The Minpins facts for kids
First edition
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| Author | Roald Dahl |
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| Illustrator | Patrick Benson (original) Quentin Blake |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's novel |
| Publisher | Jonathan Cape |
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Publication date
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1991 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| ISBN | 0-224-02899-5 (hardcover, 1991) |
| OCLC | 60045884 |
The Minpins is a children's book written by the famous author Roald Dahl. It features drawings by Patrick Benson. The book came out in 1991, just a few months after Roald Dahl passed away in November 1990. This makes it his very last book. In 2017, the book was re-released with a new title, Billy and the Minpins. This new version included fresh illustrations by Quentin Blake, who has drawn for many of Dahl's other popular books.
Contents
Discovering The Minpins Story
This exciting story is about a young boy named Billy. His mother has a strict rule: Billy must never go into the "Forest of Sin" behind their house. She warns him about many scary creatures that supposedly live there.
Monsters of the Forest
Billy's mother tells him about monsters like the Whangdoodle, Hornswogglers, and Snozzwanglers. She also mentions the Vermicious knids. The scariest monster of all is the Terrible Blood-Suckling Tooth-Pluckling Stone-Chuckling Spittler. This creature chases its prey, breathing out hot red smoke. Then, it swallows them whole in one big gulp.
Billy's Adventure Begins
Billy doesn't believe his mother's warnings. A little voice, like the Devil, whispers to him that the monsters aren't real. It also tells him that the forest is full of delicious wild strawberries. Soon, Billy finds himself walking deep into the forbidden forest. He suddenly hears something coming after him. As he looks back, he sees puffs of orange-red smoke getting closer.
Meeting the Minpins
Billy is sure it's the Spittler. He quickly climbs up a tall tree to escape. When he stops to rest, he notices tiny windows opening all over the tree branches. To his surprise, he discovers a whole city of tiny people living inside the tree! These little people are called the Minpins.
The leader of the Minpins, Don Mini, explains that the monster below is not the Spittler. The Minpins have never heard of such a creature. Instead, it's the Red-Hot Smoke-Belching Gruncher. This Gruncher eats everything in the forest. Billy realizes he can't safely get down from the tree to go home.
Billy's Brave Plan
The Minpins are good friends with the birds. Billy learns about this friendship and comes up with a clever plan to defeat the Gruncher. Billy flies on the back of a swan. He uses his own scent to trick the Gruncher into following him into a nearby lake. The cold water of the lake puts out the fire inside the Gruncher's belly, which kills the monster.
The Minpins are very thankful to Billy for getting rid of their tormentor. As a reward, they arrange for the swan to become Billy's personal ride every night. Billy uses the swan to explore the world and to continue his new friendship with the Minpins.
Book Editions
The Minpins was first published in 1991. It was later re-released in 2017 with a new title, Billy and the Minpins. The new edition featured different illustrations.
