karenkavett:

hermionejg:

elysemarshall:

duttonbooks:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROALD DAHL!

I read everything of Roald Dahl’s that I could get my hands on as a child. I identified with Matilda SO MUCH - girl just wants to read and be smart! I had an inherent suspicion of women wearing wigs and gloves. Thanks to ‘Boy’ I never want to have my tonsils removed. Ever. I still believe that somewhere, my dreams are collected by a big friendly giant.

But the story that had the greatest impact on me was ‘The Swan.’ Published in The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More, this tale of a boy suffering at the mercy of a bully left me profoundly shaken. The cruelty was just too much for my gentle heart, but I had to keep reading to find out what happened next. I was 10 when I first read it. ‘The Swan’ haunts me still, in the way that all great stories should.

I love “The Swan” and have only ever met two other people who read it. Henry Sugar is such a wonderful collection of stories.

Roald Dahl opened the bookshop I worked at. Happy Birthday Mr. Dahl: special thanks for James and the Giant Peach and George’s Marvellous Medicine.

I don’t even know how many times I read The Witches or Fantastic Mr. Fox or The BFG, and my copy of the two Charlie and the Chocolate Factory stories is still one of my most prized possessions. Happy birthday Roald Dahl.