There isn’t any book of Roald Dahl that you can ever dislike, though, as adults, some may find them childish and simple, but never pointless. His storytelling style was not that of an adult telling an interesting story to a child, but that of a child telling a story himself. Because of this the stories successfully convey the elements of fascination, marvel, fear, confusion, boldness and bravery that only children can feel.

The Enormous Crocodile by Roald Dahl is a simple and short story, aptly illustrated by Quentin Blake, for the early readers and also makes a great story to read aloud to those who are still learning to read for themselves. The theme of a crocodile trying to eat innocent children may seem scary but it really isn’t due to the way it is written. Each time the crocodile makes a plan to catch and eat up little children, the reader knows he won’t succeed because he has boasted about it to another animal that comes to the rescue.

This gives a clear message that not everyone is bad and those who are bad don’t get away with it, just like the crocodile is thrown into outer space and removed as a threat forever.

The illustrations of the parts where the crocodile’s schemes get spoilt are funny and make the story come alive. This is a book no early reader should miss reading. Such books should be read aloud to kids in school to motivate them to pick up storybooks from the library to read for themselves.

Available at Paramount Books

Published in Dawn, Young World, January 14th, 2017