Roald Dahl Month: September 2010

September is Roald Dahl Month. Roald Dahl is the author of such classic kid’s books as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, The Big Friendly Giant, Witches, and many more.

Super Quick Bio

Roald Dahl was born in Wales (1916) to Norwegian parents. Which is why he has such a unique name. He was a fighter pilot in the R.A.F during World War II. His writing career began with short stories for adults before he became one of the most beloved children’s book authors of all time. He also wrote two screen plays based on Ian Fleming books. Dahl is known for his skill in relating suspenseful events in simple ways.

Reading Contest

To celebrate there is a Reading Dahlathon contest for kids. (nothing for us adults *pout*) Download the entry form, read any three of Dahl’s books between September and December, then send the form in. First 1,000 young participants get a free Reading Dahlathon medal.

You can get the form at bookstores or libraries. The form can also be downloaded off the Roald Dahl site, however, the site is Flash-based so I can’t provide a link to the page or the form. (which, by the way, is one of the eight reasons nobody builds Flash sites anymore) www.roalddahl.com, click the “Reading Dahlathon” link in the top navigation.

NOT Just For Kids

Dahl is best known for his classic children’s fiction. But he actually started his career writing wickedly humorous short stories for us adults. His work appeared in magazines like Harpers, Atlantic Monthly and New Yorker.

His most famous short story for adults is “Lamb to the Slaughter”, which is about a woman who beats her husband to death with a leg of mutton and then cooks and serves the murder weapon to the police.

Dahl won the Edgar Award three times, which is pretty impressive.

Adult Books

Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life, Someone Like You, Over to You: Ten Stories of Flyers and Flying, The Mildenhall Treasure, Switch Bitch, Kiss Kiss, Tales of the Unexpected, My Uncle Oswald, The Best of Roald Dahl, The Roald Dahl Omnibus, The Collected Short Stories of Roald Dahl, etc.

Antholgies

Some of Dahl’s short stories for us adults appear in anthologies; Timeless Stories for Today and Tomorrow, The Flying Sorcerers, Alfred Hitchcock’s Spellbinders in Suspese, The Graveyard Reader, Murder British Style, Flight Patterns: A Century of Stories about Flying, etc.

Movie Time

Several of Roald Dahl’s novels have been turned into movies: James and the Giant Peach, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, and The Witches.

My Favorite Dahl Books

Almost all the Dahl books I’ve experienced were read to me by teachers. I can still remember being read The Witches; all of us sitting cross-legged in a ring around the teacher in her chair.

Here’s a montage of my favorite books by Roald Dahl:

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One Response to “Roald Dahl Month: September 2010”

1. Book Calendar says:

   September 9, 2010 at 4:33 pm

   He wrote My Uncle Oswald which is an interesting book for adults.