I love Roald Dahl. His books never cease to entertain me and I love reading them aloud to kids. While researching Roald Dahl's catalog of work, I quickly decided to exclude his numerous (50+) short stories. Therefore, this goal includes only Roald Dahl children's books and biographies. FYI: I completed some of these books before the official start of The List so below are my notes, thoughts, or recollections of the stories.
The books:
The Mildenhall Treasure - A true story about a poor farmer who dug up a Roman treasure. His boss took it and tried to hide it but it was found out. Roald Dahl read about it and offered the man half of his book money if he would let him tell the story.
My Year - An observation of nature throughout the months of the year.
Rhyme Stew - Funny poems!
The Missing Golden Ticket - Secrets behind Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. There were originally more golden tickets!
Going Solo - Follow up to Boy. Crazy stories like watching a lady being carried off by a lion.
Boy - Autobiography. Interesting to read about the experiences that inspired several of his novels.
The Giraffe and The Pelly and Me - A giraffe, a pelican and a monkey paint houses.
James and the Giant Peach - Better than I thought it would be. Hadn't read it since 3rd-ish grade.
Vile Verses - Funny poems.
The Minpins - Tiny people who live in trees get saved by a boy riding a swan.
Danny the Champion of the World - This book really surprised me. It's a story about a boy and his dad who figure out an ingenious way to poach pheasants. I loved this book.
The BFG - It took me a long time to get past the dialect that the giants used but I ended up enjoying this book quite a bit.
Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator - Had high hopes after Charlie and the Chocolate Factory but I thought this book was so random and disjointed that I couldn't wait to get through it.
Revolting Rhymes - Hilarious retelling of classic fairy tales. Red Riding Hood shoots and skins the wolf and makes him into a coat. Later, Red shows up to help the 3rd Little Pig. She takes care of that wolf, makes another fur coat and turns the pig into a leather bag! Watch it here.
George's Marvelous Medicine - George makes medicine and grows GIANT animals.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. A bit different from the movie.
The Twits - Mean, grumpy people. That's all I remember.
The Vicar of Nibbleswicke - A hilarious short novel about a Vicar who mixes up all of his words and drama ensues.
Esio Trot - Tortoise spelled backwards. A sweet love story about an old man who seeks the attention of a tortoise loving lady.
The Magic Finger - Um...his finger zaps people?
The Enormous Crocodile - A big croc gobbles up little children.
Matilda - A magic little girl takes on the Trunchbull and prevails!
The Witches - My favorite Roald Dahl book! Full of suspense, great description and a wonderful villain. Read it!
Fantastic Mr. Fox - Eh. Foxes underground being clever/conniving.
Someday, I hope to plow through Roald Dahl's short stories because his writing never ceases to amaze me. Now go pick up a book!
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