D is for Dahl Read online

  Taboo ~ Roald Dahl risked the anger of critics with his fearless approach to writing. He was probably the first person to mention farting in a children’s book. He also wanted his readers to do daring things and encouraged parents not to be overprotective—Roald thoroughly approved of children walking on walls and climbing trees.

  Taxi drivers ~ Roald Dahl liked the idea of London taxi drivers “doing the knowledge”—learning about every single street in London before they could get a taxi licence. And taxi drivers liked him. They argued about who was to pick Roald up at Gipsy House, because he was always such an entertaining passenger. Roald’s own sense of direction was rubbish!

  Teacher, favorite ~ Just like Miss Honey in Matilda, Mrs. O’Connor was a brilliant teacher. She ran an English class at Roald Dahl’s school every Saturday morning, and her visit was the highlight of his week. Roald had always liked stories, but she gave him a real love of literature, and by the time he was thirteen, he was an insatiable reader and a good writer. Without Mrs. O’Connor, Charlie and Willy Wonka and James and Mr. Twit and the Grand High Witch and the BFG might never have been invented. Can you imagine anything worse? No, nor can we.

  T is for Teacher, favorite

  Teacher, red-faced ~ Roald Dahl was sent heaps of letters from schools, and in his replies he often chose to embarrass the teachers. His letters were always very friendly, beginning with something like: “Hello, Class Three and your gorgeous teacher Mrs. Smiley.” Then there was a poem. This one was sent to classes around the world:

  Dear children far across the sea,

  How nice of you to write to me.

  I love to hear the things you say

  When you are miles and miles away.

  All children, and I think I’m right,

  Are nicer when they’re out of sight!

  Tessa ~ Roald Dahl’s second daughter was born in 1957. She was originally named Chantal. . . until Pat and Roald spotted the rhyme (Chantal Dahl) and renamed her Tessa. Tessa has followed in her father’s footsteps and written books for both children and adults. She inherited Roald’s wicked sense of humor, too. (See Family Tree.)

  T is for Thwack!

  Theo ~ Roald Dahl’s only son was born in 1960. He ran an antique shop with Roald called Dahl & Son. Just like his father, he loves golf and snooker. (See Family Tree.)

  Thwack! ~ It was long and it was yellow and it curved round at the end like a walking stick. Throughout his school days, it was the one thing that Roald Dahl detested more than anything else—the cane. The most talented thwackers could place each stinging stroke directly on top of the one before, leaving a perfect single bruise across the bottom. Roald never agreed with the use of the cane, not even when he was older. He thought its use should be banned in schools. Now it is.

  “It wasn’t simply an instrument for beating you. It was a weapon for wounding.”

  —ROALD DAHL

  T is for Time

  Time ~ Roald Dahl didn’t like to waste a single minute. Once, when a hospital appointment was postponed, he threw a coat over his pajamas and spent the time visiting a nearby school instead.

  Titles ~ Roald Dahl always left the title of his book till last—when the whole story had been written.

  Toilet paper ~ Roald Dahl’s books are sold all over the world and appear in many different languages. The first Chinese edition was printed on paper so thin it looked like toilet paper.

  Toilet-seat warmer extraordinaire ~ At Repton School, the younger pupils acted as servants for the older boys. This often meant tidying their study or running errands. But Roald Dahl was given a really odd job to do. He sat on the toilet in a chilly outhouse, making sure that the seat was warm and toasty enough for the house prefect’s bottom! P.S. Roald would never have used the word toilet. He preferred to say lavatory or WC.

  Did You Know?

  The most expensive bathroom in the world is in Hong Kong and it cost $4.3 million! It is made of 24-carat gold. The ceiling is decorated with rubies, sapphires, and emeralds.

  T is for Treasure table

  Treasure table ~ This was the table in the Hut on which Roald Dahl kept his collection of special things.

  T is for Treats

  Treats ~ Treats were an essential part of Roald Dahl’s life. A treat could be a first new potato, broad bean, or lettuce from the garden, or a field mushroom or a superb chestnut. Sometimes he would even surprise someone with a plane ticket or a weekend away. A different kind of treat would be an unannounced visit to a school, causing chaos for the teachers and a great deal of fun for the children.

  Trolls ~ Roald Dahl’s mother told her children—and later her grandchildren—stories from Norway of trolls, witches, and strange mythical creatures that lived in dark pine forests. Does this remind you of a grandmotherly figure from any of Roald’s books?

  Trotter ~ A pig’s foot. Or a horse that trots. Or. . . there was something else, I’m sure. Oh, yes! Trotter is the surname of the greatest grower of giant peaches in children’s literature.

  T is for Tuck box

  Trunchbull, Miss ~ Can you think of a nastier character than Miss Trunchbull? (No, we didn’t think so.)

  Tuck box ~ At Roald Dahl’s boarding school, no pupil would be without their tuck box. This was a small wooden trunk (with a strong padlock) packed full of cake, biscuits, oranges, strawberry jam, chocolate, and other treats. One of Roald’s friends even kept a pet frog in his, which he fed slugs.

  T is for TV

  TV ~ Roald Dahl thought that too much television was bad. He felt that children would be far better occupied reading books. See what happens to TV-mad Mike Teavee in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

  Twitchy ~ Roald Dahl was once described as being “twitchy” in a TV interview. He agreed and said that this was something he had in common with the BFG, who couldn’t stand “doing nothing.”

  The Twits ~ This is a book best read while holding your nose. Mr. and Mrs. Twit are truly disgusting and magnificently foul—a real toe-curler!

  Upside down ~ In Roald Dahl’s books, many things are topsy-turvy. Mr. and Mrs. Twit cruelly force their monkeys to live upside down. The Minpins wear suction boots that allow them to walk up trees. And Roald once wrote a short story called The Upside Down Mice. This appeared in the Puffin Annual in 1974, and it’s about an old man named Labon who is pestered by mice in his house. Does this snippet remind you of any other Roald story you might have read?

  U is for Upside down

  When Labon came down the next morning and saw that there were no mice caught in the traps, he smiled but said nothing.

  He took a chair and put glue on the bottom of its legs and stuck it upside down to the ceiling, near the mousetraps.

  He did the same with the table, the television set and the lamp. He took everything that was on the floor and stuck it upside down on the ceiling. He even put a little carpet up there.

  The next night, when the mice came out of their holes, they were still joking and laughing about what they had seen the night before. But now, when they looked up at the ceiling, they stopped laughing very suddenly.

  “Good gracious me!” cried one. “Look up there! There’s the floor!”

  “Heavens above!” shouted another. “We must be standing on the ceiling.”

  Random Roald Fact

  He would have loved to have seen a ghost and to have written a ghost story. He tried, but never managed it.

  Vegetables ~ These were Roald Dahl’s favorite things to grow and eat—apart from chocolate, of course. He thought that broad beans and onions were scrumdiddlyumptious.

  A very important meeting ~ In 1942, C. S. Forester—an author of swashbuckling adventure stories—took Roald Dahl to lunch to interview him about his wartime experiences for the Saturday Evening Post. Roald was thrilled to be meeting such a famous author, and lunch got in the way, so Forester didn’t end up with any notes. When he got home, Roald put pen to paper and wrote a story that he sent to Forester. And what did the swashbuckling autho