Esio Trot - How Mr. Hoppy Got Himself a Wife - Read Aloud Bedtime Story

Shy Mr. Hoppy devises a plan to win the heart of his true love by teaching her a spell to make her tortoise grow bigger.

I've loved Roald Dahl books since I first discovered them as a young child. This one is a great book for boys who love reptiles. Mr. Dahl liked to play around with words in his stories. In this one, the protagonist, Mr. Hoppy, shares a backwards chant with the woman of his dreams to help her tortoise Alfie, get bigger. In this case though, "get bigger" is pronounced, "Teg Reggib!" Mrs. Silver follows his advice and so Mr. Hoppy with the help of hundreds of other tortoises he's purchased, fake the incredible growth he's promised her. Really the whole operation is simply a way for Mr. Hoppy to overcome his fear and spend more time interacting with Mrs. Silver till he finally gets up the courage to ask her something they've both been wondering about for a long time.

Age Range: 8 - 12 years
Grade Level: 3 - 7
Lexile Measure: 0840 (What's this?)
Paperback: 96 pages
Publisher: Puffin Books (January 22, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0142413828
ISBN-13: 978-0142413821

Edited in Adobe Premiere Pro. Sound design and foley recorded and mixed in Adobe Audition using a Zoom H4N and a Floureon BM-800 Condenser Microphone.
Paint work on the black and white pen drawings by Quentin Blake was created using Adobe Photoshop and a Wacom Cintiq 24UX with new wet media brush simulators.

Non Diagetic Music used at the beginning, tortoise compilation, and ending is:
S Strong - Hot Mustard
From his fantasy saving Mrs. Silver is:
Twin Musicom – Way Out West

Music that can be heard echoing around from the street includes:
Harry James - Sleepy Lagoon
Duke Ellington – Take the A Train
The Ink Spots - The Gypsy
Kmart Loop Store Music from the 1980s used in the background at the pet shop
Chubby Checker - The Twist in the background at the machine shop
The Ink Spots – I Cover the Waterfront