Ease Reading-Find Your Next Favorite Book

Hot Search

Dirty Beasts

roald dahl quentin blake

... Show More
Roald Dahl, that master of wicked humor, has created a ghastly menagerie of dirty beasts—all doing the most extraordinary and unmentionable things, in irrelevant and absurdly comic verse!

"No animal is half so vile, as Crocky-Wock the crocodile.
On Saturdays he likes to crunch
Six juicy children for his lunch, and he especially enjoys
Just three of each, three girls, three boys."

Dahl once again lets his 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! A clever pig with an unmentionable plan to save his own bacon and an anteater with an unusually large appetite are among the characters created by Dahl in these timeless rhymes.

Roald Dahl, the brilliant and worldwide acclaimed author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, and many more classics for children, also wrote scores of short stories. These delightful tales have often been turned into hit films or television episodes, and even today, Roald Dahl's stories continue to make millions of readers rejoice with his brilliant prose.

Story List:
- The Pig
- The Crocodile
- The Lion
- The Scorpion
- The Ant-Eater
- The Porcupine
- The Cow
- The Toad and the Snail

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1,1983

This edition

Format
32 pages, Paperback
Published
October 14, 2002 by Viking Books for Young Readers
ISBN
9780142302279
ASIN
0142302279
Language
English

More editions

About the author

Profile Image for roald dahl

roald dahl

... Show More
Roald Dahl was a British novelist, short story writer and screenwriter of Norwegian descent, who rose to prominence in the 1940's with works for both children and adults, and became one of the world's bestselling authors.

Dahl's first published work, inspired by a meeting with C. S. Forester, was Shot Down Over Libya. Today the story is published as A Piece of Cake. The story, about his wartime adventures, was bought by the Saturday Evening Post for $900, and propelled him into a career as a writer. Its title was inspired by a highly inaccurate and sensationalized article about the crash that blinded him, which claimed he had been shot down instead of simply having to land because of low fuel.

His first children's book was The Gremlins, about mischievous little creatures that were part of RAF folklore. The book was commissioned by Walt Disney for a film that was never made, and published in 1943. Dahl went on to create some of the best-loved children's stories of the 20th century, such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda and James and the Giant Peach.

He also had a successful parallel career as the writer of macabre adult short stories, usually with a dark sense of humour and a surprise ending. Many were originally written for American magazines such as Ladies Home Journal, Harper's, Playboy and The New Yorker, then subsequently collected by Dahl into anthologies, gaining world-wide acclaim. Dahl wrote more than 60 short stories and they have appeared in numerous collections, some only being published in book form after his death. His stories also brought him three Edgar Awards: in 1954, for the collection Someone Like You; in 1959, for the story "The Landlady"; and in 1980, for the episode of Tales of the Unexpected based on "Skin".

Readers also enjoyed

Community Reviews

Rating(4 / 5.0, 100 votes)
5 stars
32(32%)
4 stars
32(32%)
3 stars
36(36%)
2 stars
0(0%)
1 stars
0(0%)
100 reviews All reviews
Profile Image for Kimberly .
lightofvictory
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
... Show More
To start of my reading challenge, let's begin with something delightful and fun. Story was lovely, a collection of poems (verses) involving dirty beasts, naughty and bad beasts for me. I had fun reading them, i love the story of the porcupine and the toad and the snail. Roald Dahl never fails to amaze the kid in me.
0 0 Reply
Profile Image for Kimberly .
RudolfTostarrica
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
... Show More
This is a very entertaining collection of poems by Roald Dahl. The verse includes some rather eye-opening concepts that are probably more appropriate for an older child who can appreciate the wit.

Irreverant and often mischievous, the poems are a startling, but refreshing change from the typical children's poetry book fare.

A few of them were familiar to us, likely because we recently read Vile Verses, and some of the poems were included in that book, too.

I thought it was interesting that this edition was illustrated by someone other than Quentin Blake; we associate all of Mr. Dahl's works with Mr. Blake's pictures, so it was quite a change. Still, Rosemary Fawcett does a good job of adding a humorous tone to the illustrations.

We took our time reading the poems. The flow and rhyme scheme make them so much fun to read aloud. We really enjoyed reading this book together.
0 0 Reply
Profile Image for Kimberly .
CantoneseAnime
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
... Show More
The poems tell hilarious and quite dark stories based on different animals. The illustrations are beautiful and very engaging for children. The use of creative language also provides a lot of inspiration for creative writing activities. As the stories can be quite dark I would recommend reading it beforehand to decide if it is appropriate for the children in an individual class, although generally speaking, I believe it would be appropriate for a year 3 class.

I was would use this book as a base for creative writing exercises, for example, having children create their own poems. Starting by creating their own character for the stories lead. Children can use the language within the book if needed but should be encouraged to come up with their own language where possible.
0 0 Reply
Profile Image for Kimberly .
Caffeine
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
... Show More
Много ми харесва тази книга защото е много интересна и Весела
0 0 Reply
Profile Image for Kimberly .
duckiwi
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
... Show More
What?!? There's a Dahl book that I'd not previously read!!

This second collection of poem's doesn't quite match the brilliance of Revolting Rhythms, though his humorously dark take on various animals is still a fun quirky read.

My favourite of these tales was the opening poem concerning an intelligent pig who knows what his owner is planning on doing to him.

Seeing the Rol-Poly Bird featuring was also a nice touch.
0 0 Reply
Profile Image for Kimberly .
vontroxell
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
... Show More
A fun children's classic that will surely inspire a new generation of readers.
0 0 Reply
Profile Image for Kimberly .
MayaLoux
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
... Show More
Most people tell me I'm morbid but that's only because I've grown up reading the delightfully dark books by Roald Dahl. The collection of poems that is Dirty Beast is not just for kids. If you haven't read it do so now.
0 0 Reply
Leave a Review
You must be logged in to rate and post a review. Register an account to get started.