “The Crocodile” was about a hungry croc who likes to eat young boys and girls with pots of mustard. The illustration following this poem was of a crocodile with a young boy and girl surrounded by pots of mustard. The illustration was colorful, vibrant, and hand-drawn. It added an overall aesthetic appeal and an extra silly component to the poem. The big idea of this book was to be imaginative and creative, no matter how silly the idea. show less

I enjoyed reading this book for a few reasons. I liked Dahl’s use of rhyming throughout nearly all of his poems. His use of rhyming creates a sense of rhythm and flow to each story. In many of the poems it helps to create a sense of predictability. For example, “No animal is half as vile as Crocky-Wock, the crocodile.” I also liked how the illustrations enhanced each poem. The illustrations were drawn in a unique which helped to set the mood for each poem. The main idea of all of these poems revolves around mischievous animals. Although the poems are not directly connected, they all relate to this main idea.

This is a collection of twisted, yet still child appropriate, poems about animals. There is a flying cow, the grammar confused Ant-eater, the child eating crocodile, scorpion, and lion, as well as one of Dahl's most inventive characters, the Tummy Beast, among others. The Tummy Beast poem in particular is a great share for kids and really gets kids imagination going.