D is for Dahl Read online

  G is for Grown-ups

  Grown-ups ~ Roald Dahl had vivid memories of his own childhood, of looking up at adults and thinking that they were giants. The character Sophie in The BFG showed how it felt to be in the company of giants.

  “If you want to remember what it’s like to live in a child’s world, you’ve got to get down on your hands and knees and live like that for a week.”

  —ROALD DAHL

  G is for a Grrrr!

  Grrrr! ~ The question Roald Dahl dreaded most was “Where do you get your ideas from?” If he was in a bad mood, he would reply crossly, “Where do you think Beethoven got his from?” But sometimes he would show fans his precious ideas book, where he jotted down thoughts that popped into his head.

  Grumpy ~ Roald Dahl tended to get grumpy as he was drawing near the end of a book, and when he’d finished, he felt terrible. He was afraid that he would never be able to write another one. He would sit, moan, scribble away, and just hope that new ideas would pop into his head. They always did. Matilda was the only book he felt pleased with once he’d penned the last word.

  Gums ~ When Roald Dahl’s brother-in-law Leslie Hansen had to have all his teeth out, he absolutely refused to have false ones. From then on, he ate everything—even big, juicy steaks—using his gums.

  Did You Know?

  Michel Lotito from France can eat just about anything. He has consumed eighteen bicycles, eighteen TV sets, and a Cessna light aircraft, among other things!

  G is for Gypsy caravan

  Guy Fawkes ~ The best night of the year at Roald Dahl’s first boarding school was November 5—Bonfire Night on Guy Fawkes Day. Every single pupil was given a bag of fireworks to set off on the football field after dark. Roald joined in this fireworks ritual for four years and in all that time, amazingly, no one got seriously hurt.

  WARNING!

  Don’t try this yourself. Fireworks are very dangerous!

  Gypsy caravan ~ The sky-blue Gypsy caravan that became the setting for Danny the Champion of the World has stood in the garden of Gipsy House since 1960. It was bought by Roald’s sister for an old road-builder friend to live in and was moved to Gipsy House after his death.

  G is for Gypsy caravan

  It has survived decapitation—on its journey to Roald’s house, the caravan was driven under a very low bridge, slicing the roof clean off—and flames, which were dramatically put out by Roald and his garden hose. Roald’s children had great fun playing in it and even camped out in it sometimes.

  Ha ha ha! ~ Roald Dahl liked to make his readers giggle, guffaw, chuckle, chortle, and explode with laughter. Have you ever read any of his books without making even the teensiest snigger? Bet you haven’t!

  “You can write about anything for children as long as you’ve got humor.”

  —ROALD DAHL

  Hair ~ Roald Dahl didn’t like the idea of losing his hair. He even wrote a revolting recipe to make hair grow. And he never visited the barber, preferring instead to have his hair cut at home by his wife’s hairdresser. Sadly, he couldn’t stop it vanishing in the end!

  Did You Know?

  The longest hair in the world is almost 17 feet long! The longest ear hair belongs to a man in India and measures 4 inches.

  H is for Hard Black Stinker

  Hard Black Stinker ~ When he was young, Roald Dahl and his family scooted about the Norwegian fjords in a battered old motorboat called the Hard Black Stinker. Mama was never afraid to take the helm, whatever the weather. On sunny days, she ferried her family to and from tiny islands, where they picnicked and swam. On stormy days, she bounced the Hard Black Stinker from one massive wave to another, while Roald and his sisters clung to the sides, cheering her on.

  “There was no nonsense about wearing life jackets in those days. We simply clung on to the sides of the boat. . . getting soaked to the skin.”

  —ROALD DAHL

  Did You Know?

  Chinese and Turkish boats often have an eye painted on the side. This is for good luck—and so the boat can see where it is going.

  H is for Hooray

  Hard-hitter ~ At school, Roald Dahl was so eager to be a fantastic hockey player that he once secretly wound copper wire around his stick to add weight. He hoped that this would help him to hit the ball farther.

  Hemingway, Ernest (1899–1961) ~ This great American writer and Nobel Prize winner (1954) is best known for his novel A Farewell to Arms. Roald Dahl and Hemingway were friends and Roald always tried to follow Hemingway’s advice: “When you’re going good—stop writing.”

  Hiding places ~ When he was younger, Roald Dahl made sure that his diaries were well hidden. . . so well hidden, in fact, that they have never been found. As an adult, he hid his gambling money, too—under the floorboards. The kind of hiding that Roald loved best of all, however, was shutting himself away in the Hut to think up wonderful stories.

  Hooray (and boo) for Hollywood! ~ In the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles, California—the movie capital of the world—Roald Dahl had some of the best and some of the worst times ever. He loved the excitement of working for Walt Disney and meeting great stars. But he was very upset when his film The Gremlins was cancelled. Later, when his first wife became very ill while acting in a Hollywood film, enough was enough. Roald packed his family’s bags and returned to England for good.

  H is for Hope

  Hope ~ When Tim Burton approached Roald Dahl’s widow about his plan to make a film of James and the Giant Peach, she asked him why he wanted to do it. Burton’s answer clinched the deal: “It’s the only book that ever gave me any hope when I was a child.”

  Hot-house Eggs ~ Roald Dahl took over the cooking when his first wife was ill, and he tried to be as imaginative with food as he was with words. He served up bright pink milk and transformed plain old fried eggs and fried bread into Hot-house Eggs, which tasted scrumptious and looked superb.

  H is for Hut

  Recipe for Hot-house Eggs

  (Be sure to ask an adult for help.)

  Cut a circle out of a slice of bread.

  Pop the bread into a buttered pan and cook on both sides.

  Crack the egg in the hole in the bread.

  The egg oozes across the bread as it cooks.

  Mmmm. . .

  The Hut ~ Roald Dahl wrote his books in a white hut on the edge of the orchard at Gipsy House. It was an exact copy of the author Dylan Thomas’s writing hut, which Roald once visited. He got his friend Wally Saunders to build it—out of bricks and with a yellow front door. It was very cozy, with sheets of polystyrene lining the walls and a dangerous-looking overhead contraption to keep him warm. The Hut still stands exactly as Roald left it, with everything set up ready for writing. His cigarette ends are in the ashtray and the wastebasket is almost full, as if he had just popped out for a bit.

  Ideas ~ Roald Dahl kept two ideas books for about forty years. They were both old school exercise books, the first of which was sandy colored, and the second red and very battered. He thought that good ideas were like dreams—soon forgotten—and made sure that he wrote them down straight away. He then checked off the really good ideas and crossed out the ones he had used. Some ideas were developed years and years after they were jotted down. Can you guess which books came from these ideas?

  I is for Interests

  If. . . ~ If Roald Dahl hadn’t been an author, he could have been a doctor, a boxer, a golfer, an inventor, a scientist, a botanist, or a picture framer. He had a natural talent for all of these things.

  Interests ~ Roald Dahl was interested in just about EVERYTHING. But here are a few of the things he was especially fascinated by:

  nineteenth- and twentieth-century paintings

  eighteenth-century English furniture

  gardening

  orchids

  music

  wine

  gambling

  good food

  chocolate

  I is for Inventions

  Inventions ~ If Roald Dahl wanted