On ... Danny the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl

I opened the book with a blank expectation slate. I enjoyed The BFG and hoped I would enjoy this book.

Danny the Champion of the World is a much older book...not in relation to publication date but according to subject level. The reading level is only slightly higher than The BFG but the story deals with much more serious issues.

I think that an accurate comparison would be To Kill A Mockingbird. Danny, the main character, is ten years old for the majority of the story... just a little bit older than Scout from To Kill A Mockingbird. In TKAM the serious undertone which becomes the main plot towards the end of the story is the trial of a black man. In DtCotW the serious undertone is dangerous poaching...an illegal activity.

I absolutely loved this story. Having read Boy: Tales from Childhood...Dahl's childhood memoir...I could easily see correlations, characters that Dahl compiled from his own history. I appreaciate that. Unlike a favorite movie of mine (Alex and Emma) Dahl draws from his past...mixes and matches...instead of verbatim telling his own story back again.

In fact, when I first started reading the book I was struck by how similar this book read to Dahl's childhood memoir.

I definitly highly recommend this book.