Eli reviewed Esio Trot by Roald Dahl
None
2 stars
Deceit and trickery gets you what you want? A bit of a sad message albeit a happy ending.

Roald Dahl, Quentin Blake, Miguel Sáenz: Agu Trot (Paperback, 2016, Santillana Educación, S.L.)
Paperback, 80 pages
Published Jan. 13, 2016 by Santillana Educación, S.L..
Another whimsical book by author Roald Dahl. Mr. Hoppy is in love with Mrs. Silver, but she doesn't even know he's alive. The only one she has eyes for is her pet tortoise, Alfie. How can Mr. Hoppy get her to notice him? Why, with magic, of course! An ancient spell, and 140 special tortoises are just the tools he needs ― because the way to Mrs. Silver's heart is through her tortoise!
Another whimsical book by author Roald Dahl. Mr. Hoppy is in love with Mrs. Silver, but she doesn't even know he's alive. The only one she has eyes for is her pet tortoise, Alfie. How can Mr. Hoppy get her to notice him? Why, with magic, of course! An ancient spell, and 140 special tortoises are just the tools he needs ― because the way to Mrs. Silver's heart is through her tortoise!
Deceit and trickery gets you what you want? A bit of a sad message albeit a happy ending.
Bloody 'ell! I dunno what happened here. Roald Dahl, one of the most imaginative children's writers ever has lost the plot here. He had an idea of a story and it feels like he couldn't figure how to get the story out of his head. Esio Trot is very brief, it shows you how to manipulate a daft woman and it ends very flat.
My daughter and I found it dull and was glad when it was over and we could move onto something else.
If you are a Roald Dahl fan then avoid this one because you'll only be disappointed.
Bloody 'ell! I dunno what happened here. Roald Dahl, one of the most imaginative children's writers ever has lost the plot here. He had an idea of a story and it feels like he couldn't figure how to get the story out of his head. Esio Trot is very brief, it shows you how to manipulate a daft woman and it ends very flat.
My daughter and I found it dull and was glad when it was over and we could move onto something else.
If you are a Roald Dahl fan then avoid this one because you'll only be disappointed.
Wow... Mr Hoppy did not deserve that happy ending.
Mrs Silver deserved to know what happened to her actual tortoise.
I've never read such deception in a children's book before. True, Mr Hoppy put A LOT of effort (& money) into getting Mrs Silver to notice him and gained more confidence as the story went on, but he was also manipulating and playing tricks on her.
I kept waiting for the "shoe to drop" where his deception was found out, but - even though I'd have hated this too - Mrs Silver eventually forgave him because she appreciated his efforts to get to know her.
The only solace I got from the ending was knowing that Alfie had gotten FAR FAR AWAY from Mr Hoppy, and now lived with a woman who would hopefully notice if he'd been replaced.
I bought this book (along with The Twits & Fantastic Mr …
Wow... Mr Hoppy did not deserve that happy ending.
Mrs Silver deserved to know what happened to her actual tortoise.
I've never read such deception in a children's book before. True, Mr Hoppy put A LOT of effort (& money) into getting Mrs Silver to notice him and gained more confidence as the story went on, but he was also manipulating and playing tricks on her.
I kept waiting for the "shoe to drop" where his deception was found out, but - even though I'd have hated this too - Mrs Silver eventually forgave him because she appreciated his efforts to get to know her.
The only solace I got from the ending was knowing that Alfie had gotten FAR FAR AWAY from Mr Hoppy, and now lived with a woman who would hopefully notice if he'd been replaced.
I bought this book (along with The Twits & Fantastic Mr Fox) at an Aldi store. I'd never heard of this Dahl story, and the cover looked cute, so I decided to buy it and check it out.
Now I'm not so sure what to do with the book. I don't want it in my collection anymore. Do I give it away, so that some unfortunate soul can learn that deception is the way to a woman's heart? Or do I just recycle it?
1 star for the Author's Note at the start, and the PS-epilogue at the end.
1 star for the illustrations.