D is for Dahl Read online

  How much do you know about

  Roald Dahl? Follow along from A to Z!

  A is for. . . Adenoids ~ Roald Dahl’s adenoids were sliced out by a doctor when he was eight. A perfectly painless procedure, you might think. Wrong! He was wide awake. In 1924, it was quite common for doctors to perform this operation without anesthetic. Arrrrrrgghhh!

  B is for. . . Blabbermouth ~ Roald Dahl loved secrets but was terrible at keeping them—he was much too fond of talking.

  C is for. . . Chocolate ~ If you were invited to dinner at Roald Dahl’s house, at the end of the meal, you’d be offered a red plastic box containing all of Roald Dahl’s favorite chocolates: Twix, Kit Kats, Rolos, Smarties, Flakes, and Maltesers. When he was an adult, Roald also used to buy fancy chocolates from a shop in London.

  And D is for. . . DAHL!

  PUFFIN BOOKS

  Published by the Penguin Group

  Penguin Young Readers Group, 345 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, U.S.A.

  Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4P 2Y3 (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)

  Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

  Penguin Ireland, 25 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd)

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  Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi - 110 017, India

  Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, North Shore 0745, Auckland, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.)

  Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa

  Registered Offices: Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

  First published in Great Britain by Penguin Books Ltd., 2004

  First published in the United States of America by Viking, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group, 2005

  This edition published by Puffin Books, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group, 2007

  Text copyright © Roald Dahl Nominee, Ltd, 2004

  Illustrations copyright © Quentin Blake, 2004

  Recipe for Hot-House Eggs previously published in Roald Dahl’s Even More Revolting Recipes by Random House Children’s Books, 2001

  Photographs here copyright © Jan Baldwin/Narratives

  Photograph here copyright © Dorling Kindersley

  Photograph here copyright © Hulton Archive

  All rights reserved

  CIP DATA IS AVAILABLE.

  Puffin Books ISBN: 978-1-101-63620-6

  Except in the United States of America, this book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

  The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

  Table of Contents

  A is for. . .

  B is for. . .

  C is for. . .

  D is for. . .

  E is for. . .

  F is for. . .

  G is for. . .

  H is for. . .

  I is for. . .

  J is for. . .

  K is for. . .

  L is for. . .

  M is for. . .

  N is for. . .

  O is for. . .

  P is for. . .

  Q is for. . .

  R is for. . .

  S is for. . .

  T is for. . .

  U is for. . .

  V is for. . .

  W is for. . .

  X is for. . .

  Y is for. . .

  Z is for. . .

  About the Author

  Aardvark ~ Every A–Z must begin with an aardvark (an African burrowing mammal with long flappy ears and a long nose). Although Roald Dahl didn’t feature an aardvark in any of his books, he did invent some crazy creatures—look out for Whangdoodles, Snozzwhangers, and the Pink-Spotted Scrunch.

  Adenoids ~ Roald Dahl’s adenoids were sliced out by a doctor when he was eight. A perfectly painless procedure, you might think. Wrong! He was wide awake. In 1924, it was quite common for doctors to perform this operation without anesthetic. Arrrrrrgghhh!

  Africa ~ After leaving school, Roald Dahl was desperate for adventure. He wanted to see lions and elephants, giraffes and deadly snakes. He wanted to see coconuts and silvery beaches. So he got a job in Africa. In 1938, he began a long journey to the faraway continent. It would be three thrilling years before he returned home. Find out more in Going Solo.

  A is for Alfhild

  Alfhild ~ Alf was Roald Dahl’s big sister. She was a genuine eccentric. Here are some of the unusual things she did: she smoked cigars, drank champagne out of her shoe, and danced on tabletops! Roald and Alf were very close—they shared a passion for gardening and gossiped endlessly on the phone. (See Family Tree.)

  All done! ~ Once Roald Dahl had finished writing a book, it was time for Wendy Kress, his trusty typist, to turn the pile of yellow scribbled paper into a neat, printed manuscript. Roald wouldn’t let anyone disturb Wendy until the book was done. And as she neared the final page, he would pace to and fro, impatient to see the finished work. Then he would worry that he wouldn’t have a good enough idea for the next book.

  Alma ~ She was the Dahls’ pet goat, who lived in the fields at their home, Gipsy House. She once broke into Roald’s writing hut and left him a present on the floor (and we’re not talking chocolates or flowers!).

  A is for Art

  Antiques ~ Roald Dahl liked old, precious things and enjoyed poking and rummaging around in antique shops. He opened his own antique shop in Great Missenden for his daughter Tessa, called the Witchball. Later, he owned an antique business called Dahl & Son, which he ran with his son. If you were to stroll down Great Missenden High Street now, you’d see it’s become a beauty parlor.

  The Apple ~ This was Roald Dahl’s nickname at home. He was the only boy of five children and the apple of his mother’s eye—that is to say, her favorite.

  Art ~ Roald Dahl loved art. He loved learning about it, buying it, and selling it, but most of all, he loved looking at it. If a picture caught his eye, he would snap it up—even if it was far too expensive. . . . Then he’d sometimes have to sell it again when he ran out of money! One of the best things about making it as an author was that he could afford to keep his pictures.

  A is for Asta

  Asta ~ Roald Dahl’s youngest sister couldn’t wait to fly up, up, and away in the Second World War. She joined the women’s branch of the Royal Air Force (the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force) and soon became an officer. She flew in barrage balloons in the UK and later commanded a WAAF unit in Norway and even received a medal from Norway’s king. (See Family Tree.)

  Astri ~ Tragically Roald Dahl’s eldest sister died from appendicitis when she was just seven years old and Roald was only three. Seven is the same age at which Roald’s daughter Olivia died. Today, appendicitis can be easily cured, but in 1920 it was often fatal. (See Family Tree.)

  A is for Autobiography

  Random Roald Fact

  He loved collecting facts. Here’s one of Roald Dahl’s favorites—saffron (made from the stigmas of the purple crocus) is the most expensive food in the world when sold by weight.

  Attention all writers! ~ Roald Dahl believed a story should grab its reader from the first sentence. He thought writers need a lively imagination