Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
This is an extremely short children's chapter book about a man named Mr. Hoppy, who is in love with his neighbor, Mrs. Silver. He wants to do something kind for her, so when he discovers that she is desperate for her pet turtle to grow, he composes a plan to make it happen. It's a cute little book for kids and a great intro into other longer Roald Dahl books. Some people have issue with Mr. Hoppy's method of making the turtle grow. (He switches it out for increasingly bigger turtles.) While I will admit that the concept makes me cringe a little bit, I don't think that this book is meant to be taken seriously. The trick that Mr. Hoppy did was not practical in real life in any way, so I personally was not too bothered by it, but I suppose it's something to be aware of before giving the book to a child.
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
WHY did I like this as a child?????? My verdict is: SO WEIRD AND EXTREMELY OUTDATED. I can't even be bothered to explain all the things that are weird/wrong with it - luckily lots of other people's reviews on here have done a good enough job of that already.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Misogyny
Minor: Slavery
Graphic: Size Discrimination
funny
informative
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Who doesn't love a bit of tortoise-napping? How did no one find out about Mr Hoppy
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
So yeah, hate Mr. Hoppy. Out here animal abusing, liking the idea of a woman half his age being his “slave”, manipulating others while stealing and selling others’ pets. Yeah that’s a big NO for me.
Horrible message. Painful. Good thing it only took about 10-15 minutes to read max.
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
A terrible, terrible book that teaches how it is ok to lie, it promotes decieving, manipulation and animal slavery.
3 1/2 stars
This is a love story with a Dahl spin on it. So you know that it’s funny but messed up when you think about it. “Nothing good will come from dishonesty,” until it does apparently.
This story also reuses a trick from The Twits, even reuses the same simile describing it.
This is a love story with a Dahl spin on it. So you know that it’s funny but messed up when you think about it. “Nothing good will come from dishonesty,” until it does apparently.
This story also reuses a trick from The Twits, even reuses the same simile describing it.
We started with this book as our first read aloud of the year with my 3rd/4th classroom. The kids really enjoyed it, and so did I. It's a love story, but an unconventional. Mr. Hoppy does something unusual to get his neighbor to fall in love with him. The kids thought it was very funny!