Reading level: 4th - 7th grade
Paperback: 176 pages
Publisher: Scholastic 1984
About the book:
Roald Dahl, author of classics like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, and my son's favorite BFG writes an autobiography of his childhood, and up to the age of 20.
My thoughts:
Mr. Dahl's caricatures of greedy, children-hating adults are so easily manifested in his fiction because of his experiences at boarding school. Here is the fodder for his best characters, and each protagonist in his books seems to hold the innocence and daring of Mr. Dahl himself. Through it all, he keeps his humor and his spunk.
I really enjoyed "The Great Mouse Plot of 1924." After all, if you're going to get a caning from the headmaster, it should be for something especially grotesque.
In a sentence. . .
Mr. Dahl's life is no less entertaining than his works of fiction.
Next steps:
Memoirs at the next level:
Bad Boy: a Memoir by Walter Dean Myers
Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter by Adeline Yen Mah
Any other next steps suggestions?
1 comment:
I love Dalh's works, including his adult short stories which are very bizarre so this looks like it would be a very interesting read.
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