Wow wow wow! This absolute gem has been sat on my bookshelf for goodness knows how long just WAITING for me to read it! As a teacher, I’ve always struggled with the poetry side of literacy (think I was put off when I was in secondary school with the most dull poems in the world). THIS book is full of hilarious, funny, snappy, and engaging poems/ short stories! Fantastic for exploring poems, rhymes and even short stories with children! Will DEFINITELY be using this in class!

Maravilloso

Read as part of the Goodreads Summer Reading Challenge. Check out how I'm doing — https://lovethevillain.wordpress.com/...

Roald Dahl is a wonderful author. These poems are fun and easy to read, clearly meant to excite a child's imagination with their graphic, and sometimes gross, descriptions.

Some of the poems are a little dated these days, with several things that I'm not sure would pass as politically correct, but it's all harmless fun and very amusing to read.

My favourite poem is, without a doubt, The Ant-Eater. Such perfect imagery with a hilariously deserved story, and a gory climax. It has everything a kid could want!

The illustrations by Quentin Blake are perfect, as always. One of the greatest, and best known, illustrators of all time.

Still as unconventional yet with all the syrupy goodness I remember from reading Dahl years ago. I know it’s a kids book but it still gives you a warm buzz! Dahl’s large books I’d likely take with me on holiday, having been reacquainted.

Very fun to read!

Similar to Revolting Rhymes, it's poetry with rhyming phrases on different animals.

I liked "the tummy beast" and it was funny.

Caution - Given the current level of sensitivity towards many things, some of the poems might feel offensive.

Akin to Revolting Rhymes, stories about scary animals and the children that encounter them.

This book falls somewhere between good fun and potentially harmful. I suspect it could terrify young or imaginative children, and others would be delighted.

Runot ja kielenkäyttö ovat Elukoissa nerokkaita, kuten Dahlilla yleensä, ja suomennos toimi mielestäni mainiosti. Valitettavasti Dahlin lastenkirjoissa on usein todella rajua läskifobiaa ja ilkeilyä ihmisten ulkonäöstä, mikä vaivasi minua jo omassa lapsuudessani Dahlin kirjoja lukiessani. Elukat ei ole tähän poikkeus, ja kirjan viimeinen runo pudottikin minulla tähtien määrää kahdella.

3.5*
More funny subversive verse from Dahl where animals often get the better of their human masters.

My favorite is where an existential pig ponders his purpose.

"The pig"
“The butcher’s shop!
The carving knife!
That is the reason for my life!”

Another favorite is this animal tale where the four-legged creature one-ups the upright folk.

"The ant-eater"
Some wealthy folks from U.S.A.,
Who lived near San Francisco Bay,
Possessed an only child called Roy,
A plump and unattractive boy –
Half-baked, half-witted and half-boiled,
But worst of all, most dreadfully spoiled.

Another find, thrown away by the library. Roald Dahl had such a scary strange mind. And I understand why you would never read these bedtime poems to your young child. Still, I like his imagination and appreciate his strange quirks.

On a Roald Dahl reading spree and loving it

For 2025, I decided I would listen to short audiobooks with my children when we travel in the car (to school, to the beach, to Wales etc) So we started with these audios. The kids thought it was hilarious