This was one of my all-time favorites when I was a kid. I read it several times. And now my son loves it, too!

It is a father/son story, but all the more poignant because Dahl's dad died when Dahl was quite young. The book blurb says Dahl learned poaching from a friend.

Now that I am an adult I see that it (perhaps unintentionally) poses the question of whether it is okay to steal from someone who is horrible and rich? Danny and his dad are sort of like Robin Hood in this book. Editted to add: I have read some reviews, and a lot of people get hung up about the poaching business. When I was a child, poaching (for me, at least) was so far out of the realm of possibility it might as well have been fantasy. I think it is something important to talk about with your child, but the poaching does not make this a bad book.

Not sure what I expected here, but what I got was odd and a bit felonious. A dad leads his son into a life of crime, in which sleeping pills and pheasants are combined.

This might be my favorite Roald Dahl and yet it’s one I hadn’t heard of before. There’s so much to love about this one. Danny’s relationship with his dad was goals. Their unconventional story was idyllic. There’s a lot of ingenuity, fun and adventure. My son still loves Charlie and the Chocolate Factory best but this one is more low key engaging. I’d have to say I like all of Dahl’s main characters - Danny, Charlie, Matilda, George, James, even the kid from The Witches was an amiable boy. Anyway, this one was a good romp.

A re-read with Neo over the last while. I wanted to share my original review, altered with some of Neo’s sentiments in the latter part.

Dahl continues with his wonderful children's stories, telling one that has a realistic flavour to it, sure to appeal to the masses. After the death of his mother as an infant, Danny is left to live with his father. Together, they forge a bond so close that no one can come between them. Living in a small caravan out back of the service station he owns, William (Willum, at times) raises Danny the best he can. One night, Danny wakes to find his father is not in the upper bunk bed and panics, but soon locates him strolling up the pathway. After intense questioning, Danny learns that his father has been out poaching pheasants, something that many of the poorer men have been known to do on the large estate of a pompous owner. Danny is enamoured at the possibility that they can do this together, but is cautioned against it, as it is a highly dangerous and illegal affair. When Danny cannot find his father a second time, he goes out looking, only to discover that things are tied up in proverbial knots. Sharing an idea for the pheasant catching, Danny finds a way to get in on the act. What follows is a treacherous scheme that could fail at any moment, or reap rewards for many. Perhaps my favourite story to date in this re-reading adventure, Dahl dazzles and impresses at the same time.

I vaguely remember my father reading me this story when I was young, which helped fuel my desire to try it again for myself. It is also my attempt to get Neo fascinated in the art of Dahl’s writing. The ease with which the story flows is surely one of its greatest assets, alongside some great characters and a plot that is as believable as it is relatable to at least some children. Neo believed it and said that he could almost see Danny and his dad trekking out of the dead of night. Able to convey a wonderful story in short order, Dahl continues to show how he earned the title of masterful children's author of the 20th century. With a peppering mention of some other stories in his quiver (BFG, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), Dahl bridges a connection for his young readers, with just a touch of self-promotion. Neo found the connection to other stories funny and shocking as well. Short chapters foster a great adult-child joint experience and one can only hope that readers for decades to come will continue to be dazzled by the work Dahl made popular in my own youth.

Kudos, Mr. Dahl for continuing to impress with your fluid prose. I love that warm feeling your books always impart.

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This was a weird story indeed. It's about poaching and the joys there of. At least in the end, all but 6 pheasants gain their freedom and are saved from the roasting spit. It's not that I didn't enjoy the book as I did, I never thought I would root for a character to poach birds.

How well do you know your parents?

Nine-year-old Danny always lived with just his dad in their cozy gypsy caravan.

He thought he knew everything about his father, until one day he wakes up in the middle of the night to find out that his father missing.

His father - his honorable, wonderful and loving father - has a very, very huge secret.

One that will throw their lives into complete chaos.

n  I will not pretend I wasn't petrified. I was. But mixed in with the awful fear was a glorious feeling of excitement. Most of the really exciting things we do in our lives scare us to death. They wouldn't be exciting if they didn't.n

I loved the father-son relationship. The first third of the book simply describes all the things Danny does with his dad - from homemade kites to taking apart an engine.

Dahl's signature writing style made ordinary happenings into riveting adventures.

I really enjoyed how this Dahl story was so grounded in reality. There wasn't any BFGs or Chocolate Factories (though they were mentioned) to distract us from the characters.

Plus, in just every sentence you can just tell how much Danny and his dad care about each other.

n  I was glad my father was an eye-smiler. It meant he never gave me a fake smile because it's impossible to make your eyes twinkle if you aren't feeling twinkly yourself.n

The Finer Books Club - 2018 Reading Challenge: A book that doesn't fit any of the above prompts

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Sparkly! That's how this made me feel inside. Or perhaps akin to when I've downed a mug of hot chocolate. I actually think this is a rather useful "guidebook to new parents" than a children's book, but maybe that's because I'm only discovering Dahl in my adult life.

The book's plot (more or less): Danny's a little boy who grows up being in love with his father. They go through some amazing adventures together. And Danny continues to be in love with his father. The end.

This book has all the fuzzies! Scrumptious meals, scintillating secrets, nerve wracking plans, beautiful relationships, and humble joys. This one book can take care of your entire emotional range.

I picked this up when I found myself drudging along with two brain-power heavy non fiction books and life felt annoyingly overwhelming. Danny was just the perfect twinkle in my life.

خیلی دوستش داشتم! بعد از متیلدا مورد علاقه‌ترینم از رولد دال شد. داستان و شخصیت پردازی ها به شدت خوب بودن و شخصیت بابای دنی با اختلاف از همه بهتر بود:))

_هرچی بزرگ‌تر می‌شی چیزهای بیشتری یاد می‌گیری، درست مثل من که پاییز اون سال فهمیدم هیچ پدری بی عیب و نقص نیست. آدم بزرگا موجودات پیچیده ای هستن و وجودشون پر از مخفی کاری و خصلت های عجیب و غریبه.
بعضی هاشون از بقیه آدما عجیب‌تر و مخفی کارتر به نظر می‌رسن، اما همه اونا، من‌جمله پدر و مادر ها، دو سه تا عادت شخصی دارن که کسی از اونا خبر نداره و موقعی که اونا رو کشف می‌کنی، نفست بند میاد.

_"صبر کن یه چیز بامزه درباره‌ قورباغه نر برات تعریف کنم. اون‌قدر از صدای خودش خوشش می‌یاد که یکسره می‌خونه و زنش مجبور می‌شه چندبار بهش سقلمه بزنه تا کوتاه بیاد و دست از خوندن برداره."
از حرفای پدرم خنده‌م گرفته بود‌.
پدرم چشمکی به من زد و گفت:"این‌قدر بلند نخند. ما مردا فرق زیادی با قورباغه نر نداریم".

I really enjoyed this story. I loved the overarching message, and I loved the relationship between father and son. It was entertaining, endearing and funny. This was one of the Roald Dahl stories that I hadn't read as a child, so it was nice to read it with fresh and new eyes, having zero expectations.

I am currently trying to read all of Roald Dahl's books this year.

I want to start off letting you know where I stand. This book did not impress me. After reading sooo many of Roald Dahl's books this year, this book was a let down. There wasn't a lot to the plot and it became very boring at moments. If this book wasn't so short it probably would have been a DNF for me. This book also wasn't creative. The main character was very similar to the main character intGeorge's Marvelous Medicine, they mentioned creatures that other books have in them, birds (like in The Minpins) and again this book talked about chocolate and candy. I might have to take a break from his books soon, because he keeps an extremely similar pattern and creativity with all his books.

About the book:
Danny's mother passes away, so it is only him and his father. Danny wakes up in the middle of the night to find his father is not a sleep. He finds out that his father has been poaching pheasants. This is a dangerous and very illegal activity but Danny decides he wants to do it with his father. Danny comes up with a new method for poaching. A sleeping medicine that has all the pheasants fall asleep. However, sleeping medicine can only last so long and eventually it wore off….

Este audiolibro de 4 horas y media es adecuado para entrenar la comprensión auditiva en inglés en niveles B1-B2. Al lector se le entiende muy bien, pues como los personajes son humanos (no animales que hablan), las voces que modula el lector no son tan “cartoon” como en otros audiolibros de Roald Dahl. Aparece una mayor cantidad de vocabulario y expresiones coloquiales que en otros de sus libros más cortos (Esio Trot, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Giraffe and the Pelly and me).
La historia puede ser más aceptable para un adulto por esa misma razón, e igualmente un niño la disfrutará tanto o más que otras historias del autor. Es entretenida, dinámica y divertida.
Por desgracia, en el conjunto de todas las lecturas no puedo darle una mayor valoración, pero en la categoría de libros infantiles Roald Dahl se llevaría 5 estrellas sin dudarlo. Lamento no disponer de un sistema de valoración más preciso.

این کتاب‌ها رو اون‌وقت‌ها که خیلی جوون بودم و کتاب‌های کودک و نوجوان می‌فروختم خونده بودم ولی از خاطرم رفته بودن. به عنوان یه بزرگسال حتی برای بار دوم خوندن کتاب‌های رولد دال لذت‌بخش و عالی بود. کاش وقتی نوجوان بودم می‌خوندمشون...
دنی قهرمان جهان ماجرای پسربچه‌ایه که به همراه باباش توی یه استیشن کنارپمپ بنزینشون زندگی می‌کنه. باباش خیلی آدم باحالیه و خود دنی هم خیلی باهوشه. دنی و پدرش یه روز تصمیم می‌گیرن به خاطر اینکه حال یه آدم پول‌دار عوضی رو بگیرن برن و تمام قرقاوول‌هاش رو شکار کنن که جشن شکار قرقاولی که یارو خیلی بهش می‌نازه به هم بخوره. همین ماجرا کلی اتفاقات هیجان‌انگیز و بامزه پیش میاره.
شخصیت‌پردازی کتاب خوبه. داستانش عالیه. هیجانش حسابیه و واقعا خوندنیه. ترجمه رو هم شخصا دوست داشتم و روان بود.
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