SuitabookRebellion against authority
George responds to an unpleasant, controlling grandmother by creating an alternative medicine and overturning the usual adult-child power relationship.
Loading your next page
Book details
Roald Dahl - Author
A fast, mischievous story about a child’s homemade medicine, comic disorder and rebellion against an unpleasant adult. Its humour depends on exaggeration, grotesque imagery and the reversal of adult authority rather than on model behaviour.
Book Brief
Sign in to see how this book fits your child and family preferences.
Sign in for personalised guidanceA fast, mischievous story about a child’s homemade medicine, comic disorder and rebellion against an unpleasant adult. Its humour depends on exaggeration, grotesque imagery and the reversal of adult authority rather than on model behaviour.
George responds to an unpleasant, controlling grandmother by creating an alternative medicine and overturning the usual adult-child power relationship.
George mixes household ingredients to make a medicine whose effects are described as explosive, unpredictable and potentially dangerous.
Pay particular attention to the treatment of the grandmother, the unsafe concoction, frightening or grotesque moments, and the humour surrounding harm or revenge.
This is a grounded book brief while Suitabook strengthens the analysis: some draft conclusions still depend on unresolved evidence.
KS2 RESOURCE PACK: George's Marvellous Medicine - Puffin Schools
Limited information
Checked: 19 September 2026.
Anything not established here remains open; it is not being treated as absent or safe.
These links show the original reading lists. Inclusion is not a guarantee of suitability for your child.