Strictly for Children: Roald Dahl

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Having said that, I am a grown-up child, myself. I have a daughter who is not only an avid reader of Roald Dahl’s books, but most of the books we have read together, not once, not twice but many times. So I consider myself an exception and I read his books inspite of the warning below! Sorry, Mr. Dahl.

“Yes, you. Stop right there. Don’t move. Are you an adult? Oh, dear. I’m sorry. This book is absolutely NOT meant for you. Kindly close the pages and go and do something grown-up instead. (Perhaps you could make a roast dinner with a hundred vegetables or creosote a fence or something.) Off you go. Have they gone? Good. Hello, non-adult! This book is meant for YOU. But be warned. It contains mischief and mayhem of such extreme naughtiness that you will need the cunning of Fantastic Mr Fox and the cleverness of Matilda to continue. You’re cunning AND clever? Excellent. We’ll get along just fine. Now, read on.
If you’ve bought, borrowed or been given this TRULY NAUGHTY book, then you surely already know of Roald Dahl. But, just in case you’re one of the 27 people on the planet who haven’t heard of him, let me tell you a little more.”

Excerpt From: Roald Dahl. “Roald Dahl’s Mischief and Mayhem”.

Who was Roald Dahl?

Roald Dahl was born in Wales in 1916 to Norwegian parents. He had four sisters. Sadly, both his father and his eldest sister died when he was very young. And then when he wasn’t much older – just nine years old – his mother sent him away to boarding school in England. Roald Dahl hated it so much that he pretended to have appendicitis so that he would be sent home. He was sent home.

In between detention and homework and being achingly homesick, Roald spent the rest of his school years trying to outwit his VERY STRICT teachers and the FORMIDABLE matron. And testing new chocolate bars for a VERY FAMOUS chocolate company. Luckily, he also loved making up stories. (He wrote it all down in a book called Boy, if you’d like to find out EVEN MORE.)

The rest of Roald Dahl’s life is like something out of a storybook too. He worked in London, which was chilly, and Africa, which wasn’t. He flew fighter-planes in the Second World War, which was very scary. (Unfortunately, he crashed one in the desert, which was even scarier.) He was a spy. Shhhh. And THEN he became a writer. Phew.

The Books

Roald Dahl’s short stories have been best sellers all over the world and have been translated into many languages. The book in which they are collected are Someone Like You, Kiss Kiss, Switch Bitch, Twenty~nine Kisses from Roald Dhal, Over to You, and Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life.

The use of the word “unexpected” in relation to many of Roald Dahl’s short stories are quite common. The ending to his stories are often unexpected and take the reader by surprise. Sometimes the ending are comic, sometimes they are tragic, sometimes a likeable character wins, sometimes an evil character wins; in most cases, however the the ending is almost impossible to predict and there is a ‘twist in the tale’. Many of the stories are humorous as characters find themselves in unusual situation but the humour is nearly always ‘black’ humour.

Roald Dahl’s other main publications include a highly praised novel called “My Uncle Oswald” and a sequence of books for children which have made him into one of the most famous writer of children’s book in the world. His children’s works include Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, The Twits, The Great Glass Elevator, Fantastic Mr Fox, The Witches, The Magic Finger and The BFG. Many have been adapted into movies, but the novels themselves are even better

The most memorable Roald Dahl quotes

“A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.”

-The Twits

“Books shouldn’t be daunting, they should be funny, exciting and wonderful; and learning to be a reader gives a terrific advantage.”

-Roald Dahl

“If you are going to get anywhere in life you have to read a lot of books.”

-Roald Dahl

“It’s a funny thing about mothers and fathers. Even when their own child is the most disgusting little blister you could ever imagine, they still think that he or she is wonderful.”

-Matilda

“Parents never underestimated the abilities of their own children. Quite the reverse. Sometimes it was well nigh impossible for a teacher to convince the proud father or mother that their beloved offspring was a complete nitwit.”

-Matilda

“Whipped cream isn’t whipped cream at all if it hasn’t been whipped with whips, just like poached eggs isn’t poached eggs unless it’s been stolen in the dead of the night.”

-Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

“Everything in this room is edible. Even I’m edible. But, that would be called cannibalism. It is looked down upon in most societies.”

-Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

“I cannot for the life of me understand why small children take so long to grow up. I think they do it deliberately, just to annoy me.”

-Matilda

“I’m afraid men are not always quite as clever as they think they are. You will learn that when you get a bit older, my girl.”

-Matilda

Fin

Maurice Sendak observed, “In plain terms, a child is a complicated creature who can drive you crazy. There’s a cruelty to childhood, there’s an anger.” If Dahl’s books contain just one message for us adults, it’s the reminder that a child’s world isn’t all sweetness and light, it contains shadows too – extravagant, scary, wickedly entertaining ones.

Want more of Roald Dahl

Have you played the fantastically fun new Roald Dahl apps?

Go, check it out @ www.roalddahl.com

Yes, and there is Roald Dahl Day, celebrated on 13th September!

Stories are good for you, so get these following books by Roald Dahl.

That’s it. One last word invented by Roald Dahl himself.

SCRUMDIDDLYUMPTIOUS

Adjective: Something that’s delicious and lovely.

Roald Dahl Collection 16 Books Box Set

Roald Dahl’s Book of Ghost Stories

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