More Roald Dahl? I'll take all that I can get
I don鈥檛 normally get my industry news from Scholastic, but the first I鈥檇 heard of a 鈥渓ong-lost chapter鈥� in a children鈥檚 classic came from the newsprint order form my 8-year-old brought home from school. It advertised 鈥淭he Missing Golden Ticket and Other Splendiferous Secrets,鈥� a posthumous collection of stories by Roald Dahl, including 鈥渁 long-last chapter and the original ending" from "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.鈥�
You could have knocked me down with a Wonka bar as I searched for details. There aren鈥檛 many early reviews, but one on confers high praise: 鈥淪crum-diddly-umptious.鈥�
notes that the slim book includes "excerpts from the author's terrible report cards." says much of the material has appeared before in earlier books by or about Dahl.
Even the main selling point, the missing chapter titled 鈥淪potty Powder,鈥� has been re-found for a while. published this version in 2005. But I鈥檓 still ordering the book 鈥� for myself, not just my son. I have to know what this 鈥渙riginal ending鈥� is about, and, besides, a dose of Dahl is a treat for all ages.
I tore through all Dahl鈥檚 books when I was my son鈥檚 age, and it wasn鈥檛 until I began reading to my children that I realized I had missed one of his best, 鈥淭he BFG,鈥� published in 1982. Thin short story selections such as 鈥溾�� keep appearing, though to my mind nothing beats 鈥�,鈥� a collection equally appropriate for children or adults.
Another new look at Dahl is probably best limited to the grownups. An authorized new biography, 鈥淪toryteller: The Life of Roald Dahl,鈥� explores his 鈥渄ark personal story鈥� and reveals him as 鈥渁 raging bully,鈥� according to . By that description, I鈥檓 not sure I want to know more. From , though, the book appears authoritative and compassionate. I鈥檒l pick it up, too (though not from Scholastic), and doubtless learn more about Dahl than his old report cards would show.
Rebekah Denn blogs at .
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