Another classic Roald Dahl book I read as a child, but don't own a copy of as an adult. I'll have to keep an eye out for a secondhand copy!

An emaciated anteater that will eat your favorite aunt; a carnivorous crocodile that, if given the say on how his meals should be prepared, prefers little boys lathered with mustard and little girls basted in butterscotch; a pig in the throes of an existential crisis who eats a butcher; a hedgehog that does not make for a good seat; a magical cow with wings; fevered Frenchmen who will eat any frog or snail, even if the frog or snail is magical; a rude creature with a cockney accent that lives in a hungry boy's stomach; a devilishly subversive children's author who's not afraid to pen a few nasty rhymes: these are all dirty beasts you ought to watch out for.

Mr Roald Dahl simply a genius! Love this

roald dahl’s worst work!

Много се натъжих. Дори не съм ядосана или нещо такова - по-активно като отношение. Не е честно в страната на Валери Петров, Мая Дългъчева, Виктор Самуилов... да има толкова нескопосани преводи на детски стихотворения. И то на Роалд Дал. Писна ми да "учим" децата, че римата е това, което прави стихотворението стихотворение. Ами, не е. Музиката е. Крайно време е да стане ясно, че римата без ритъм е като лупа,надвиснала точно над уликата - тя прави дефектите десетократно по-видими, тя осветлява липсата на хармония и мелодия с огромен прожектор.

Ето пример, сами преценете.

(оригинал)
In England once there lived a big
And wonderfully clever pig.
To everybody it was plain
That Piggy had a massive brain.

(превод)
Живееше в Англия прасе едно,
с удивителен ум надарено бе то.
За всички бе пределно ясно,
че мозък голям е Прасчо.

Rowie, to whom I read this book yesterday, would like other four-year-olds to know that it has a flying cow who poos on someone's head. You can see a picture and everything.

I read Dirty Beasts to my 7 year old daughter and we both loved it. She gives it 11 marks out of 10, hence the 5 ⭐. Also, Roald Dahl almost matches Richard Laymon for use of the word rump in this book.

Alongside Revolting Rhymes this is an absolute must have book.
Full of fun, at times slightly naughty tales that kids will adore this once again proves why Roald Dahl is so beloved to children (and adults) worldwide.

I read this as a kid of course, but I reread it as I dug it up while doing some minor cleaning this morning... man. Roald Dahl had a twisted bastard kind of mind. I have no idea how much this has affected me but I'm sure my own twisted sensibilities come from the likes of this, which is a short but grisly series of poem-vignettes about animals who may/may not have existential dilemmas and in nearly all cases eat the humans who are either going to eat them or are just nearby. What helps set it apart though are the illustrations by the ever-impressive Quentin Blake, who was the first children's book illustrator I latched on to after Dr. Seuss. If Roald Dahl is the Alan Moore of children's books, a questionable Brit who subverts all our expectations, then Blake is Dave Gibbons.

bottom line, you'll know if this is for you by the first three pages, which makes Animal Farm look like... kids stuff lol

A selection of animal based poems by the master of children's literature. Delightfully funny.

A short books of mostly animal rhymes, with a couple designed to be interactive. I'll probably consult this one when I have my own kids, but it's not something I plan to come back to. The rhymes are funny, but is definitely for younger readers.

A quick 54 page book of children's poetry that you can finish in a short time when you're looking for something lighthearted. Giving 3 stars because some things said about other countries were not pleasant and didn't age very well.

Examples:

Everyone was well-behaved
Except for one horrid man
Who travelled from Afghanistan

Or calling French people brutes for their diet of escargot and frog legs.