Customer Reviews

The Magic Finger

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

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.

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.

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

This book was SO funny! It gives people an idea of why hunting is stupid! The Gregg family is always shooting ducks and their neighbor finally gets so fed up with them she uses her magic finger to turn them all into birds! Lets them see what they put their victims through. I reccomend this book to anyone with an imagination,and to anyone who is strongly for hunting or strongly against it; those who are against it will enjoy how this book conveys your protest, and those who are for it will hopefully see why it can be so bad!

How would you like it, if you woke up and had wings? That's what happened to the Gregg family, when a girl with the magic finger got mad at them. This girl gets very angry at people and the magic in her finger happens to change their lives in funny ways. This is a great book for kids, because the magic that her finger makes creates some shocking situations. Read The Magic Finger, by Roald Dahl, because it is funny, surprising, and you'll never want to put it down.

A young eight-year-old girl, the protagonist and narrator in The Magic Finger by Roald Dahl wants her friends Phillip and William Greg to stop hunting poor animals. She tries to stop them from hunting in the most polite manor, but they just snicker at her. She tries to avoid it, but one day the Gregs have gone too far. She uses the power of the "magic finger" on them, and something happens that she regrets. Will the Greg family be o.k.? Will they ever be normal again? I think this kids book could have used more challenging vocabulary, but sends a very important message. I would recommend this book for children ages 7-10.

This is the story of the Gregg's...mostly of the male Gregg's, the father, his son's and their love of hunting. When their unnamed 8 year old neighbor gets fed up with asking them nicely to stop killing birds and deer, she does the only thing she can...she uses the Magic Finger on them. We learn exactly what result befell the teacher how dared tell her what a stupid little girl she thought our nameless girl was in front of the whole class...and now it's the Gregg's turn to find out what it means to get the Magic Finger...I bet it's a lesson they won't soon forget! This is a fairly short book, slim on the characterization...but with loads of quirks and twists that make for a good fun read! Just the right length that we could all enjoy it and the Magic Finger would also make a fine read aloud book (for reading over a couple of nights). I give it a B+, great fun for young readers with just the right amount of hilarity to go with the lesson being taught here.

Would you ever want to have a magic finger? A little girl has a magic finger .The little girl used her magic finger on her teacher. The Gregg family had duck wings after the little girl gets mad because the family was hunting for fun. This book is funny and exciting and great. I learned that a little girl dose not like to hunt. And she has a magic finger. Find out what happens when a family is turned into a family with wings.
GC

Would you ever image having a Magic Finger? I read the "Magic Finger" and I have to tell you it is good! The author Roald Dahl is a good writer. A girl changes her neighbors into duck. This is a funny book because a bird talks on a phone. I give this book 5 stars.
RP

...>Do you believe in magic? Well, if you read The Magic Finger you will! "The Magic Finger" is about a girl who has a finger that is magic. Whenever she gets mad she can't control her finger. It takes over her body and her finger points at whomever she is mad at. One day her neighbors, the Gregg family, where out hunting for birds, the girls tried to tell them that it is bad to kill birds. The Gregg family just laughed at her. Her magic finger takes over and something strange happens. If you want to know all of the Gregg problems, read the book yourself. Do you believe in magic now? Well, if you don't read the book. If you child has not read a chapter book this is a good beginning. Even if your child has read chapter books they should still read it. This book is a great book. I think all ages can read and enjoy this book...well maybe ages 4 and over. It's 63 pages long and has pictures on almost every page...