Esio Trot by Roald Dahl, Quentin Blake (Illustrator)
Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Book Summary:
Mr. Hoppy is in love with Mrs. Silver, but her heart belongs to Alfie, her pet tortoise. Mr. Hoppy is too shy to approach Mrs. Silver, until one day he comes up with a brilliant idea to win her heart. If Mr. Hoppy’s plan works, Mrs. Silver will certainly fall in love with him. But it’s going to take one hundred and forty tortoises, an ancient spell, and a little bit of magic.
Book Review:
Kids books are always fun to read! And I have always loved Roald Dahl. Plus this version is illustrated by Quentin Blake so gotta be awesome. I have the illustrated version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and this pair is just genius! They work magic and Quentin Blake has a way of bringing Dahl’s books and characters to life. A magical pair if ever there was.
For the young, and the young at heart, and Roald Dahl fans. So basically everyone in the world, I suppose! If you aren’t a Dahl fan, get outta here!
I agree, this is not as good as his other works, but it’s also shorter and a quick half hour read for an adult. Of course I compare every book of his to Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory so I suppose I’m just making it difficult for myself. I appreciate the depth Dahl goes into for any sort of character and this book was no different.
Yes, it was a tad disconcerting but then again, Dahl always is. So it isn’t so much an observation on this story in particular as it is on Dahl in general. And I like it. I like that he doesn’t sugarcoat and that he shows kids early on that life isn’t always fair and nice. I don’t read children-oriented books much but I sincerely hope there are more writers who trust the resilience of little kids and aren’t afraid to put some underlying realities in books.
Maybe very young kids should not be read this book, but I guess if a kid is old enough to read it on their own, give it to them.
I still haven’t read all his books and I absolutely plan to. Esio Trot rekindled my Dahl fascination.
More Dahl reviews coming soon!
View all reviews | Are you a writer?
