Today is Roald Dahl's birthday, and I couldn't let the day go without a tribute. He was born on 13th September, 1916.
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| pic courtesy flipkart |
Compiled and illustrated by Quentin Blake
Publisher: Puffin (Pocket Money Puffin series)
The book begins with a quote from his book The Minpins: “Above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most likely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.” This should be the guiding light for all who associate themselves with children’s books. Or any books at all. Or anything that raises one above the mundane. As Dahl’s books certainly do. He was a keen observer of his surroundings, human or otherwise, and each of the twelve chapters begins with his essay on the month or season.
Do you know…
…that there were as many as ten naughty children to feature in his most famous book Charlie and the Chocolate factory? These were to have names like Bertie Upside and Herpes Trout. Or that the Oompa-Loompas were to be called Whipple-Scrumpets?
…that the Roald Dahl-Quentin Blake partnership began in 1976, quite late in Dahl’s career, and that initially Blake was nervous about illustrating for such a famous writer?
…that Dahl kept two notebooks in which he pinned down any stray idea that entered his head, and that almost all his books came from these years later?
…that strange though it may seem to his readers, his English teacher at boarding school had written him off? “This boy is an indolent and illiterate member of the class.” “Vocabulary negligible, sentences malconstructed. Ideas limited.”
…that in the churchyard at Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, big friendly giant footprints lead to Roald Dahl’s grave?
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| pic courtesy flipkart |
A gloriumptious A-Z guide to the world of Roald Dahl
Compiled by Wendy Cooling
Illustrations Quentin Blake
Publisher: Puffin books
It begins with a smudged copy of the Dahl family tree on page 1. The next 149 pages are cram-filled with alphabetically arranged snippets that will warm the heart of even the most reluctant of readers. All things Dahl : personal life, his books, quirks, his literary associates, his working style, his opinions about everything he came across- it is all there, in bite-sizes, and embellished with the zany illustrations of his friend and long-time illustrator, Quentin Blake.
Some our favourites are the Random Roald Facts in boxes:
He wrote his first ever story at the age of 10, titled “Kumbak II” about a machine that could tune in to conversations from the past.
From an essay written by him at school, describing his teacher: “He’s a short man with a face like a fried elderberry, and a moustache which closely resembles the African jungle.” On his teacher's cane: “It wasn’t simply an instrument for beating you. It was a weapon for wounding.” Do you see Miss Agatha Trunchbull from Matilda?
No wonder his teachers were vexed with him!
Here is a review of a proper biography, Fantastic Mr Dahl, written by Michael Rosen, on Guardian Children's Books.
Cross-posted at Saffrontree.
Cross-posted at Saffrontree.
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Happy Birthday, Roald Dahl! You have given us - A and myself - some giggleworthy moments of childhood.
18 comments:
and 10 facts straight from my head:
1. he always wrote on yellow legal paper
2. with a dixon ticanderoga pencil only
3. he had 1 and 2 shipped across from the oosa always
4. he was 6 feet 5 inches tall
5. he broke his nose when he had to crash-land in the middle of the desert during ww2
6. he ate a bar of chocolate very day
7. he kept the silver foil of the chocolate and rolled it into a ball. the ball grew and grew with each day. it still exists in the RD museum.
8. he had war injuries which gave him grief in his last years
9. he only ever wrote from his writing hut
10. he did not actually get along with children.
hope i qualify for being a dahl-maniac!
Quite the Dahl-maniac. Could pair you off with the kid on this, just as your FB and I could pair off on HP!
It is a strange thing, isn't it, that the two most famous and widely read (after Rowling, of course!:):)) British authors- Dahl and Blyton, were both keen observers of nature, and were both intolerant of children in real life. Both were, in fact, children at heart in the sense that they never grew up- they remained as self-centred as most children are! Maybe the reason, too, that they wrote so wonderfully from a child's POV.:)
you said it babe.
Wow Chox...that is awesome...
I am awebumbblestruck with your knowlede about Dahl...
I have discovered his books only in the recent past, and saying I love them, will be an understatement.
I am soo waiting for A to grow up and enjoy the books!
I just briefly read BGF to her, and even since she calls us humans, as "human beans"
Oompa Lumpas are a favorite dressing up game...especially during shampoo baths...A even found the similarity in that kid in Arts book "Have you seen this"
And I just love this post Sandhya...
LOVED this post! :)
I am a BIG fan of Dahl, and loved knowing these snippets about him. Thank you!
I didn't know it was his birthday yesterday!
May I ask you two things, please? :
1. How do you get these amazing facts and titbits, personal history of different authors?
2. How do you come to know about the birthdays of different authors?
Just curious. The answers would be of much help in my writing career, too.
GND: sandhya is God and God knows everything right?
Will tell you about mortals like me:
1. Amazing facts etc - off the net and through books
2. Birthdays - all over the kid-lit blogs, just start haunting those! A good place to begin is guardian's kid-lit blogpage.
There you are, TGND, you have your answer. Also hobnob with the likes of Choxbox here and the amazing Saffrontree team, who between them know quite a lot. Most of all, read, read, read all you can lay your hands on, and talk shop...err...books. You imbibe a lot.:)
Love Dahl out here too. Kids are both reading book by book, my deal is that I promised them the movies when the books are read. Pressure's on me now to get those movies. :-D
What an imagination!
As usual I am late..so Belated Happy Birthday Mr. Dahl
1. I discovered him very late in life..okie honestly when I was 28, 3 years ago :(
2. My father tried to make me read him when I was younger but I didnt *goes and bangs head on the wall*
3. Chox - you are a rock star!! how can you know so much *insert jealous look*
4. Sandhya - I have read about both Blyton and Dahl not getting along great with kids which surprises me so so much!
There is a RD museum...?? Where? I had no clue..
I just finished reading Danny the Champion of the World
R's Mom: Danke lady and do read the Saffrontree post - S has kindly inserted a bit from yours truly re the Roald Dahl Story Centre and Museum in Great Missenden.
@Swapna: Love the way Dahl books appeal to the irreverent child in all of us, kids and adults! A would do that during shampoo baths too, and with her hair, it would be a very long Oompa Loompa antenna indeed!
Yes, we thought of Dahl when we saw Art's book, too!:)
@Sangi: I have Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach in movies. You're free to borrow.:)
@RM: You haven't met Chox yet, so you don't know this- she's even more awesome in person, and getting to know her can become a life-altering event. It did for me. In a very big way. Was living in a well until then.
Funnily enough, Danny the Champion of the World was the one Dahl book that the kid refused to read after a point. She took umbrage at the fact that Danny's father poaches animals. You must read all of them. My favourites are Mathilda and The Minpins.
I am a Dahl fan too and got to read them when my kids were young. You see, there were no children's books when I was growing up except for the classics and Grimm's fairy tales. My favourites are Danny and Matilda. The two books you have written about are now on my list of 'to-buy' books.
Came here from R's Mom's blog. Nice blog :)
@Zephyr: welcome to my space. And thanks for the nice words.
Err...like a sensible person, I checked out your blog before hitting publish.:) Read your post on the Blog Bully and was quite delighted that she had struck at my blog.:)
Would love to have your comments on my older posts too. Whenever you have the time, that is.
@Zephyr: see, I am already being the willing victim by inviting you to comment on my other posts!!
But you didn't leave a comment on my blog :( I would love to come and read more posts of yours. you write well.
Would you like to join in the Sunday Book Club on Twitter? You would love it. My friend Sudha is one of the founders. Do check it out here:
http://thatandthisinmumbai.wordpress.com/2012/09/16/the-sunday-book-club/
:) An oversight, I'm sure.:)
I would have loved to join in, Zephyr, but I'm not on twitter, and week-ends don't work for me usually! :(
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