Dirty Beasts is a 1983 collection of Roald Dahl poems about unsuspecting animals. [1] Intended to be a follow-up to Revolting Rhymes , the original Jonathan Cape edition was illustrated by Rosemary Fawcett. In 1984, a revised edition was published with illustrations by Quentin Blake.
The book contains nine poems, telling of the unusual exploits of unsuspecting real animals (save for the Tummy Beast, who is made up). They are as follows:
An audiobook adaption of the story released in the 1980s features the stories read by Prunella Scales and Timothy West; Scales narrated "The Pig", "The Scorpion", "The Porcupine", "The Cow" and "The Tummy Beast", while West narrated the rest. In the audio book version, "The Crocodile" was moved so that it would be told after "The Cow", while "The Tummy Beast" was moved to be told before "The Toad and the Snail".
Additional audiobook adaptions included one from 1998 that was narrated by Pam Ferris and Geoffrey Palmer, and a release from 2002 that featured Alan Cumming; which was combined with Revolting Rhymes. The current 2014 digital version of the audiobook by Penguin is read by Miriam Margolyes, Stephen Mangan and Tamsin Greig.
The story was adapted into an original video animation (OVA) by Abbey Broadcast Communications in 1990, which was released straight-to-video through Abbey Home Entertainment. It was a faithful adaption of the original story, which was told through Scales and West's audiobook recordings against animations in the style of Quentin Blake's illustrations. Re-releases from 1997 onwards redubbed Scales and West's narration with Martin Clunes and Dawn French in the respective stories.
Dirty Beasts is Martin Butler’s musical setting of "The Pig", "The Tummy Beast", and "The Crocodile" for narrator accompanied by wind quintet and piano. [2]
The Second Jungle Book is a sequel to The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. First published in 1895, it features five stories about Mowgli and three unrelated stories, all but one set in India, most of which Kipling wrote while living in Vermont. All of the stories were previously published in magazines in 1894–5, often under different titles. The 1994 film The Jungle Book used it as a source.
The Island of Doctor Moreau is an 1896 science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells. It was published on 1 January 1896. The novel is set between 21 January 1887 to 5 January 1888. The text of the novel is the narration of Edward Prendick, a shipwrecked man rescued by a passing boat. He is left on the island home of Doctor Moreau, a mad scientist who creates human-like hybrid beings from animals via vivisection. The novel deals with a number of themes, including pain and cruelty, moral responsibility, human identity, human interference with nature, and the effects of trauma. Wells described it as "an exercise in youthful blasphemy."
The Enormous Crocodile is a British children's story, written by British author Roald Dahl and illustrated by Quentin Blake. A picture book written for younger readers than Dahl's other works, the story tells of a hungry crocodile who aims to eat human children via using various, not-quite-impenetrable disguises.
Gladys Porter Zoo is a zoological and botanical park located in Brownsville, Texas, United States. The zoo officially opened on September 3, 1971, and currently averages over 424,000 visitors annually. Situated on 31 acres (13 ha), the zoo houses about 400 animal species and over 250 tropical and neo-tropical species and subspecies. It is the first zoo to have successfully bred the endangered Jentink's duiker. It is also the birthplace of Harambe, the gorilla.
Barnyard is a 2006 animated comedy film produced by Nickelodeon Movies and O Entertainment and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film is produced, written, and directed by Steve Oedekerk, and stars the voices of Kevin James, Courteney Cox, Sam Elliott, Danny Glover, Wanda Sykes, Andie MacDowell, Tino Insana, John DiMaggio, and David Koechner. It tells the story of Otis, a carefree cow who learns the value of responsibility when he becomes the leader of his farm home's community after his adoptive father's death from a coyote attack.
Falling Up is a 1996 poetry collection primarily for children written and illustrated by Shel Silverstein and published by HarperCollins. It is the third poetry collection published by Silverstein, following Where the Sidewalk Ends (1974) and A Light in the Attic (1981), and the final one to be published during his lifetime, as he died just three years after its release. Falling Up was the recipient of the Booklist Editors' Award in 1996.. In 2015, a special edition of the book was published, with 12 new poems.
Revolting Rhymes is a 1982 poetry collection by British author Roald Dahl. Originally published under the title Roald Dahl's Revolting Rhymes, it is a parody of traditional folk tales in verse, where Dahl gives a re-interpretation of six well-known fairy tales, featuring surprise endings in place of the traditional happily-ever-after finishes.
The Roly-Poly Bird is a fictional character in several children's books by Roald Dahl. He appears in The Enormous Crocodile (1978), The Twits (1980), and the poetry collection Dirty Beasts (1983).
Tractor Tom is a British animated children's TV programme, produced by the Contender Entertainment Group and Hibbert Ralph Entertainment. Two series were produced, consisting of 26 eleven-minute episodes each, which was aired between 9 February 2002 and 18 November 2004 respectively. It was the first program produced by home media distributor Contender, who later went on to produce and replace with the preschool show Peppa Pig.
Alice Hale Burnett was an American author of children's books. She is best known for writing books set in a small town called Merryvale. Her books were originally published by The New York Book Company early in the Twentieth century.
The Caribou Kitchen is a British preschool animated television series, particularly intended for children aged between two and five years old, which aired on the ITV network's CITV block from 5 June 1995 to 3 August 1998, running for 52 episodes over 4 series. The series was created by Andrew Brenner, and was his first television writing role. It mainly aired in a Monday timeslot throughout its run.
The Magic World is a collection of twelve short stories by E. Nesbit. It was first published in book form in 1912 by Macmillan and Co. Ltd., with illustrations by H. R. Millar and Gerald Spencer Pryse. The stories, previously printed in magazines such as Blackie's Children's Annual, are typical of Nesbit's arch, ironic, clever fantasies for children.
Sophie is a series of six children's books written by Dick King-Smith, and illustrated by David Parkins. The six books were written between 1988 and 1995.
Deadly... is a strand of British wildlife documentary programming aimed principally at children and young people, which is broadcast on CBBC on BBC One and Two and on the CBBC Channel. It is presented by Steve Backshall, with Naomi Wilkinson as co-host on Live 'n Deadly, and Barney Harwood as co-host on Natural Born Hunters. The strand began with a single series called Deadly 60, and has subsequently expanded into a number of spin-offs, re-edits and follow-up versions.
