The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar [Paperback]

Roald Dahl (Author)

Book Description

Release date: May 1, 2000 | Age Range: 3 - 5 years

Seven superb stories, from the world's no. 1 storyteller

Meet the boy who can talk to animals and the man who can see with his eyes closed. And find out about the treasure buried deep underground. A cleaver mix of fact and fiction, this collection also includes how master storyteller Roald Dahl became a writer. With Roald Dahl, you can never be sure where reality ends and fantasy begins.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Few modern writers have attracted such an appreciative audience among adults and children as Dahl. . . . All the tales are entrancing inventions." -- "Publishers Weekly" --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Inside Flap

If you could see with your eyes closed, how would you use your power? That's what Henry has to decide in "The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar,"one of the seven stories in this extra-ordinary collection. In addition to imaginative and magical tales, this book also contains the true story of how Roald Dahl became a writer, as well as a copy of the very first nonfiction story he wrote for The Saturday Evening Post. Packed with wit and adventure, the collection is a clever mix of fantasy and reality — and a stunning showcase of Dahl's prose. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 3 - 5 years
  
• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (May 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0141304707
• ISBN-13: 978-0141304700
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.7 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (65 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #27,647 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #47 in Books > Children's Books > Literature & Fiction > Short Story Collections

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.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Wonderful Story of HENRY SUGAR and Six More January 31, 2006

A Kid's Review

Format:Hardcover

This is a collection of short stories written by Roald Dahl.

The first story is The Boy who talked with animals. This story is about an old turtle that gets caught by a bunch of fishermen. They are about to drag the turtle up the beach when a boy comes running down the beach and hugs the ferocious turtle. He appears to be talking to him. The father of the boy buys the turtle, and the turtle swims away, but the next morning the kid is gone.

The second story is called The Hitchhiker. It is about a man who hitchhikes in a guy's car. The man steals the mans shoelace, his belt, and his wallet without the mans knowing. He gives them back though. He is very quick with his hands and he can take anything he wants without people knowing.

The next story is The Swan. It is about a boy who gets bullied and the bullying kids shoot a swan. They cut off the swan's wings and tie them to the boy's arms. They force him to climb a tree, and forced him to jump, and try to "fly." In a miracle the boy flies back to his house, and to safety.

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar is about a man named Henry who reads a book that tells you how to see without your eyes. Henry practices this for years until he has mastered it. Henry goes to a casino and he can see through the cards. Henry starts going to different casinos and sending his winnings to orphanages.

Lucky Break is about how he became a writer. He was in the war with Germany and after the war, a writer wanted to write about him in the paper. He wrote out a little story about him in the war and sent it to the writer, and the writer loved it. He published it under Roald's name.

A Piece of Cake is that first story that Roald wrote. It is about him crashing, and having all of these weird dreams that he can't stop running, and that he is drowning.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, a review by Purna Shah December 9, 1997

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

Lookin for a good book while browsing through the bookstore? Pick up this. I know that you'll read one sentence and then you'll be hooked on it through the entire two hundred something pages. It is a Dahl masterpiece. Dahl is my favorite writer of all time, but this is his best. Dahl is a unboring classical writer, even though he hasn't been elected as one.

I have read all of his books and short stories (except for the out of print ones) and they are the best. Even his adult ones I've read. But this, as I said, is the best. It is my prized posession. The only problem is that my copy is not a hardcover. Seven stories, with the style of a writer who has been wishing at a genie to be the best writer ever. The stories are: THE BOY WHO TALKED WITH ANIMALS, THE HITCHHIKER, THE SWAN, THE MILDENHALL TREASURE, THE WONDERFUL STORY OF HENRY SUGAR, LUCKY BREAK: HOW I BECAME A WRITER, and A PIECE OF CAKE. You must buy a copy of this!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Good for any age March 1, 2005

By Matt Hetling

Format:Paperback

This is probably the best collection of Roald Dahl's short stories in existence.

Although he is best known for writing children's novels, Dahl was a master of the short story, and always wanted to be known for writing something above the level of children.

This book contains all the stories that combine his best elements; they are short stories, some of which have literary aspersions above his most famous novels, and yet they are accessible enough to be read by all ages.

Needless to say, they are intensely, wickedly good.

The collection contains seven stories, which range from 16 to 70 pages in length. The final two are definitely more adult oriented; _Lucky Break_ is a memoir-style account of how he went from being a poor english student to a professional writer, and _A Piece of Cake_ is his first published story, which appears to be based on his wartime experiences without necessarily being 100% accurate in its minor details. For an enthusiastic Dahl fan like myself, getting a glimpse of the man behind the curtain is exciting, and getting to know more about Dahl is a real treat.

Really, all of the stories are just fantastic, so I won't bother repeating how good each one is . But the stories are:

_The Boy Who Talked With Animals_ , which is about a young tourist boy at a beach resort who seeks to free a giant sea turtle which has been captured by the hotel management. This sounds like a children's story, but the characterization and the setting are quite adult.

_The Hitchhiker_ is an amusing tale about a british hitchhiker who reveals himself to be a fingersmith, a master classman of the pickpocketing profession. The interplay between three different levels of british society-the journalist driver, the rough cockney passenger, and a belligerent traffic cop, are very fun.

_The Mildenhall Treasure_ is an oddball story that is different because it's true (and not a firsthand experience). It tells the story of a plowman who comes across a great cache of valuable silver while plowing in the fields one day, and the way that it affects his life.

_The Swan_ is a story about childhood cruelty, in which a weak and inoffensive boy is pushed to the absolute limits of his endurance by two beebeegun-toting bullies who catch him in the woods alone. There is a surprise ending here that I've come to adore over the years.

_The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar_ is about a greedy man (Henry Sugar) who decides to apply himself to learn the powers of an indian yogi. This is a frame story around two interior stories that have the same themes, are fascinating in their own right, and which give weight to Henry's story. He finds that he can indeed learn the powers, but not without changing himself. This story ends with the type of madcap scheming that colors so many of his children's books.

I loved each one of these stories, from the time I was a preteen right through today, twenty years later. They all display Dahl's ability to find the most interesting parts of a story, and to make them even more interesting. Even better, many of these stories have something to say, which gives them some literary merit even as they entertain us.

If you like these stories, you might give his adult short story collections a try (collections I would recommend are The Umbrella Man and Skin).