Did anyone else love Roald Dahl as much as I did?
My 5th grade teacher, Mr. Saffold, used to read to us
every day after lunch & recess.
We would storm in from lunch in a loud, sweaty mess
and he would have us sit around him on the carpet
as he read to us Roald Dahl.
He would use funny voices for each of the characters
and place agonizing pauses in the most unbearable of scenes.
He would spend twenty minutes transporting us
into the magical worlds only Dahl could craft
and our obnoxiousness melted into unbreakable focus & silence.
{What Miss Honey was to Matilda, so Mr. Saffold was to me.}
The BFG, Danny Champion of the World, James & The Giant Peach...
I just hope some day my kids love them as much as I did.
Or I may have to go all "Witches" on them and turn them into mice.
What was your favorite Roald Dahl story?
Stop by my guest blog at Jim's Mixed Grill today
where I kick off the Olympic festivities. His recipes are amazing...
and will give you a great resource for nights you want to outsource dinner to your grill master.
I loved the BFG! My fifth grade teacher actually read it to us. :) *Sigh* Nostalgia.
ReplyDeletelove! and i really loved the reference of miss honey and matilda.
ReplyDeleteLoved Roald Dahl! The BFG and Matilda were definite favorites! You have me wanting to read these again!
ReplyDeletei LOVED roald dahl - and my 5th grade teacher read us the BFG every day before school ended and i adored it!
ReplyDeletei LOVED roald dahl and STILL do! thanks for ms. siler reading us Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in the 3rd grade. i feel in love since. have you ever read his short stories book, Umbrella Man? love it!
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing what really good books, read aloud by someone who's enjoying doing it, can do to a group of people. :) Even 5th grade, sweaty, antsy people!
ReplyDeleteYou know it's funny, I never read Roald Dahl as a kid but as an adult I stumbled into this "grown up fiction" and fell in LOVE. His short stories and novels (and his autobiographies!) are the strongholds of my library. only recently have I gone back to read his children's books and fallen in love all over again! I can't wait to read them to my kids someday!
ReplyDeleteMy mom was big on Roald Dahl, and made sure we read them all- although a few (ahem, Boy)she had us wait until adolescence to read. I will say that, although the book "Witches" didn't scare me, the cartoon movie version sure did- and I've never seen the live action one! My favorite will always be Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, although they're all great!
ReplyDeleteLoved Roald Dahl! My mom's and my favorite to read was "The Twits" but I also loved "James & the Giant Peach". These stamps are awesome.
ReplyDeleteI like him so much I don't know that I can really pick a favorite. I'll say one thing, he's definitely not guilty of "writing down" to children.
ReplyDeleteI love Roald Dahl. Have you ever gone to his home in Buckinghamshire? I'd love to go there someday. Also, I had a teacher, Mr. Hart, that sounds a lot like Mr. Saffold. What a blessing wonderful teachers like that are!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE him!!!! He always made my imagination run wild. The Witches? I love that one so much!
ReplyDeleteOk, we were destined to be friends. I must have read "Matilda" about 15 times!
ReplyDeleteI kind of loved the weirdness of Matilda. I read it in gradeschool and I couldn't put it down:)
ReplyDeleteOkay I loved ALL of them. But as far as books, not the movies, are concerned James and the Giant Peach was my favorite.
ReplyDeleteJames and the Giant Peach was hands down my favorite! Roald Dahl is truly one of a kind.
ReplyDeleteMatilda. Miss Honey made me want to be a teacher. Ooooh, actually, the BFG was pretty awesome, too. And The Giraffe, The Pelly and Me...
ReplyDeleteOK, too hard to choose!
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ReplyDeleteI loved Matilda it was the best. The Trunchbull, Brucie...awesome.
ReplyDeleteAs an elementary teacher I have read many Roald Dahl books to my students. Our favourites were Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach. I even studied Roald Dahl while at university in a Children's Literature class. I also have to say that the books are so much better than the movies. I love this post because it brought back so many memories.
ReplyDeleteLove Roald Dahl and hope if you ever do a series of books.....that I can illustrate for you.
ReplyDeleteI love the humor and the witty imagination...of Roald....
pve
I remember my first grade teacher read Ronald Dahl to us and I fell in love.
ReplyDeleteI love teachers that can read so animatedly like that - it really is a talent! My favourite was easily Charlie & the Chocolate Factory.
ReplyDelete