Demon Dentist Hardcover – March 1, 2016

A great book, but yes, it's dark and scary. My 6 and 8 year olds found it scary, but it was too late, they were hooked and they begged me to finish it. They LOVE David Walliams books and normally I wouldn't read such a scary book, but I didn't realize how dark it would be (his others are not this dark). I also didn't appreciate that he talked about the fact that tooth fairy, Father Christmas etc. aren't real - so I skipped a few of those sections reading it to my kids and although he does suggest that the fact that children no longer believe is what allows the bad things to happen, it's not best to even suggest it to a 6 year old. I'm also wondering if my kids will ever want to go to the dentist again, but they really did LOVE the book. They didn't want me to stop reading and laughed throughout and begged me to read every night. His books are written in such a way that the story flows, keeps them interested and makes them laugh when you just think it'll get too much for them to handle. I would recommend this for children over 8 years old though.

If a tractor trailer ran over your face after a night out binge drinking and having White Castle at 3 am that would be a better look than this book. To call this "good" condition with some wear and tear on the cover and edges is like calling 6 weight watchers desserts sticking to your diet. The book was a hot mess with writing on the bind and would not even pass for a third world country donation. I will return it just so someone can repurchase it and re-gift it to "that kid" in their family.

This is a funny but bittersweet chapter book great for young ages. It's very interesting and there's some humor in it but the main problem is that it's a bit dark for kids for example the main character's dad sacrifices himself to so save his son and before the whole climax the boy had to always take care of his dad because he is really sick and they barely have any money.

I read this along with my son and was surprised at the dark and macabre aspects of this tale. None of David Walliams other books gives any indication about the dark turn this book eventually takes. My son loved all the characters, they are so well written, I wish that the book hadn't been quite so unsavory. I don't mind my son reading about people being offed, but the demon dentist has a level of malevolence and evil that none of the other nasty characters in the Walliams' other books have. The evil is not managed well or skillfully in a way that glosses over it or mutes it for younger children, and so I do not recommend this novel for younger children, or sensitive and impressionable older children. It's a shame since Walliams' other books are so good.

My 9 year old loved it. He read it outlook to his 6 year old sister and she was just as engaged. I felt it was an easy read for him as he finished thr book quickly.

I think this is the first humorous horror story for children this age that I have read, and it's a very successful combination of Walliams' weird humor and a monster-movie plot line. And a lot of made up words. (Not to mention made up word-alerts.) The characters are fantastic, both in the text and the illustrations -- from the artsy drama teacher Mr. Snood ("Impro!") to the moped-driving, biscuit-eating social worker Winnie. I particularly liked the pursuit scene through the school, where Alfie tries hard to miss his dentist appointment and ends up being chased by the whole school. Pure Monty Python. I actually thought the book would be on the long side, but it doesn't feel too long. (Besides, after Harry Potter was published, everything in children's fiction seems short…) Kindle formatting works great even with the wonderful illustrations.

This was the first of Williams books my daughter read. She really liked this one a lot. Yes, it’s a bit dark, but it was a fun read. We purchased the box set based off of how much she liked this one.

My sons (ages 4 & 6) and I LOVE all of David Walliams' books. The boys are mesmerized by the characters who are all SO well described and developed - we all feel like we know them so well by the end. The stories all have such a good message too, usually about an underdog who has a sad story but fights their way through adversity to good things in the end. A rollercoaster of emotions for us all!

What’s all the hype about with Williams?? Read one of his books and you’ve read them all. Shock tactics, toilet humour, big and bold words filling the page, made up words, the word ‘however’ appears in every second sentence in every book I’ve read of his. Every child in the storyline has a dead, disabled or living on the poverty line parent... really??!!? Every book David!? This book is simply terrible - kids having teeth pulled out by pliers is far from funny for my kids (8,7 and 6). They were horrified. I have read 3-4 of his books now, first one funny and then they are so samey - predictable and trying to be ‘on the edge’ for kids books, bite they are not, in my every growing experience they are simply books about unpleasant people and David tries to make them funny. I have read reviews saying Williams is the new Roald Dahl - what????? They are not even in same league, not even the same sport let alone a worthy successor as some say. It just feels like he’s churning out the books as they name him money and the good reviews (for the life of me I don’t understand them) have gone to his head. My kids laugh out loud at Mr Gum books, they LOVE Roald Dahl stories - the descriptions, they are so immersing and creative, Walliams is unable to do this. My advice, pick one of his books and read that, then move on as the subsequent reads start to underwhelm in a major way...

I am ten years old . I would rate this at five star because my grandma bought it for my and I loved it .This is a really good book by David Walliams and I would definitely recommend this for children over 8 years old . This is also funny because dentist don't actually do this.

This is another fantastic book from David Walliams but most definitely one of his darker works.As mentioned in several other reviews sensitive and younger children will likely find the dentist absolutely terrifying.I actually soldiered on through the chapter when Alfie is trapped, restrained and tortured by the dentist inwardly preying and expecting for the funny stuff to happen to balance things but it just didn't, she rips all of his teeth out with horrifically described torture instruments and he escapes with no teeth at all.It IS a funny story (in places) with some great characters as usual, Raj the newsagent is a big favourite of ours but I would definitely NOT recommend this for kids under 10, and especially not for any kids who have the slights fear of dentists!!We really enjoyed it and It is a good theatrical read to treat the kids to if you still enjoy reading to them as I do.

My almost 10 year old usually loves the David Walliams books but unfortunately this one didn’t go down very well. From the start I had to skip large chunks whilst reading to him as it was far too disturbing for him. Teeth being yanked out in a horrific manner, a little boys mum dying in childbirth, his sick father, living in poverty, and a dentist being impaled through the heart with a dental instrument. Not impressed and he doesn’t want to continue reading it. Definitely not suitable for the usual age group these books are aimed at.

An awful, irresponsible book that creates an unnecessary aura of fear around the dentist. I work in the profession and was horrified that people think it's ok to write a book for children that makes what should be a normal routine of childhood into something so terrifying. I imagine a lot of children with phobias having them made worse by the graphic descriptions in this book