If I had to pick one single writer whose books a child should read, it would have to be Roald Dahl. I spent many fun-filled hours reading his books aloud to my children when they were very young, and they read them again for themselves as soon as they were able to. The perfect one to begin with, as it is not overly long, is 'The Magic Finger'. The heroine is a girl who can zap people with her finger with drastic results.
We are never actually told what the girl's name is, but that doesn't seem to matter. She discovers early on the special power that she has in one of her index fingers which comes into force when she gets particularly angry. She uses it at school one day, when her teacher, Mrs Winter, asks her to spell 'cat' and she spells it 'k-a-t'. Her teacher may have regretted calling her stupid and asking her to go and stand in the corner, as she grows whiskers and a tail after the girl turns the Magic Finger on her. The girl vows that she will never use her Magic Finger again after this episode, as Mrs Winter is never quite the same after her transformation.
It proves too difficult, however, for her to stand by her decision. Worse than Mrs Winter's is the fate of the Gregg family, who live in the farm adjoining that of the girl's family. There are two boys, Philip who is eight (the same age as the girl), and William who is eleven. The girl often goes to play with them, but she strongly disapproves of the fact that they go hunting with their father. At various times they are caught shooting deer and ducks by the girl. She is so incensed that she puts the Magic Finger on them, and this affects the whole family, even though Mrs Gregg was not out hunting. The ducks that Mr Gregg and his sons were aiming at turn round and fly towards them; they continue to circle around in a menacing way.
The following morning, the Greggs awake and find to their horror that they have dwindled in size and grown wings. William and Philip are delighted that they can fly, but they don't fancy the idea of eating worms of course. The Greggs have to spend the stormy night in a nest that they build themselves, as the ducks, who are now enormous, take over their house. The girl feels guilty when she realizes what has happened, as William and Philip are after all her friends. Only when the ducks threaten to shoot the Greggs do they have the chance to return to their normal human selves by promising never to shoot birds or deer again.
The Greggs are in fact transformed after this horrifying experience; they even change their name to Egg. Mr Egg destroys his guns, and William and Philip are seen feeding birds of all kinds. I will leave you to guess whether or not the girl ever uses her Magic Finger again.
This story is a wonderful blend of fantasy and the idea that people who are cruel might actually get their just desserts and change their ways. The thought of a little girl having power over those in authority or bigger and stronger than herself is a delightful one. Quentin Blake captures the essence of Dahl's characters in his line drawings and caricatures; children are always depicted with beaming smiles, other than when the girl tries to phone William and Philip and feels guilty when she is answered by a quack!
A child who enjoys 'The Magic Finger' will almost certainly delight in another of Dahl's novels, 'Matilda', once again centring on a girl with magic powers. These stories will keep children absorbed for hours on end. The font is quite small, but there are so many illustrations that reading the text will not seem like a chore to a young child who is an independent reader. 'The Magic Finger', not being too long a story, could also be suitable for reading aloud but perhaps not all at one sitting. I would definitely recommend this novel as an introduction to Roald Dahl, or as an extra one to read if you have already discovered his most famous stories through books or films.
The Magic Finger (Young Puffin Developing Reader)
by Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake
Puffin Books, 2001
Paperback, 67 pages
ISBN 0141311290
Price £3.99 (discounted at Amazon)
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