George's Marvellous Medicine

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George creates the ultimate potion in this fantastic story of chemical exploration. It provides an opportunity to explore density of liquids, volume and capacity whilst the children create their own potions.

A simple investigation where spices are placed in film canisters is a great introduction to the sense of smell. Do the children know what they are? Do they like them? Which is the strongest? Chapter 12 is named Metamorphosis. Are there examples in nature where animals undergo metamorphosis? James and the Giant Peach Kirka, Danica. "Critics reject changes to Roald Dahl books as censorship". abc NEWS . Retrieved 3 March 2023. George didn't say a word. He felt quite trembly. He knew something tremendous had taken place that morning. For a few brief moments he had touched with the very tips of his fingers the edge of a magic world." There were plans for many years to produce a feature film for The Twits, but the project was abandoned around 2012. John Cleese was set to write the script, along with Kirk De Micco. Disney would have produced the film alongside the animation studio Vanguard Film & Animation. Ouellette, Jennifer (17 December 2020). "Don't try this at home: George's Marvelous Medicine is quite toxic" . Retrieved 23 December 2020.

What’s the story?

You can really tell that the writer, Roald Dahl, is on George's side. This is one of my favourite parts of the book, where George doesn't want his grandma to know that he's boiling her up a big surprise.

Write a set of instructions to teach someone how to make their own marvellous medicine? (see Resources below). George manages to make the farm animals swell to gigantic sizes, could this solve the world food shortage? Can the children create their own pH scales using things found around the house? What happens when you combine liquids of different pH? This story also provides an excellent opportunity to discuss health and safety: should we eat things found around our homes? Danny the Champion of the WorldAnother memorable section of the story is when Mr Twit tries to stretch Mrs Twit using balloons. In the story, 60 helium filled balloons make her fly but how many would he actually need? Dr Ryan Marks, an engineer at Cardiff University, worked out that a normal balloon can lift 5.5g. If Mrs Twit weighed 70kg how many would you need? The children could investigate their estimates with small toys and party balloons. The miserable old grouch commanded George to go fetch her tea, give her her medicine and she forced him to eat cabbage (and George hates cabbage) but what is worse is that she tried to force him to eat crunchy, creepy crawlies (bugs and snails), with the cabbage.

Dahl was influenced by Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, with the "Drink Me" episode inspiring a scene in George's Marvellous Medicine where the tyrannical grandmother drinks a potion concocted by George and is blown up to the size of a farmhouse. [4] Safety concerns [ edit ] They try it again, but it does not turn out like the first batch did, it only grew the leg. They give the grandma another batch of the medicine and it makes her shrink to the point that no one can see the mean old grumpy lady. Update this section!I am currently trying to read all of Roald Dahl's books since he is such a phenomenal writer. This book was no exception. It was creative and mystifying. The concept was unique and very captivating and the book left me with wanting to read more. The way the writer wrote was hilarious and he put in some random funny things that didn't exist and could never happen, such as the transformation of the animals. It is one of Dahl's shorter children's books. While 8-year-old George's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Kranky, are out running going shopping, George's maternal grandmother bosses him around and bullies him. The contraption used to scoop the tortoises is a perfect opportunity to explore levers and pulleys, with the children designing and building their own tortoise retrieving device. You may also be interested in...