D Is for Dahl: A gloriumptious A-Z guide to the world of Roald Dahl (Paperback)

by Roald Dahl (Author), Wendy Cooling (Compiler), Quentin Blake (Illustrator)
Key Phrases: writing hut, giant peach, chocolate factory, Roald Dahl, Gipsy House, Random Roald Fact (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal
Grade 4 Up–This dictionary-of-sorts is entertaining, insightful, and of particular interest to Dahl's fans. Front endpapers include a family tree, which is referred to numerous times in the text. While the information is alphabetically arranged, it's necessary to read the entire book to get the full story on the writer. For example, the entry Smile, please! reveals that photography was one of Dahl's hobbies. Recipes are interspersed, including those for creamy Kit Kat pudding and hot-house eggs. Q is represented by 26 questions with answers in alphabetical order. There's a section on Quentin Blake, and one about the Roald Dahl Foundation and Museum. The writing is clear, wicked, and fun. An occasional black-and-white photograph complements Blake's illustrations. Also included are Random Roald Fact boxes (he adored spiders) and Did You Know? frames (the longest ear hair recorded measures four inches). Swirly bordered warnings can also be helpful. Most discourage readers from attempting something Dahl did, like setting off a bag of fireworks or writing in the lawn with grass killer. There's much, much more. This is a standout tribute to a beloved children's author.–Anne Chapman Callaghan, Racine Public Library, WI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist
Gr. 5---8. This book is an odd hybrid, and obviously a way to keep marketing Dahl after his death. Still, for the author's many fans it does have interesting, amusing, and, in some cases, surprising nuggets of information. The alphabetical arrangement both helps and hurts the discovery. For instance, after a fake-out "A is for . . . aardvark" ("Every A-Z must begin with an aardvark"), kids learn that at age eight, Dahl's adenoids were "sliced out" without anesthetic and that in 1938 Dahl journeyed to Africa to look for adventure. But instead of looking under a topic called, say, "Writing," kids will have to look under "Nitpicking" to learn that Dahl enjoyed research and was a poor speller. A family tree is helpful, but "Roald's Random Facts," which dot the pages, hardly seem necessary as "random facts" describes the whole book. Kids will be enticed by Blake's illustrations, many of them familiar, and also by the black-and-white photos, despite some rather pale reproductions. Dahl's books are often helpfully referenced in the individual notes. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (August 16, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0142409340
• ISBN-13: 978-0142409343
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #658,564 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dahl, biography, humor, February 15, 2008

By	Reader Views "www.readerviews.com" (Austin, Texas) - See all my reviews

Reviewed by Ben Weldon (age 10) for Reader Views (2/08)

"D is for Dahl: A gloriumptious A-Z guide to the world of Roald Dahl," by Roald Dahl and Wendy Cooling, is not a kindergartner's A-B-C book but a quirky alphabetized biography. This book is full of fun, humorous, eclectic and even inspirational facts about Roald Dahl.

Despite its unusual format, the reader will be entertained and learn a lot about one of the world's best children's authors. The entries are brief but meaty. For example, under F there is an entry for "Freezer." The paragraph describes how Roald Dahl stretched his shoes by filling his shoes with plastic bags full of water and then putting the shoes in the freezer. Making the book even more appealing are funny illustrations by Quentin Blake, who illustrated most of Roald Dahl's books. There are also photos, a copy of his report card, and a few recipes.

Roald Dahl (1916-1990) was born in Great Britain to Norwegian parents. He wrote twenty-seven children's books, including the well-loved "Fantastic Mr. Fox," "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," "The Witches" and "James and the Giant Peach." He was very critical of his own work and was only truly pleased with Matilda. He had an excellent sense of humor and said that his funniest moment was being born.

My favorite part of the book was learning that Roald Dahl loved chocolate so much and the fact that he thought that kids should learn the dates of when all the greatest candies were made instead of dates in history. He once said "If I were a headmaster I would get rid of the history teacher and get a chocolate teacher instead."

I would recommend this book to fans of Roald Dahl's books. People who want to be writers would also enjoy this book because it talks about how he got his ideas for books and how he planned his daily routine to get his writing done. "D is for Dahl" was a great book, and I hope that every one who reads it likes it as much as I did.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun new info on a great author, October 3, 2007

By	Virginia Price - See all my reviews

This is a great review of Dahl's life and career in a really fun format that will make it fun for kids. By making it an "alphabet book" his life and times are peppered with bits from his books, funny words he invented, and lots of great illustration from Blake. I've been reading it just a bit at a time in order to savor it, because it's worth it. This is a must have for Dahl fans of any age.

5.0 out of 5 stars great book, May 25, 2009

By	K. Wright "l hall" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

i loved the book because i learned a lot and i liked how it wasn't paragraph after paragraph and it was just plain facts. very organized.