Esio Trot (Lythway Children's Large Print Books)

by Roald Dahl

I generally don't really like Roald Dahl's books. They just don't grab me, for all I do like Quentin Blake's illustrations. But this was a surprising read. It wasn't the best thing ever, but it was a funny little love story and I was amused reading it.

Mr Hopper is desperately in love with his neighbour Mrs Silver who spends all her time doting on her pet tortoise Alfie. When Mrs Silver says she desperately wants to see Alfie grow bigger, Mr Hopper is determined to make it happen. Which he does with a backwards poem (because the language of tortoises is backwards - obviously - said night and day. And then by actually buying all the tortoises available at a bunch of pet shops and replacing Alfie with a slightly bigger tortoise every week for eight weeks. I enjoyed the silliness and creativity Mr Hopper demonstrates in solving the problem. Mrs Silver, so impressed by him, agrees to marry him and they all live happily ever after.

It's a short book but one of his better ones. 3.5 stars.