(2) YA Illustrated by Quentin Blake. Eight new vignettes and some additional apparatus constitute the "more" in this expanded edition of Dahl's memoir. In autobiography the author reveals the identical sensibility celebrated in his fiction; readers for whom this resonates will be delighted to have a bit more Dahl (although new sidenotes can be heavy-handed). Blake keeps the silliness quotient high with his energetic drawings.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2009

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Quentin Blake. This fortieth anniversary edition is a larger-format version of the 2001 edition illustrated by Quentin Blake. The trim size--closer to a picture book than a novel--and the addition of color to the illustrations make this volume more suitable as a lap-sharing read-aloud.

Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Quentin Blake. Dahl's humorous story tells about George, the mischievous medicine maker, and the bewitching effects that his potent potion has on his grumpy grandma and the farmyard animals. This reissue retains Quentin Blake's illustrations and includes an appended interview with the author.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Quentin Blake. Quentin Blake's angular, active artwork illustrates this edition, which includes an interview with Dahl. The satisfying, if unsubtle, story is a classic triumph of the underdog, er, underground animals, led by Mr. Fox to dig a deep burrow so well-supplied by the stores of their enemies, Farmers Bean, Boggis, and Bunce, that they'll never have to go aboveground again.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Quentin Blake. The author's most notorious couple and the revenge-seeking Muggle Wump and his family carry out their carnivalesque antics in this reissue.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Quentin Blake. This edition of the classic story contains an interview with the author and sketches by Quentin Blake that are lively and humorous--but not quite as magical as Nancy Ekholm Burkert's original illustrations of James's adventures.

Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Quentin Blake. Nine-year-old Danny, schooled by his father in the art of poaching, foils the disagreeable Mr. Hazell. The story's finest aspect is the mutual devotion of father and son; the rest is pure farce. Dahl's classic story is now available in a hardcover edition that includes an interview with the author.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc. | Horn Book Magazine Issue: April, 1976

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Quentin Blake. As with any of Dahl's creations, delivered with dimensions appealing to both adult and child, the usual caveat emptor applies to these admittedly remarkable and undoubtedly mischievous rhymes. This edition of six fairy tales includes an interview with the author.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Quentin Blake. Blake's energetic black-and-white illustrations enliven and update Dahl's cautionary rags-to-riches story, where impoverished, unassuming little Charlie Bucket outlasts the selfish other four candidates to win the grand prize: Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. The slapdash effect of the whimsical drawings matches Wonka's hyperactive speech and the generally frenetic narrative.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian

(2) 1-3 Illustrated by Quentin Blake. First published as a picture book, The Enormous Crocodile was the first work to marry the deliciously dark humor of Roald Dahl with the light touch of Quentin Blake's expressive illustrations. Reproduced in a twenty-first anniversary "storybook edition" (more pages, smaller trim size), some of the pictures have been enlarged, appearing somewhat blurry and washed-out.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc. | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 1979

(4) YA Only a few of these stories selected from Dahl's adult anthologies may be compelling to young readers. These include a macabre tale of a murderous wife, a page-turner about a missing diamond, and a funny entry about a pair of hapless pheasant poachers. But the vast majority of these selections feature adult protagonists with adult concerns, which may limit the volume's audience.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta

(3) YA Illustrated by Ralph Steadman. Originally published in 1946 in The Saturday Evening Post, this true story concerns Gordon Butcher, a plowman from Suffolk, who unearths a priceless treasure trove of Roman silver in a field. Because of the greedy machinations of a fellow plowman, Butcher is cheated of his fortune. This sophisticated edition includes brooding pictures splattered with ink and watercolor that perfectly evoke the story's dark undertones.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(4) YA Culled from his adult fiction collections, Dahl's tales range from the tragic wartime story "Katina," to droll, unsettling mini-dramas about a sadistic wager and a beekeeper's attempts to fatten up his underweight infant. Some teenagers may appreciate the subtle humor and ironic endings, but many may find the subject matter--which is often of more interest to adults--outside their realm of interest.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.