Description
Product description
Book Description
About the Author
Roald Dahl was a spy, ace fighter pilot, chocolate historian and medical inventor. He was also the author of Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The BFG and many more brilliant stories. He remains THE WORLD’S NUMBER ONE STORYTELLER.
Quentin Blake (Illustrator)
Quentin Blake has illustrated more than three hundred books and was Roald Dahl’s favourite illustrator. In 1980 he won the prestigious Kate Greenaway Medal. In 1999 he became the first ever Children’s Laureate and in 2013 he was knighted for services to illustration.
Roald Dahl wasn’t always a writer. Once he was just a schoolboy. Have you ever wondered what he was like growing up?
In BOY you’ll find out why he and his friends took revenge on the beastly Mrs Pratchett who ran the sweet shop. He remembers what it was like taste-testing chocolate for Cadbury’s and he even reveals how his nose was nearly sliced off.
Then in GOING SOLO you’ll read stories of whizzing through the air in a Tiger Moth Plane, encounters with hungry lions, and the terrible crash that led him to storytelling.
Roald Dahl tells his story in his own words – and it’s all TRUE.
Aviad Sar-Shalom –
This book is… is…… I have no words for it because it’s so good!Well obviously it’s good, because all of Roald Dal booksare good! I’ve always been a bookworm, and here’s how I can prove it to you: I was still in 3rd term of Yr 2, and there was a book sale and after I got a humongous pile of books,including a whole encyclopedia!!! How lucky! Anyway, Iwent home and read the WHOLE encyclopedia in just 1 night!!!
Add2Cart –
You’ll appreciate Dahl even more!
I read these books to my 5 year old because they were included in a 15 book set that he received as a gift. Boy was entertaining. We got to see what Dahl was as a kid. Pranks with friends, family life, and other events that were likely inspiration for his books.Going Solo was a lot heavier, because most of it takes place during WWII when Dahl was a fighter pilot. It really makes you appreciate his books, because you realize that he was lucky to have survived the war! The book was also a great topic of discussion with my kid. We talked about what happened during the war, but also about how countries rebuilt and recovered after the war.
Amazon Customer –
A leading children’s author tells about life in a British Public School and as a WWII fighter pilot
From start to finish this book was fun to read. The author based this book on letters to his mom that she had saved between the time he went to boarding school until he finished flying fighters in WWII. Mr Dahl is incredibly modest and underspoken. What he accomplished during this period is nothing short of incredible. He managed to excel in the British Public School system which was far from democratic during his time there. His flying exploits were impressive- how many WWII fighter pilots shot down the first enemy aircraft they saw? That he survived his war period is amazing. – to say the the British air war in this part of the world was dysfunctional is an understatement. Mr. Dahl has a brilliant way of finding humor under the most abysmal circumstances. I highly recommend this autobiography!
Earnest Sludge –
great fun
I guess this is aimed at a Young Adult audience so that took some getting used to. And as an adult I do prefer adult oriented prose.The first volume is fun, poignant and grim by turns. It is somewhat marred but the repetitive sections detailing the harsh corporal punishment of caning meted out to him in the boarding schools he attended. But he states at the very beginning that his goal was to only record the most memorable experiences.The second volume is a real joy. Real ‘boys own adventure’ stuff. Wonderful! Superb! Most fun I’ve had in ages.
dudemus –
An hysterically funny memoir of Dahl’s childhood
No wonder Dahl wrote such wonderfully awful characters as Ms. Trunchbull (sp?)–he had real-life inspiration! I read his account of getting his tonsils out to my 6th grade students each year to sell them on this book: with no anesthetic, his doctor said, “Open your mouth,” and when Dahl did, he darted in with a scalpel and snick-snick, Dahl spit out two globs of flesh and a lot of blood. Well-ah, a tonsillectomy! And the scene of his sister taking the family for a drive in their first car! Oh my god! She didn’t know how to turn it or stop it, but she let the little kids persuade her to go faster and faster! Bones are broken! It’s nuts! And his teachers. Wow. Corporal punishment with a cane. I like to read the description of being whipped with a cane to my 6th graders when they complain about how strict we are on them so they can realize how good they actually have it. They’re so aghast that they argue over who gets to read the whole book. Music to my ears.