Product Description

Most grandmas are kind and helpful ladies. Not George's grandma. She's a grumpy and grizzly old grouch and George wants to teach her a lesson. So when it's time for her medicine, George concocts a bubbling, frothing, marvellous mixture, which is guaranteed to send her through the roof . . .

From Publishers Weekly

Knopf includes George's Marvelous Medicine and Fantastic Mr. Fox in its roster of handsomely redesigned hardcover Roald Dahl reissues. In the first novel, George comes up with a potion to improve the mood of his grumpy grandma; the second centers on the efforts of farmers Boggis, Bunce and Bean to catch the titular thief. Both feature Quentin Blake's original illustrations and include an interview with the author. (June)
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Gr 4–7—George's grandmother is a terribly grumpy, "grizzly old grunion" who just loves to order young George around. George decides he will create a medicine to relieve Grandma of all of her awfulness. Adding everything he can find in the house and barn, including shampoo, shaving cream, animal medicines, shoe polish, and paint, George boils up a pot of medicine that has shocking results when given to Grandma. Utter chaos breaks out when his father determines that they should brew up more of the awful stuff to give to the farmyard animals and George can't quite remember exactly what he used the first time around. Derek Jacobi does a commendable job voicing the quirky characters; Grandma is perfectly grating and nasty. The pacing is just right for the wacky presentation, and Jacobi nicely captures the complete pandemonium as things spiral out of control. This is a quick listen and should appeal to fans of Dahl although it may leave some adults feeling squeamish and grateful for the warning to "not try this at home" found at the beginning of the presentation.—Deanna Romriell, Salt Lake City Public Library, UT

From AudioFile

On Saturday morning George is stuck with looking after his ancient, incredibly mean grandmother. As the old woman alternately insults and scares him, George decides to give her a new kind of medicine. Using every liquid, powder, and pill he can find, George makes a concoction destined to change the family and several hens. Richard E. Grant fluidly changes from a good-natured boy pushed too far to the nastiest old lady imaginable to a hyperactive father with a brogue to a sensible mother wanting only peace and quiet. The written story is fun. The story as performed by Grant is marvelous. J.M.P. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine--
Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Review

"This is the perfect book for young readers who have developed a taste for reading about gruesome and wicked things" Big Issue Scotland

About the Author

Quentin Blake is one of Britain's most successful illustrators. He has illustrated nearly three hundred books and he was Roald Dahl's favourite illustrator. He has won many awards including the Whitbread Award and the Kate Greenaway Medal and taught for over twenty years at the Royal College of Art. In 1999 he became the first ever Children's Laureate and in 2013 he was knighted in the New Year's Honours.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

“A magic medicine it shall be!”
George sat himself down at the table in the kitchen. He was shaking a little. Oh, how he hated Grandma! He really hated that horrid old witchy woman. And all of a sudden he had a tremendous urge to do something about her. Something whopping. Something absolutely terrific. A real shocker. A sort of explosion.
“I’m not going to be frightened by her,” he said softly to himself. But he was frightened. And that’s why he wanted suddenly to explode her away.
Well…not quite away. But he did want to shake the old woman up a bit.
Very well, then. What should it be, this whopping terrific exploding shocker for Grandma?
As George sat there pondering this interesting pr