#roald dahl books

[nonsensology]

This was supposed to just be a rough sketch, but then I started getting really invested in it.

I hadn't initially intended to include so many picture book characters, but the nostalgia was overwhelming. Does anyone remember the animated short films produced by Weston Woods? My local library used to have a bunch of them on the Scholastic VHS tapes from the late 90s. (I know some shorts were released on the Children's Circle VHS tapes back in the 80s (🎶 Come on along! Come on along! Join the caravan!), and some were packaged in Sammy's Story Shop in 2008.)

Characters:

Max, from Where the Wild Things Are, written and illustrated by Maurice Sendak

Peter, from The Snowy Day, written and illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats

Brother Bear and Sister Bear, from The Berenstain Bears series, written and illustrated by Stan and Jan Berenstain

Pooh and Piglet, from the Winnie-the-Pooh books, by A. A. Milne, illustrated by E. H. Shepard

Owen, from Owen, written and illustrated by Kevin Henkes.

Mouse, from If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, by Laura Joffe Numeroff, illustrated by Felicia Bond

Louis, from The Trumpet of the Swan, by E. B. White

Mr. Toad, from The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame, based on the illustrations by E. H. Shepard

Mr. Tumnus, from The Chronicles of Narnia series, by C. S. Lewis

Pippi and Mr. Nilsson, from the Pippi Longstocking books, by Astrid Lindgren

Willy Wonka, from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, by Roald Dahl, based on the illustrations by Quentin Blake

Matilda, from Matilda, by Roald Dahl, based on the illustrations by Quentin Blake (with an homage to the Mara Wilson movie)

Peter Pan and Tinker Bell, from Peter Pan, by J. M. Barrie

Merlin and Archimedes, from The Sword in the Stone, by T. H. White, based on the illustrations by Dennis Nolan

Pinocchio, from Pinocchio, by Carlo Collodi, based on the illustrations by Enrico Mazzanti

Alice, White Rabbit, and Cheshire Cat, from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by John Tenniel

Rupert Bear, from the Rupert stories, created by Mary Tourtel and continued by Alfred Bestall, John Harrold, Stuart Trotter, and others.

Arthur Read, from the Arthur series, written and illustrated by Marc Brown

Tin Woodman and Scarecrow, from the Land of Oz series, by L. Frank Baum, based on the illustrations by W. W. Denslow and John R. Neill

The Cat in the Hat, from The Cat in the Hat, written and illustrated by Dr. Seuss

a frog on a flying lily pad, from Tuesday, written and illustrated by David Wiesner

Charlotte, from Charlotte's Web, by E. B. White

[quotespile]

Sometimes Matilda longed for a friend, someone like the kind, courageous people in her books.

Roald Dahl, Matilda

[365filmsbyauroranocte]

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (Wes Anderson, 2023)

[mostlyghostie]

Book read in January 2024- a good month!

If I had to pick a fave, I’d say Lessons, but The Testaments and Fingersmith were brilliant too.

Reading through the Narnia series again has been fascinating, especially as I never realised how different the publication order and the suggested reading order are. I didn’t realise that the best 3 (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardobe / Prince Caspian / Voyage of the Dawn Treader) were written in that order, rather than being the 2nd, 4th and 5th.

Lots of dated stuff though, wow. It is very funny that horrible cousin Eustace is implied to be so rotten because of his parents, who do things like sending him to a school with no corporal punishment, bringing him up vegetarian and saying that boys and girls should be treated equally. He is a little creep though.

Instagram / Shop

[rusquared]

Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint by SingShong || Matilda by Roald Dahl

[anamericangirl]

New editions of legendary works by British author Roald Dahl are being edited to remove words that could be deemed offensive to some readers, according to the late writer's company.

British newspaper The Telegraph first reported that the publisher of Dahl's books, Puffin, made hundreds of changes to original texts of the author's well-known children's books.

The character Augustus Gloop in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is no longer called "fat." Instead he is described as "enormous," The Telegraph reports.

Instead of being called "small men," Oompa-Loompas are now "small people," the article says.

Further, the changes to these books include adding language not originally written by Dahl. In his 1983 book The Witches, he writes that witches are bald beneath their wigs. According to The Telegraph, an added line in new editions says, "There are plenty of other reasons why women might wear wigs and there is certainly nothing wrong with that."

The Roald Dahl Story Company told The Associated Press that it worked with Puffin to review the books out of a desire to ensure "Dahl's wonderful stories and characters continue to be enjoyed by all children today." The company said it worked with Inclusive Minds, an organization that works for inclusivity in children's books. Changes were "small and carefully considered," the company told the AP.

The changes have drawn criticism from advocacy groups, readers and writers.

Suzanne Nossel, CEO of the free expression advocacy group PEN America, called the changes alarming.

"Amidst fierce battles against book bans and strictures on what can be taught and read, selective editing to make works of literature conform to particular sensibilities could represent a dangerous new weapon," Nossel tweeted. "Those who might cheer specific edits to Dahl's work should consider how the power to rewrite books might be used in the hands of those who do not share their values and sensibilities.”

This is totally unacceptable. They are literally rewriting books now. If books have to be rewritten to conform to modern day sensitivities that will result in books being rewritten every few years by those who control the narrative.

There is nothing offensive in Roald Dahl’s books and if you see the word “fat” or “men” or a sentence about women in wigs being witches and you get offended then you deserve to be offended. Toughen up. You’ll never make it in the real world.

I predict this is only just the beginning, though. They are making “small” changes to start and see what they can get away with. Next time the changes won’t be so small.

If they can rewrite books they can literally rewrite history

[leer-reading-lire]

Suggestions for your first classic

[thespianwordnerd]

Brb persuading Tumblr to go and watch the new Matilda movie musical by telling everyone how baby queer and neurodivergent coded she is

[ijustkindalikebooks]

“The books transported her into new worlds and introduced her to amazing people who lived exciting lives. She went on olden-day sailing ships with Joseph Conrad. She went to Africa with Ernest Hemingway and to India with Rudyard Kipling. She travelled all over the world while sitting in her little room in an English village.” ― Roald Dahl, Matilda

[blackswaneuroparedux]

I’ve warned my publishers that if they later on so much as change a single comma in one of my books, they will never see another word from me. Never! Ever! When I am gone, if that happens, then I’ll wish mighty Thor knocks very hard on their heads with his Mjolnir. Or I will send along the ‘enormous crocodile’ to gobble them up.

- Roald Dahl

In a conversation in 1982 at Dahl’s home in Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, with his great friend the artist Francis Bacon, Roald Dahl, the famous children books writer, was adamant about the censoring or editing of his beloved books.

In evoking Thor’s hammer, Dahl was referring to his Norwegian roots and to his earlier story of “the greediest croc”. Bacon for his part felt just as strongly about the censoring or editing of an artist’s works, telling him: “There must be no changes to an artist’s original work when he is dead for any reason whatsoever.” Crossing himself in mock jest, Dahl replied: “I just hope to God that will never happen to any of my writings as I am lying comfortably in my Viking grave.”

Dahl can rest easy as the current owners of the Dahl’s books reversed a decision to greatly gut so-called offending passages as approved by ‘sensitivity readers’ for anything offensive to re-edit. Puffin, the publishers, have now decided to publish two versions of Dahl’s works, one, a massively re-edited version that ticks the boxes of diversity, inclusivity and equality, and another untouched original version, as the author intended.

[quotespile]

You should never, never doubt something that no one is sure of.

Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

[boooklover]

“All the reading she had done had given her a view of life that they had never seen.”

Roald Dahl, Matilda

[bookaddict24-7]

All the reading she had done had given her a view of life that they had never seen.

Roald Dahl

[wdillustration]

The Five children & their guardians preparing to enter the Wonka Factory with golden tickets at hand...

[bdazzlebooklover]

Father's Day gift from about 5-6vyears ago.

I love me some Roald Dahl

[padfootswhiskers]

interesting that the dursleys+harry actually stayed in cokeworth while on the run from the hogwarts letter