A gloriumptious A-Z guide to the world of Roald Dahl with illustrations by Quentin Blake

What was it, two years ago now that the kids and I enjoyed our “Year of Dahl”? I think so, and yet we still can’t quite get the guy or his stories out of our system.

We’ve read (and I’ve reviewed) pretty much everything he’d ever written for kids, and I think we’ve watched The BFG movie 4-5 times since we first read it. I’ve also kept up with some of his adult short stories over the intervening years—most recently Over to You.

This book was an excellent refresher for us now so many months later. It’s not a biography, but it serves almost the same purpose. It’s more of an encyclopedia or anthology covering a great deal of trivia about his family and life, not to mention constant refreshers about his work (for kids). I was glad to find that “O” didn’t contain an entry for Uncle Oswald—because from what I’ve read on the flyleaf for that book, My Uncle Oswald is a story definitely not made for kids.

I read D is for Dahl to my kids (13, 11) as a random morning and nighttime read. Because it’s not a novel but merely a collection of chocolate-sized nibbles, I saved it for those times when they were half-listening while brushing their teeth, or while one was asleep or spending the night at a friend’s. If one of the kids missed some of the book, no worries. Yet I the reader got to read it all. It’s one of those unsung privileges of being the Dad, I guess.

While I did learn a few things in this book, the vast majority of entries were familiar and entertaining reminders of things I’d read before. The closest thing we’ve ever come to reading Dahl’s biography was reading his two-part “autobiography,” Boy and Going Solo. You can read my posts for why those two books are my all-time favorite Dahl works, but let’s just say more people ought to emulate his style, because it’s a style that can make a writer well worth remembering. I say “autobiography” above because neither of those books fits into that snobbiest of categories. As Wendy Cooling writes:

Roald Dahl absolutely, positively, definitely did not write any autobiographies. He thought they were full of boring details about a person’s life. However, he did write Boy and Going Solo—two books that are filled to the brim with bizarre, frightening, exciting, and funny things that happened to him when he was young. (5)

I was also fascinated to read the entry about what I deem Dahl’s worst book, The Enormous Crocodile. This little bit of information at least makes the story palatable, despite its insulting the intelligence of children of all ages. Cooling writes:

Roald Dahl said that his first picture book was one of the hardest books he’d ever written—because there were so few words, every single one had to count. This was the first of his books to be illustrated by Quentin Blake. (46)

The entry on Dahls childhood writings under the title “Essays” was also enlightening. I’ve never been to England, but I suddenly think that if I ever get the chance, I’d love to add Dahls Museum to the list of must-see places. It also makes me wonder what other British authors I might chance to look up while I’m in country. Cooling writes:

Roald Dahl’s book of essays—written in 1927 when he was eleven—is still in one piece. If you want to find out what the young Roald had to say about “Summer Holidays,” “Gardening,” ‘The Life Story of a Penny,” and “It’s Better to Play a Game and Lose than Never to Play at All,” you can read his essays at the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre in Great Missenden, England. (46)

Other great entries include Dahl’s recipe for Pea Soup (101-102) and the constant reminders of the stories we’ve read but have also mildly forgotten. It was a stroll down memory lane and a fun one, even if for some pages I was strolling alone.

This was a fun read for Dahl fanatics like us, and it will always have a place on our shelves with the rest of his bibliography, each fit with its own colorful binding. I’m going back to his short stories sooner or later, though writing this review sort of invigorates me start reading him again soon. He’s a weirdo sometimes but a loveable one.

©2024 E.T.

Read More from Roald Dahl:

• Adult Short Stories:
  Over to You (1946)
  Someone Like You (1953)
  The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (1977)
  
• Children Fiction:
  James and the Giant Peach (1961)
  Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964)
  The Magic Finger (1964)
  Fantastic Mr. Fox (1970)
  Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator (1972)
  Danny the Champion of the World (1975)
  The Enormous Crocodile (1978)
  The Twits (1980)
  George’s Marvelous Medicine (1981)
  The BFG (1982)
  Dirty Beasts (1983)
  Boy: Tales of Childhood (1984)
  The Giraffe, the Pelly, and Me (1985)
  Going Solo (1986)
  Matilda (1988)
  Esio Trot (1990) 
  The Minpins (1991)
  The Vicar of Nibbleswicke (1991)