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Revolting Rhymes
by
Do you think Cinderella married the prince and lived happily ever after, and that the three little pigs outsmarted the wolf? Think again! Premier storyteller Roald Dahl twists the fate of six favorite fairy tales, in this picture book edition with vibrant new cover art by Quentin Blake. Fairy tales have never been more revolting!
Illustrated by Quentin Blake.
Illustrated by Quentin Blake.
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Tim Roast
There are 4,145 words in this book spread across just less than 60-pages (in my edition).
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Community Reviews
Showing 1-30
Start your review of Revolting Rhymes
Apr 11, 2017
Mariah Roze
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Mariah Roze by:
Matt
I really enjoyed this book full of short stories! All the short stories were remakes of fairy tales. They were all gruesome and some of them even intertwined.
I highly suggest this book for anyone that likes fairy tales and/or anyone that likes Roald Dahl. I really feel this was one of his best works, even though it is really short.
I highly suggest this book for anyone that likes fairy tales and/or anyone that likes Roald Dahl. I really feel this was one of his best works, even though it is really short.
Revolting Rhymes (Paperback) by Roald Dahl is a book I read to my kids and then to my grandkids. This book has given everyone giggles in our house from the very young to the very old. It is the kind of book that never grows old itself. It is a keeper. I still have it from many years ago. I can not count how many times this poor book has been read! It was worth every penny.
Jun 22, 2012
Elise
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Anyone with a sense of humour.
I'm not going to review this, I'm simply going to point out to many of the previous reviewers that the word "slut" is defined as "a dirty, untidy, or slovenly woman". It is only in the past 20 years, or so, that the word has commonly become associated with sexual morality (or the lack thereof). Especially given Roald Dahl's age when he wrote this in the 1980s, I'm pretty certain that he did not mean it to have any sexual connotation, especially since cinderella is, by definition, someone who loo
...more
This was another major laugh riot from Dahl. I kept cracking up when I was reading this at work.
The best poems in this collection are true masterpieces of satire. Here's the start of Cinderella:
"I guess you think you know this story.
You don't. The real one's much more gory.
The phoney one, the one you know,
Was cooked up years and years ago,
And made to sound all soft and sappy
just to keep the children happy.
Mind you, they got the first bit right,
The bit where, in the dead of night,
The Ugly Sisters, jewels and all,
Departed for the Palace Ball,
While darling little Cinderella
Was locked up in a ...more
"I guess you think you know this story.
You don't. The real one's much more gory.
The phoney one, the one you know,
Was cooked up years and years ago,
And made to sound all soft and sappy
just to keep the children happy.
Mind you, they got the first bit right,
The bit where, in the dead of night,
The Ugly Sisters, jewels and all,
Departed for the Palace Ball,
While darling little Cinderella
Was locked up in a ...more
Another of my favourite Dahl books
Fairy tales with a gruesome twist. Like poetry that flies off the page.
Spent many a day reading this book with delight and laughter.
Have introduced it to my cousin who is now old enough to appreciate the exciting tales as the Characters jump off the page.
Highly recommend if your wanting something a lil quirky and different to read. That will have you giggling at the crazy tales.
Enjoy!
Fairy tales with a gruesome twist. Like poetry that flies off the page.
Spent many a day reading this book with delight and laughter.
Have introduced it to my cousin who is now old enough to appreciate the exciting tales as the Characters jump off the page.
Highly recommend if your wanting something a lil quirky and different to read. That will have you giggling at the crazy tales.
Enjoy!
Although I am not usually a huge fan of so-called fractured “traditional” folk and fairy tales (as I do rather often tend to think that the respective authors of these types of stories would generally and basically do better and be much more imaginative creating their own and totally, completely original pieces of work rather than taking known for centuries tales and using them as the background, as the foundation), I do have to admit that Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes (and albeit that I do kind
...more
A short compendium of fifteen tales told by one of the great children's storytellers of all time. Dahl uses his wonderful rhyming ability to re-tell some of the better known fairy tales to 'set the record straight'. Children can marvel at all the things they will learn from Dahl and his mind that spills full of wonderful ideas. From there, Dahl takes the reader on to recount a few lesser known members of the animal kingdom, all of whom have special abilities. Sure to entertain and impress, Dahl
...more
Dec 27, 2016
Bettie
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
BBC TV Watchers
Description: Do you think Cinderella married the prince and lived happily ever after, and that the three little pigs outsmarted the wolf? Think again! Premier storyteller Roald Dahl twists the fate of six favorite fairy tales, in this picture book edition with vibrant new cover art by Quentin Blake. Fairy tales have never been more revolting!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/...
...more
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/...
...more
Leave it to Roald Dahl to grab me by the collar, and drag me out of a reading slump right before exams.
Not nearly as revolting as I would have liked, but still nice rhyming takedowns of some popular fairy tales. The best bit is the femme fatale take on Little Red Riding Hood. Never mess with a girl who knows how to handle herself around wolves.
This book was alright. The twist's of the stories where kinda funny. It was short and average so I picked it up and kinda liked it.
...more
Jan 03, 2010
Ronyell
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Children ages 7 and up
"Revolting Rhymes" is truly a revolting series of famous fairy tales that have horror twist to each one. My most favorite story out this book is "Jack and the Beanstalk" where Jack has to deal with his insensitive mother while getting some golden leaves from the giant's beanstalk.
Quentin Blake's illustrations are both funny and scary at the same time and Roald Dahl's rhyming for this book is fantastic. For anyone who love revolting tales from Roald Dahl, "Revolting Rhymes" is definitely the book ...more
Quentin Blake's illustrations are both funny and scary at the same time and Roald Dahl's rhyming for this book is fantastic. For anyone who love revolting tales from Roald Dahl, "Revolting Rhymes" is definitely the book ...more
Cover makes more sense now~
I don't know how this will hold up for a kid cause it's too twisted. Most tales in it are gruesome unlike the original tales.This was quite different than I expected and i sure had fun reading it. ...more
Dahl manages to revive old, worn fairy tales into quirky, fun adventures. Each story surprised me with the ending - often darker than the stories that we are used to (Disney!).
I loved the little twists that he gives to other little fairy tales.
Audiobook Comments
Read by Tamsin Greig, Stephen Mangan and Miriam Margolyes - they really knocked this audiobook out of the park!
YouTube | Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Snapch ...more
I loved the little twists that he gives to other little fairy tales.
Ah, Piglet, you must never trust
Young ladies from the upper crust.
Audiobook Comments
Read by Tamsin Greig, Stephen Mangan and Miriam Margolyes - they really knocked this audiobook out of the park!
YouTube | Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Snapch ...more
Revolting rhymes has Roald Dahl taking 6 popular fairy tales and turning them on their heads.
As rhymes, these are brilliant. Perfect meter for every pair of lines, without ever losing the essence of the sentence.
As retellings, these are fabulous. Every HEA gets twisted into another HEA but not for the original character. The retelling is dark and scary at times.
As a children's book, this doesn't work. it is too difficult for early readers, and too scary for young readers. It might work for olde ...more
As rhymes, these are brilliant. Perfect meter for every pair of lines, without ever losing the essence of the sentence.
As retellings, these are fabulous. Every HEA gets twisted into another HEA but not for the original character. The retelling is dark and scary at times.
As a children's book, this doesn't work. it is too difficult for early readers, and too scary for young readers. It might work for olde ...more
This was quite a fun read...
This rhymed retelling of six popular fairy tales is delightfully revolting, indeed. Dahl employs his signature mix of the creepy, the gory and the twisty with a good helping of humour to create new plots for each tale, which in some cases changes everything whilst still keeping the fundamental points and in other cases goes along with the traditional versions and only adds an eleventh-hour tweak. The rhyming, to me, felt singable and that made them funnier still.
Of all those included, my favouri ...more
Of all those included, my favouri ...more
Feb 16, 2015
Katy
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
favourites,
childrens
This was one of my favourite books as a child, I love Roald Dahl’s wit in turning the fairytales we all know and love on their heads. There are six revolting rhymes retelling famous tales such as Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk and Little Red Riding Hood, each one being full of gruesome details and full of satire. I love how these are really entertaining for children but also very amusing for adults as well, a talent Roald Dahl possesses in spades.
I don't know how I went 30 years without this book in my life. Dahl retells some classic fairytales - and ends with an amazing mashup of Red Riding Hood and the 3 Littles Pigs - with the perfect amount of fun and sharp, creepy humor. I made my husband read it immediately after I finished, and I think writing this review just inspired a quick reread for me.
...more
Dec 27, 2016
BAM Endlessly Booked
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
children-s,
deleted
Short but too, too sweet! I just love fairy tale twists (see my Warning! review from the other day). Dahl' s rhymes are ingenious. That could not have been easy. He may be my favorite children's author.
...more
i laughed out loud more times than i would care to admit as a 21 year old but i had a great time so who cares !
Oct 13, 2007
Sara
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
kids, adults, rhymers
Sometimes when I'm hanging out with Patrick, Jeff will come home and hijack him, and they'll start doing something together that I can't or don't want to do. Tonight it was Excite Truck on the Nintendo Wii, so I retreated to my room and finished reading an essay by Susan Orlean about Bankock's Khao San Road in an old Best American Travel Writing, and then I read the entire book Revolting Rhymes by Roald Dahl. This book was a real treat due entirely to its cleverness.
So, then, a little later, we ...more
So, then, a little later, we ...more
I can't remember the last time I read rhymes.. Decades, perhaps? I absolutely loved this collection and had a blast reading all of them out loud (to my self ^_^") and with impressions too!
This is interestingly enough the end of classic stories as we know them. I think I like Dahl's version, though. ...more
This is interestingly enough the end of classic stories as we know them. I think I like Dahl's version, though. ...more
I enjoyed it so much !
I love how he's retelling our childhood tales with a funny and a little savage plot twist ...more
I love how he's retelling our childhood tales with a funny and a little savage plot twist ...more
Mar 19, 2019
☽•☾-Grimalkin-☽•☾
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
young-adult,
poetry
Gruesome retelling of classic fairy tales, very funny and clever!
I love Roald Dahl's books as he never fails to disappoint on being witty and darkly humoured. x ...more
I love Roald Dahl's books as he never fails to disappoint on being witty and darkly humoured. x ...more
This book was actually pretty engaging. When reading all the different versions of classic fairy tales they are extremely predictable especially as you get older but this book was just enough of older content mixed with the classic fairytales that everyone enjoys. I recommend this book to anyone that wants a quick, short (Connor) poem book to read.
This book was really funny and I enjoyed it a lot. Lots of twist and turns that I really enjoyed.
ah, that's more like it
...more
May 27, 2009
Krista the Krazy Kataloguer
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
read-childrens-poetry
Well, I really liked these fractured fairy tales in rhyme, but I'm not sure they were intended for kids. Then again, what European publishers allow in print for young children is more liberal, I've noticed, than what is allowed by American publishers. This book contained some mild swear words, albeit most in slang that American kids might not get. The message about gambling being a good thing as long as you win in "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" might not go over well with some parents. I thin
...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 Roe Reading ...: Revolting Rhymes - Roald Dahl | 1 | 1 | Jan 07, 2021 09:04AM | |
| 2018 Roe Reading ...: Revolting Rhymes - Roald Dahl | 2 | 4 | Sep 28, 2019 02:42PM |
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Roald Dahl was a British novelist, short story writer and screenwriter of Norwegian descent, who rose to prominence in the 1940's with works for both children and adults, and became one of the world's bestselling authors.
Dahl's first published work, inspired by a meeting with C. S. Forester, was Shot Down Over Libya. Today the story is published as A Piece of Cake. The story, about his wartime adv ...more
Dahl's first published work, inspired by a meeting with C. S. Forester, was Shot Down Over Libya. Today the story is published as A Piece of Cake. The story, about his wartime adv ...more
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“Oh where, oh where had Snow White gone?
She'd found it easy, being pretty
To hitch a ride into the city.”
—
47 likes
She'd found it easy, being pretty
To hitch a ride into the city.”
“Poor Cindy's heart was torn to shreds.
My Prince! She thought. He chops off heads!
How could I marry anyone
Who does that sort of thing for fun?
The Prince cried, "Who's this dirty slut?
Off with her nut! Off with her nut!”
—
45 likes
More quotes…
My Prince! She thought. He chops off heads!
How could I marry anyone
Who does that sort of thing for fun?
The Prince cried, "Who's this dirty slut?
Off with her nut! Off with her nut!”
