How did you fare with your summer book list?  We didn’t get to stick to our list but we at least got to finish several new titles.

We started summer with The Magician’s Nephew, the first book in the Chronicles of Narnia, with the intention of finishing all the seven CS Lewis books by the end of summer. However, halfway through second book The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the kids saw the movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on television. This prompted Jade to re-read the book which she had already finished reading (from cover to cover all by herself! yey!) last February. After that, she read Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. By happenstance, we found three more Roald Dahl books in the thrift shop near our home. The Magic Finger, Matilda, and The BFG were added to our collection. Then my beautiful BFF Tita Gen bought her two more books – The Witches and James and the Giant Peach. That made seven Roald Dahls!

Roald Dahl Books In a Nutshell

Most of Roald Dahls’ books are riddled with humorous poems and silly words that make children giggle. Most of his works for children are also told in a child’s point of view which makes it easy for young kids to relate to the story. However, the stories also often contain gruesome events and black humor so it’s best to read this along with your child or at least have a discussion after each chapter. The main characters in his stories are often children of ill circumstances. James, Sophie, and the little boy in The Witches were all orphans with two of them losing their parents in gruesome accidents. Matilda had crooks for parents. Charlie Bucket had his entire family with him but they were destitute.

Notwithstanding the grotesque and macabre aspects of his stories, Dahl leaves his readers with life lessons that even young readers could understand. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory shows them the consequences of being a glutton, a spoiled brat, and a television rat. It also shows how the humble and good-hearted are rewarded. In the BFG, we see how the supposedly weak ones are able to use their wits to stop the giants from eating “human beans”. We also see how the BFG improves his English once given a chance to learn it properly.

Little Girl’s Two Cents on Roald Dahl

Has Jade read all of them? Sort of. She’s read four of the books and skimmed through the other three so she does know all the stories. Oftentimes, she’d go through one of the books and read the parts she skipped.

Does she like them? Oh yes! She says Roald Dahl writes really well and tells very funny stories. She didn’t like The Witches though and says she’d “rather forget all about the story and erase it from memory” (Yes, she does talk like that!). Among the seven books, her top three faves are The BFG, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Matilda. She’s also requesting for copies of The Twits and The Fantastic Mr. Fox. So kind-hearted titas and titos, please keep the two titles in mind for her coming birthday.  🙂  Oh, and we wouldn’t mind getting some EB White books as well.