A Million Brilliant Reviews?
...and the winner is... click here

A Million Brilliant Poems (part one)
Poems chosen by Roger Stevens (A&C Black)

Roger has brought together the very best of recent children's poetry. From poets including Benjamin Zephania, John Hegley, Grace Nichols and Roger McGough. These are poems that shout and poems that whisper, poems that come in all shapes and sizes, but they all have one thing in common: every poem is brilliant.

The Winning Review

DIRTY BEASTS by Roald Dahl (Puffin Books)
Illustrated by Quentin Blake
Reviewed by Ruhee Parelkar (aged 8 ½)

The book is an anthology of nine rhyming poems written by Roald Dahl. I have already read many books written by Roald Dahl and always found them entertaining. So I picked up this book from the store. The book is rightly titled 'Dirty Beasts' because all the poems inside feature different kinds of animals and creatures like a pig, crocodile, scorpion, lion, porcupine, ant-eater and many more. The creatures are very frightening, very clever or unusual in some way or other. I found the book a bit is scary at times, but it is just the poet's imagination and not reality. The book is funny and scary at the same time. It is a delight to read.

My favourite poem in the book is 'The Porcupine'. It's a long poem, but is interesting because it's a story in verse. The poem is funny. It is about a girl who gets her pocket money and buys herself some chocolates. She is about to sit down on a mound and eat her chocolates in her secret place, when she suddenly jumps up throwing her chocolates. She is surprised to see prickles sticking to her bottom. She had sat on a Porcupine!

"My backside seemed to catch on fire!
A hundred bits of red-hot bits of wire
A hundred prickles sticking in
And puncturing my precious skin!"

Back home, her mother is helpless and quickly drives her down to the dentist Mr. Myers, the best person to take care of the problem. The dentist has a tough time pulling out the prickles, ignoring the girl's cries. He seems to take great delight in doing so, since fifty guineas are to come as payment.

"My dear woman, can't you see
That if it hadn't been for me
This child could go another year
With prickles sticking in her rear."

The book is beautifully illustrated by Quentin Blake, who has illustrated all of Roald Dahl's books too. Poems and illustrations go hand in hand. His pictures are eye catchy and a delight to watch. The pictures make the poem look better. The caricatures look funny indeed!

Most of the poems are meant for little children like me in the age group of 8-10 years. The younger ones may find some of the poems a bit scary, so it would be better if they read it once they reach the right age. Animal lovers will find the book enjoyable and entertaining.

I have read a couple of poems written by Edward Lear like 'The Owl and the Pussy Cat' and 'The Duck and the Kangaroo' which are about animals and funny too. What makes Roald Dahl's poems more enjoyable is the adventure and the scare element in them.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading all the poems in the book. I would award the poem five stars out of five.

Well done, Ruhee. Your prize will be on its way soon.

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