I was a thumb sucker and I was given this book to read as a wartime evacuee aged 6 in 1942. It scared me stiff then, and has been haunting me ever since. I never thought to see the day that it would come back to haunt me afresh...See it through the eyes of a child. Ban it now say's he; while still sucking a thumb! I only awarded it one star because from the instructions I wasn't allowed to give less.