The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More

Title: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More
Author: Roald Dahl

What it's about: Seven short stories by Roald Dahl. They're not stories specifically for children, unlike some of his books. "The Boy Who Talked with Animals" is the first one, about a boy at a resort who talks with a sea turtle captured by fishermen. "The Hitchhiker" is about the narrator picking up a hitchhiker in his new car and realizing that there's something special about his passenger. "The Mildenhall Treasure" is a fictionalized version of a true story about a pair of men who find treasure buried in a farmer's field. "The Swan" is about two bullies who go out hunting bird. Next is "The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar," and it's about a rich man who finds a way to see through playing cards and uses it to his advantage at casinos. After that is "Lucky Break: How I Became a Writer," a story about Roald Dahl's path to becoming an author, and following this is a copy of his first story, "Piece of Cake."

What I thought: As with any collection of short stories, I liked some better than others. "The Hitchhiker" is short, but it has a lot of character. "The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar" is nice and long, with plenty of details and a fantastic element, as well as character development. It's my favorite in the book. "Lucky Break" is autobiographical and very interesting. It and "Piece of Cake" both remind me of Dahl's two autobiographies, which are quite fascinating reads.

Overall: A very nice sampling of stories.