How to Celebrate Roald Dahl Day
"The Vanilla Fudge Room", the lost chapter of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", will be published for the first time. They are found among Roald Dahl's papers after his death. They are insufficiently moral for British children fifty years ago. Many still find it too wild and subversive. The author wouldn't want it any other way.
It's fitting that the publication comes before Dahl's 98th birth anniversary. (September 13 is his birthday.) One of the fifty greatest British writers since 1945, many would say. A great storyteller for children too. His tales have unexpected endings. It's unsentimental. Those who read it remember the dark humor. Care to know more?
But this is not a fairy-tale
The characters in Dahl's book stick out like sore thumb. Readers will fall for Matilda Wormwood, but her intelligence will frighten anyone. Anyone wants to lend a helping hand to James Henry Trotter, but Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker stand in the way. An eight-year-old boy is turned into a mouse by the Grand High Witch, but don't be sorry.
Children's literature is for the young readers. This is what the genre is supposed to be, but many authors think of adults too. Kids are unable to sense what is right and wrong, and in the case of Dahl's stories, the mean characters remind full-grown readers of fairy tales. But these people can't help but laugh. It's a natural reaction to Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker, for instance, who are flatted out by the rolling peach. Dahl didn't intend to pen a satire on how adults behave. It's not even a reminder that some of us can be cruel. A different approach, maybe.
Dahl's source is the legends that his Norwegian parents have told him. ("Young Leif dived into the water and his father, who was watching him, noticed that he stayed under for an unusually long time. When he came to the surface at last, he wasn't Leif any more.") This may require further research, but it won't be fun.
Remembering the writer
The Roald Dahl Day is celebrated in Great Britain, the writer's hometown, and other parts of the world who have high esteem of the author. It falls on the 13th of September. (Any other date won't seem right at all.) It falls on a Saturday, which means we can have the entire day for this event. The activities must be according to Dahl's taste. Here are some suggestions:
Play a game. It can be your favorite Dahl character. If you can persuade everyone why the Oopma-Loompas are special, then you might end up a winner.
Dress up. It must be unforgettable. But not the peach.
Tell stories. Evening is the best time to tell a scary tale on witches. It must be raining hard and thunder is heard.
Watch a movie. The author is said to be aghast at some adaptations of his books. But others are quite good.
Read to the children. If they haven't heard any of Dahl's stories. Yet.
