The Magic Finger [Paperback]

Roald Dahl (Author), Quentin Blake (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1997

Angered by a neighboring family's sport hunting, an eight-year-old girl turns her magic finger on them.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Roald Dahl, the best-loved of children's writers, was born in Wales of Norwegian parents. His books continue to be bestsellers, despite his death in 1990, and total UK sales are 55 million worldwide! Quentin Blake is one of the best-known and best-loved children's illustrators and it's impossible now to think of Roald Dahl's writings without imagining Quentin Blake's illustrations. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (May 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0590132059
• ISBN-13: 978-0590132053
• ASIN: 0140386165
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,378,051 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Roald Dahl (1916-1990) was born in Llandaff, South Wales, and went to Repton School in England. His parents were Norwegian, so holidays were spent in Norway. As he explains in Boy, he turned down the idea of university in favor of a job that would take him to"a wonderful faraway place. In 1933 he joined the Shell Company, which sent him to Mombasa in East Africa. When World War II began in 1939 he became a fighter pilot and in 1942 was made assistant air attaché in Washington, where he started to write short stories. His first major success as a writer for children was in 1964. Thereafter his children's books brought him increasing popularity, and when he died children mourned the world over, particularly in Britain where he had lived for many years.The BFG is dedicated to the memory of Roald Dahls eldest daughter, Olivia, who died from measles when she was seven - the same age at which his sister had died (fron appendicitis) over forty years before. Quentin Blake, the first Children's Laureate of the United Kingdom, has illustrated most of Roald Dahl's children's books.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lots of thoughts about this little book..., February 14, 2002

By 

Jane James "homeschoolmum" (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Magic Finger (Paperback)

This book has a lot going for it, but I wouldn't recommend it for every child.

A very positive point for this book, is that it's written at about a second-grade level. Equivalent to the "Step 2" or "Level 2" books. It's actually got quite a story, but it's written easily enough for beginning readers to enjoy, which is really great and sometimes hard to find.

I thought the illustrations were wonderful and whimsical.

The story itself might be a little tough for an already extremely empathetic child to read. Since it depicts the feelings of ducks who are being hunted, this might be a sensitive issue for some. Introduce this book to the child of a hunting family, or even just a family of typical meat-eaters and you might find yourself with an angry little vegetarian on your hands! (Especially interesting, when contrasted against Dahl's "Danny, The Champion of the World" - a hunter's hero!)

My children enjoyed this story (and still eat their burgers), but I think for some children, it might raise some ethical problems. Which isn't always a bad thing, of course! But parents beware! This story might lead to a domestic revolt.

Of course, any family of vegetarians won't have a problem with this story at all. And, as another reviewer mentioned, this book can certainly offer some good "empathy" discussions with children.

22 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Magic Finger, June 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Magic Finger (Paperback)

The magic finger is the thought provoking story of a little girl who could cast a curse on anyone she was angry with. The one thing that made her maddest of all was shooting animals just for the fun of it. And so when the Gregg family on the next farm went out shooting ducks, she turned their arms to wings and the ducks wings to arms. It was only after a tremendous ordeal, including being shot at by the ducks that the Greggs promised never to shoot another animal as long as they live. They even changed their names to the Egg family to remind them of their promise. The story is told from the perspective of a small eight year old girl, with magic finger, and uses the grammar, and turn of phrase that such a little girl might use, particularly near the beginning. The story therefore alternates between the first and third person, although for the bulk of the text it is indistinguishable from a standard narrative. This book has a strong underlying theme considering it's young audience, first solo reading. I would describe it as the seven year old's version of a political novel such as 1984. The theme, being animal rights, is obviously more accessible and understandable to a younger mind, but it is dealt with in an imaginative and thought provoking way. The argument which the author uses is one of empathy, basically running along the lines of "how would you like it if you were a fox, and someone started shooting at you?!" By reversing the roles of the ducks and humans, he makes the reader see the day to day life of a bird as far more taxing than they might otherwise have done, and forces them to view the ducks as more than just things. This is woven into a common childhood fantasy of having magic powers, to be used against those who are being unjust. Many children, I feel, particularly younger readers, would take the story as just a nonsensical childhood fantasy. The book's deeper meaning would be more readily apparent to a slightly older reader, or one with a special interest in the topic of animal rights.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A serious lesson, but with humor, October 10, 2001

By 

HBeano (Cambridge, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Magic Finger (Paperback)

This story is long enough to amuse an adult ,short enough to catch the attention span of 7-9 years old. Brilliantly written,it's about a nameless girl who hates hunting and succeeds in stopping her hunting-loving neighbors from ever shooting animals and birds again with the help of her magic finger which does very funny and strange things to anybody who crosses her. The story is short,so writing more details about it will only give it away spoiling the fun for first-time readers.One thing is for sure: kids and parents will enjoy reading this story together and there is a lesson to be learned by knowing how it feels to be in the other side's shoes.
Lamberd Beano
Third Grader