The Magic Finger (Paperback)

by Roald Dahl (Author), Blake Quentin (Author) "The farm next to ours is owned by Mr and Mrs Gregg..." (more)
Key Phrases: magic finger, Magic Finger

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The Gregg family loves hunting, but their eight-year-old neighbor can't stand it. After countless pleas for them to stop are ignored, she has no other choice -- she has to put her magic finger on them. Now the Greggs are a family of birds, and like it or not, they're going to find out how it feels to be on the other end of the gun.

About the Author
Roald Dahl, the best-loved of children's writers, was born in Wales of Norwegian parents. After school in England he went to work for Shell in Africa. He began to write after "a monumental bash on the head", sustained as an RAF pilot in warld War II. Roald Dahl died in 1990. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (September 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0141302291
• ISBN-13: 978-0141302294
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #373,185 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 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 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.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

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

By	Shaptyl "shaptyl" (Amman Jordan) - See all my reviews

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

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

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

By A Customer

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.