D is for Dahl Read online

  Boy ~ This book describes the nice and nasty things that happened to Roald Dahl when he was young. The Norwegian nanny who looked after Roald and his sisters always called him “Boy.” “Boy” is also how Roald signed himself in some of his letters to his mama.

  B is for Bugs

  Broccoli, Cubby (Albert R.) ~ Part-owner of the rights for the James Bond films, he said his ancestors invented a curly green vegetable that they christened with their surname—can you guess the vegetable?! They did this by crossing cauliflower with rabe. Cubby worked closely with Roald Dahl when he wrote the screenplay for You Only Live Twice. There’s one big similarity between the plot of the film and the storyline of Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. If you ever watch the movie, keep your eyes peeled. . . but you won’t see James Bond tackling any Vermicious Knids.

  Bucket ~ A round, open vessel for carrying water (Ooops! Almost forgot—Bucket is the name of one of the most important families in the history of books featuring boys called Charlie and lots of chocolate.)

  Bugs ~ Roald Dahl became quite an expert on creepy-crawlies when he was planning James and the Giant Peach. Did you know, for example, that some bees have tongues that they can unroll until they are twice as long as the bee itself?

  B is for Bullies

  Bullies ~ Roald Dahl hated bullies. So when his daughter Lucy and her friends were being bullied on the school bus by a girl called Lizzy, he came up with a plan. He wrote a rhyme and told Lucy to teach it to everyone except the bully. They learned the verse and, when Lizzy next picked on a girl on the bus, everyone sang:

  Everyone on the bus—except Lizzy—cheered, chanted, clapped, and sang over and over again. Lizzy didn’t pick on them again. In Roald’s books, bullies get their just deserts—see what happens to the aunts in James and the Giant Peach, the horrid giants in The BFG, and Miss Trunchbull in Matilda.

  Bursting postbag ~ Roald Dahl received sacks and sacks of mail from fans all over the world—as many as 4,000 letters a week! And he answered every single one of them (with a little help from his secretary and a letter that he adapted each time). Here’s one of the letters he wrote:

  B is for Buttercups

  My teacher wasn’t half as nice as yours seems to be. His name was Mister Unsworth and he taught us history, And when you didn’t know a date he’d get you by the ear And start to twist while you sat there quite paralyzed with fear. He’d twist and twist and twist your ear and twist it more and more, Until at last the ear came off and landed on the floor. Our class was full of one-eared boys, I’m certain there were eight, Who’d had them twisted off because they didn’t know a date. So let us now praise teachers who today are all so fine And yours in particular is totally divine.

  Buttercups ~ Roald Dahl’s Norwegian grandfather was a naturalist and encouraged young Roald’s interest in nature. Roald once ate the bulb of a buttercup and described it as “frighteningly hot.” We’ll just have to take his word for it.

  WARNING!

  Do not try eating plants at home! It’s very dangerous to eat anything growing wild! Always ask an adult!

  The Cabin ~ This was the name of the house Roald Dahl’s mother used to rent for the Easter holidays in Tenby, Pembrokeshire. It was right next to the sea, and Roald and his sisters used to collect periwinkles and cook them, then eat them on slices of bread and butter. Try this yummy snack for yourself!

  Cats ~ Roald Dahl adored dogs, birds, and even goats. But he hated cats.

  Cave drawing ~ Roald Dahl as an adult didn’t think much of wallpaper. He once announced that he was going to try his hand at cave drawing. He insisted he needed to be alone to be inspired, and single-handedly decorated a whole wall of the house. His family was stunned by the results—until a few weeks later, when his wife, clearing out some drawers, found the stencils he had used to produce his “original” works of art!

  C is for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

  WARNING!

  Do not try this at home, unless you want to spend your next five years’ pocket money on new wallpaper!

  Characters with no name ~ No matter how many times you read The Witches or The Magic Finger, you never find out the names of the boy and girl at the heart of these stories, and yet you feel as if you know them as well as one of your friends. Discover for yourself. . .

  Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ~ When he’d finished writing this book, Roald Dahl gave it to his nephew Nicholas to read. The surprising verdict was “rotten and boring,” so Roald took action at once. He rewrote the book, getting rid of lots of characters while changing and improving the story.

  C is for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

  The original Charlie was just one of fifteen horrible children—not very important at all—and the story was called Charlie’s Chocolate Boy. Even the visit to the chocolate factory wasn’t that special—there was one every Saturday.

  Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator ~ A lot of frowning and umming and aaahing went into the title of the sequel to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. At first, Roald Dahl thought the word “elevator” was too American, but the British “lift” seemed far too boring. “Air machine” was considered, but “elevator” came out on top in the end. (“Lift” was used in the text of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.)

  Charlie in the. . . ~ Roald Dahl began writing a third story about Charlie Bucket (Charlie in the White House) but sadly only left a tantalizing first chapter. Here’s a little snippet. Can you think up what happened next?

  C is for Charlie in the. . .

  C is for Chart topper

  Chart topper ~ Charlie and the Chocolate Factory set a record: the Chinese print run was 2 million copies, the biggest of any book at the time! Roald Dahl’s books have sold over 90 million copies worldwide, and more than 2 million copies of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory have sold in the U.S. alone

  The Child Catcher ~ Roald Dahl co-wrote the screenplay for the film version of Ian Fleming’s Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. He thought up the cruellest, most cunning, most conniving character in the entire film—the evil Child Catcher.

  WARNING!

  The Child Catcher is best viewed from behind a sofa.

  C is for The Chilterns

  Children’s Book Award ~ In 1989, Matilda won the prestigious Red House Children’s Book Award. Roald Dahl was over the moon, because the judges weren’t stuffy old grown-up critics—they were everyday kids!

  The Chilterns ~ Roald Dahl loved the countryside around Gipsy House, and he used it as the setting for Fantastic Mr. Fox and Danny the Champion of the World. The movie of Danny was even filmed in the Chilterns. Part of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was filmed near Roald’s house, too.

  Random Roald Fact

  He liked children better than adults and ladies better than gents.

  CHOCOLATE FACTS

  Cadbury ~ Roald Dahl and his school friends were very lucky. They were sometimes asked by Cadbury—the chocolate manufacturer—to test newly invented chocolate bars. Roald used to dream of inventing a world-famous chocolate bar that would win the praise of the great Mr. Cadbury himself.

  Chocoholic ~ Roald Dahl was a total chocoholic. He absolutely adored the stuff.

  After-dinner 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’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.

  “Gloriumptious!”

  —ROALD DAHL

  Seven glorious years ~ Roald Dahl believed that the greatest chocolate bars and chocolates ever were invented during the seven glorious years from 1930 to 1937. This was the time of the Aero, Black Magic, Crunchies, Kit Kats, Maltesers, Mars bars, Quality Street, Rolos, and Smarties.

  Dead Ducks ~ The disasters of the chocolate world in Roald Dahl’s opinion were the Double Decker and the Cadbury’s Creme Egg.

  Energy Balls ~ In 1936,