Boy: Tales of Childhood

Gr 5-Up—Here Dahl recounts memories from his earliest years through his teens, including terrorizing a candy-shop owner in the Great Mouse Plot of 1924, which he recounts with a mixture of abject apology and fiendish delight, as well as unfortunate run-ins with "the birch rod" at various educational institutions. In addition to the tales themselves, Dahl's reminisces are punctuated with explanations of esoteric references related to pre-World War II England and Norway which may be unfamiliar to the listener. This notwithstanding, modern children will still derive delight from the author's stories of his family, including his "Ancient Half Sister"; his summer vacations among the frigid fjords of Norway and eating fresh-caught fish from the sea; and his exploits in schools both greatly, and not-so-, dissimilar from their own. Adding another layer of charm is the excellent narration of Dan Stevens, best known as Downton Abbey's Matthew Crawley. Parents will enjoy listening to Dahl's tales as much as their children do, and all listeners will be eager to devour more tales from the author's companion volumes, More About Boy and Going Solo.—Michaela Schied, Indian River Middle School, Philadelphia, NY