Did You Know ... Roald Dahl

I have always loved books by Roald Dahl, from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to James and the Giant Peach. He wrote so many interesting books in his lifetime, it's amazing to me that he came up with so many great ideas. I thought it would be fun to see it I could come up with some little known facts about his life and his books. Turns out, he led a fascinating life. Here's what I discovered.

Did you know...

• He was born in Wales in 1916? His parents were Norwegian.
• Dahl grew to be six and a half feet tall?
• The Cadbury chocolate company sent boxes of new chocolates to his school to be tested? Dahl dreamed of devising a new flavor that would impress Mr. Cadbury. The idea inspired Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
• He was a fighter pilot in World War II and shot down five enemy aircraft, making him a flying ace?
• He was attache to the British ambassador to the U.S.? 
• During this time Dahl provided intelligence to an organization called the British Security Coordination? This was a group that was working to combat the American isolationist movement. It's members included Ian Fleming and David Ogilvy.
• In 1953 he married actress Patricia Neal?
• In addition to his children's books, Dahl also wrote short stories for adults? These were usually darker stories of the macabre.
• Tales of the Unexpected, a collection of his adult stories, was made into a TV series? 
• Dahl wrote the screenplays for the film version of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and You Only Live Twice?  Both were rewritten and finished by other screen writers. The Child Catcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was his creation.
• He died in 1990 at the age of 74?

My Favorite Books: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

When I was between eight and ten, I was really into a number of authors. I read lots of E.B. White, A.A. Milne, Beverly Cleary and Roald Dahl. One of my favorite books from that period of time was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. 

Cover from the version I had as a kid

I believe that I read the book before I saw the film starring Gene Wilder. The movie version came out when I was seven, but I did not see it until it was on TV a few years later. I remember that I was a little outraged that they had titled the film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, but the film was brilliant. Still, I liked the book more.

I think I liked seeing what happened to the children best. There was a little feeling of righteousness as each child got what they deserved (although I did become a little nervous as I read about Mike Teavee) while the deserving Charlie Bucket got the big prize. Oh yeah, and the glass elevator at the end was cool, too.

Charlie was a perfect hero--someone who was good but had nothing and wound up getting everything his heart desired. Imagine my horror when in the film, Charlie and his Grandpa Joe broke the rules! I don't know why they decided to do that, because Charlie would never break the rules. Hollywood can warp everyone, I suppose. Anyway, this is a fantastic book, and I also enjoyed the sequel, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. If you haven't read them, you should definitely check them out.

Have you read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or any other books by Roald Dahl?

Here's a bit of the film version. This was cool when I was a kid, before computer generated scenes. All that candy! I've read that the first time the actors saw the chocolate waterfall room was when this scene was filmed.

What's Christian Reading? George's Marvelous Medicine

This week, Christian decided to share his thoughts on another Roald Dahl book that he's been reading, George's Marvelous Medicine. One day last month, Christian came home from the library with a Roald Dahl Treasury, which was a compliation of a bunch of his books. I never realized how prolific Roald Dahl was. I'm going to have to read this book.

Here is Christian's take on Roald Dahl's George's Marvelous Medicine.

This is what Christian says the book is about.

"It's about a boy who has a nasty grandma, and he gets left home alone with her. She's really grouchy, so he decides to give her a taste of her own medicine. He makes a concoction of many different items around the house and animal medicine. Some of the things he puts in it are toothpaste, shaving soap, vitamin enriched hair cream, hair remover, horse pills, sheep pills, antifreeze, motor oil, and brown paint among other things.

"It is quite a short book, only 89 pages. The medicine makes grandma grow to an enormous size. You won't believe what happens."

Here's what Christian liked most about the book.

"The part that I liked most was when Grandma grew to an enormous size, because then she started complaining even worse than usual. She complained about the fact that George made her grow. The book was very funny."

Here's what Christian did not like about the book.

"The fact that it was so short. I didn't really like how the grandmother was so pushy. If I were George I would have done exactly what he did!"

What do you like about Roald dahl's books, because you've read so many of them?

"I like them, because they all have a touch of fantasy. All his books touch on fantasy, even though they take place in the real world. I also like the fact that they are all pretty funny."

So how does Christian rate George's Marvelous Medicine by Roald Dahl?

Christian gives it 4 1/2 out of 5 Flaming Monkey Heads.

What's Christian Rading? Matilda

My son, Christian, had another busy reading week.  With all the choices, he was in a quandry about which book to feature. He finally narrowed it down to a couple. Here's his final choice.

So, what's Christian reading> This week it was Matilda by Roald Dahl.

According to Christian, this is what the book's about:

"Matilda is about a little girl who is a five year old genius, who plays tricks on her mean parents and outsmarts them. Her parents are mean and call her stupid and idiot. She's also got a mean headmistriss at school, Miss. Trunchbull.

"She can also move things with her mind. She used her powers to write a fake message from the ghost of her brother to Miss. Trunchbull on the blackboard."

What did Christian like most about the book?

"I liked the tricks she plays on her parents and Miss. Trunchbull. My favorite one was when she borrowed her friend's pet parrot and put it in her chimney. The parrot knows a lot of creepy phrases, like 'shiver me bones'. She tells her parents that the chimney is haunted. They hear the parrot saying stuff and it really creeps them out."

Is there anything Christian didn't like?

Christian pretty much liked the whole book. His little sister, Abigail, did not like the name, Matilda, though.

So how does Christian reate Matilda?

He gives if 5 out of 5 flaming monkey heads.