“Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.” Is this line familiar? Do you get that tingly, happy feeling seeping through you, warming your insides? Do you know who said this? Go on, you know it. That's right, Roald Dahl, of course!
And never has a man lived by his philosophy as faithfully as Dahl himself. Friendly giants, a young girl who could move inanimate objects, a little boy’s visit to a scrumptious chocolate factory, another who lived in a giant peach, are some unforgettable characters in Dahl’s books.
“Never do anything by halves if you want to get away with it. Be outrageous.
Make sure everything you do is so completely crazy, that it’s believable,” wrote Dahl, in Matilda . His writings take us through some of the most outrageous and seemingly impossible situations. Yet, you cannot help but believe that the crazy world that Dahl talks about does exist.
Dahl, the wordsmith
What set Dahl apart from other writers? His ability to create contrasting worlds with grisly creatures, children with extraordinary prowess, and bestow his exciting worlds with some of life’s most important lessons. If on the one hand you came across giants that devoured children, witches who turned kids into rats, or a headmistress who locked them up in the Chokey, you also encountered gentle, unselfish Charlie Bucket or intelligent Matilda who stuck up for what was right. Dahl gave his readers the courage to gobblefunk their way out of their little insecurities. He assured them that there was no reason to feel dejected as authors sent their books out into the world with a comforting message: You are not alone.
Throughout Dahl’s schooling, teachers complained incessantly about his bad spelling. But little did they know that he would go on to invent “Gobblefunk”, a language that would take the world by storm.
If you talk Gobblefunk, you would probably say that lunch was “Swishwifflingly scrumdiddlyumptious!” or the Math problem could be “muggled and jumbly!”
Fantastically famed fables
Dahl had his own little tale testers — his children, for whom he used to make up bedtime stories. After narrating them, he would retire to a small shed in his garden to write out his bedtime tales. From these bedtime-testing sessions emerged some of his phizzwhizzing works — his first major success — James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory , and later, The Magic Finger, Danny, the Champion of the World, The Twits, The BFG, Matilda , and more.
For every one of Dahl’s wicked or cruel characters, there were those who could just as easily warm your hearts. There was a Miss Honey to even out evil Miss Trunchbull, a grandmother who loved her grandson just as much when he was turned into a rat by the High Witch, a kind motherly ladybug and the old green grasshopper who stood by James Henry Trotter who had been ill-treated by his cruel aunts, Spiker and Sponge.
Who else but Dahl could convince you that not all giants were bloodthirsty, and that giants like the BFG, who made it his point to collect good dreams and distribute them among children too, existed? Would you believe it if you came across a giant who made an effort to speak to the Queen of England to capture other giants who ate people? Well, that’s Dahl’s BFG for you.
“A little magic can take you a long way,” said Dahl, and that is exactly what he has done through his writings — taken us on a sojourn that will remain etched in our memories forever.
Love all the way
The first time I came across Dahl’s books was in my library. The first book I saw was Matilda . I loved the book, and since then, there’s been no looking back. Dahl’s books are humorous and magical. The characters in his books are people I can easily imagine and believe that they indeed exist. Some of his characters are very inspiring. Though I’ve read so many of his books, Matilda is still my favourite. In fact, she has inspired me to write poems.
SRIVIDYA PRASAD, 11 years, Sri Vani Education Center, Bangalore
Transported to another world
My favourite books by Dahl are “ The Enormous Crocodile ” and “ Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ”. His books are very funny. He is very imaginative — for instance, in The Enormous Crocodile , he describes how the crocodile tries to trick children by pretending to be a tree, a seesaw, a bench, etc. Charlieand the Chocolate Factory is great too. I can imagine how the chocolate river would be — I wish I could see one too.
VISHNU VALLABHA, 11 years, Jnanasarovara International Residential School, Mysore
“Dahl”iciously yours
Dahl wrote the screenplays for “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” and “You Only Live Twice”.
Roald Dahl’s granddaughter is Sophie Dahl. The character of Sophie in Dahl’s The BFG is named after her.
The Roald Dahl Children’s Gallery was opened at the Buckinghamshire County Museum in 1996.
In 1971, a real Willy Wonka who was a postman wrote to Roald Dahl.
