The Magic Finger

by Roald Dahl

Book Overview

From the bestselling author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The BFG comes the story of a young girl with an incredible power!

To the Gregg family, hunting is just plain fun. To the girl who lives next door, it's just plain horrible. She tries to be polite. She tries to talk them out of it, but the Greggs only laugh at her. Then one day the Greggs go too far, and the little girl turns her Magic Finger...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0142413852
• ISBN13: 9780142413852
• Release Date: January 2009
• Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
• Length: 96 Pages
• Weight: 0.18 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 4.9" x 7.5"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

The finger that teaches lessons

The book is about a little girl who , when she gets angry , and points her finger at someone-powers are unleashed which really teaches the target a lesson. Once the schoolteacher is really nasty to her, and the teacher begins to turn into a cat. This carries with it a good message for children and teachers, as sometimes teachers do not realize the hurt they can cause children. As the little girl hates hunting, because of it's cruelty, she points her finger at her friends who have gone hunting, and they are taught a real lesson, that changes their attitude to animals, particularly birds forever. The lovely illustrations bring this book to life. A child can really relate to these stories, and become captivated by them, and they have enough wit to provide pleasant reading for adults.

A serious lesson, but with humor

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 BeanoThird Grader

Hunter vs. Duck

"The Magic Finger" is about a nameless 8-year-old girl who lives next door to the Greggs and can't stand their thoughtless hunting. So, when the two boys and their father return home with a young deer one day, she puts the Magic Finger on the entire family. The Magic Finger is like the evil eye, except the results from her spell are much more amusing.The curse doesn't occur immediately. The Greggs still have enough time to go out again that day and shoot some ducks. After their hunt, they go home with their twenty birds--sixteen are dead, but four continue to follow them home in the air. Although the Greggs try to shoot these four pests, they can never manage to hit them.When the family is getting ready for bed that night, something outrageous begins to happen--they're turning into birds. Furthermore, the four ducks who had followed them home have grown as large as humans with arms instead of wings. In the sudden turn of events, the Greggs lose their house to the wild ducks and must survive on their own by building a nest for shelter, searching for edible food, and avoiding predators--especially ones with guns.The Magic Finger is a wonderful book for 8 to 12-years-old and is short enough (approximately 64 pages with plenty of illustrations) to keep anyone's attention. I really liked the moral of the story, probably since I am a vegan and against hunting. The book isn't preachy, but there's certainly something to learn when the roles of human and animal are reversed.

Crazy Happening in The Magic Finger

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.