The Magic Finger

Product Information

One library catalogue record for the 1974 Puffin Books edition. "Originally published: / with illustrations by William Pène du Bois. New York: Harper and Row, 1966; London: Allen and Unwin, 1968." Hmm. Ok. This is just an aside but I feel like it’s worth mentioning. Hunters have been given a really bad rap this past hundred years or so in the West and that really needs to stop. I think a large part of that is down to Disney, not just for that notorious scene from Bambi but for their many lovable talking animal characters. And that’s what turns some people to vegetarianism or veganism. The Magic Finger by Roald Dahl is a story about a girl with a magic finger. She lives next door to the Gregg family who like to hunt for fun and this makes her very angry. She doesn’t think it’s right for people to hunt animals for fun and when she gets angry, her finger takes control. Her magic finger has a special lesson in store, but the big problem is not knowing exactly what will happen when she uses it.

His first children's book was The Gremlins, about mischievous little creatures that were part of RAF folklore. The book was commissioned by Walt Disney for a film that was never made, and published in 1943. Dahl went on to create some of the best-loved children's stories of the 20th century, such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda and James and the Giant Peach. Look out for new Roald Dahl apps in the App store and Google Play- including the disgusting TWIT OR MISS! and HOUSE OF TWITS inspired by the revolting Twits. Read more DetailsMr. Gregg is the father of Philip and William. He enjoys hunting and takes his boys out to do it frequently. He is portrayed as initially being a very confident sportsman, but eventually he renounces that part of his life. Mrs. Gregg This story would be a perfect fantasy story about animal rights. The main character lives next door to a family that loves to hunt birds. She doesn't like that they are hurting animals, so she tries to talk them out of it, but they only laugh at her. Then one day the family goes too far and kills a ton of birds. This makes the main character angry and when she is angry her finger starts to tingle. She didn't mean to turn her magic finger on the family, but when the little girl is angry her Magic Finger takes over. It turned the family into birds! This forces them to live in a nest, eat nonhuman food and more. Then more problems keep arising... We chose this book for a Literary Leaf as we love Roald Dahl and we know he represents a route into reading for so many children.

The story teaches a huge lesson to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. I read this with two of my younger children and we all enjoyed it. It’s certainly thought-provoking and inspired an entire conversation with my family about eating meat and how we should be responsible and care for the animals we have. It will also get you thinking about why it’s important to control your disposition because actions always have consequences.I could go on but I’ll just leave it at this: hunting is vastly more complex than simply seeing it as a sadistic activity for psychos. It also talks of the illustrator and Dahl. I love that this stuff was added in. It added length and depth for me. So, ...