I didn't like either the stories or the (very ugly) illustrations, which reminded me of those "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" books. ( )

Far beneath Roald Dahl's usual standard. And the pictures are awful - half formed and a little ugly, the naturalistic trend in '70s or maybe early '80s illustration that goes along with avant garde poetry and finding your inner child.

Made me want to go and read Kiss Kiss again - which was everything a group of short horror tales ought to be. "Royal Jelly", in particular, is a Dahl story I will remember forever. This one, on the other hand, is full of strange unbelievable people coming to strange ends - a curious melange of the Grimm brothers and Dahl's popular children's works, with maybe a dash of Mervyn Peake. ( )