Review: OXFORD ROALD DAHL DICTIONARY Edited by Susan Rennie

OXFORD ROALD DAHL DICTIONARY

by Roald Dahl 

Contributor and Editor Susan Rennie 

Illustrated by Quentin Blake

Release date: June 2nd, 2016

Published by Oxford University Press 

Genre: Middle Grade - Everyone

Format: Hardcover

SUMMARY

This is not an ordinary dictionary. After all, you wouldn't expect an 'Oxford Roald Dahl Dictionary' to be ordinary, would you? 

Lots of dictionaries tell you what an 'alligator' is, or how to spell 'balloon' but they won't explain the difference between a 'ringbeller' and a 'trogglehumper', or say why witches need 'gruntles' eggs' or suggest a word for the shape of a 'Knid'.

All the words that Roald Dahl invented are here, like 'biffsquiggled' and 'whizzpopping', to remind you what means what. You'll also find out where words came from, rhyming words, synonyms and lots of alternative words for words that are overused.

Oxford Children's Dictionaries are perfect for supporting literacy and learning and this is the world's first Roald Dahl Dictionary from the word experts at Oxford University Press. With real citations from Roald Dahl's children's books and illustrations by Quentin Blake. The Oxford Roald Dahl Dictionary will inspire and encourage young writers and readers. 

MY REVIEW

Happy 100th birthday, Roald Dahl!!!

And what better way to celebrate this day than with a new book!

But not just any book! A DICTIONARY with all of all the ridiculous, silly words that Dahl ever used in his books!

This book is not to be read from cover to cover since it is meant to be used as a dictionary. It not only has all of Dahl's made-up words, but many additional words that Dahl used in his writing and what he meant them to mean. Many of us forget that most words aren't meant to be taken so literal... However, my children and I did read the majority of it in chronological order, and although it is not a story to follow along, it was very amusing to come across all the amusing words we have grown to use, love and admire. 

Filled with Quentin Blake's illustrations - the perfect touch to make you feel right at home in Dahl's stories and worlds. Where I was able to reminisce all the memories I have reading Dahl's books and my children were able to recall recent readings and add more of Dahl's books to their "soon to be read" lists.  

Our favorite part was that the dictionary comes with instructions in how to use it - implying that "only interesting words are allowed in it" and that the pronunciation of a word can be misleading to what it may actually mean. 

A fun book for everyone! Especially Dahl-followers who want an in-depth knowledge of how and why the author used the words he used... gobblefunking at its best!!! 

*A hardback finished copy of OXFORD ROALD DAHL DICTIONARY was sent to me by the publisher for an honest review. All thoughts here are my own.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR - Roald Dahl

Roald Dahl was a British novelist, short story writer and screenwriter of Norwegian descent, who rose to prominence in the 1940's with works for both children and adults, and became one of the world's bestselling authors. 

Dahl's first published work, inspired by a meeting with C.S. Forester, was Shot Down Over Libya. Today the story is published as A Piece of Cake. The story, about his wartime adventures, was bought by the Saturday Evening Post for $900, and propelled him into a career as a writer. Its title was inspired by a highly accurate and sensationalized article about the crash that blinded him, which claimed he had been shot down instead of simply having to land because of low fuel. 

His first children's book was The Gremlins, about mischievous little creatures that were part of RAF folklore. The book was commissioned by Walt Disney for a film that was never made, and published in 1943. Dahl went on to create some of the best-loved children's stories of the 20th century, such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda and James and the Giant Peach. 

He also had a successful parallel career as the writer of macabre adult short stories, usually with a dark sense of humour and a surprise ending. Many were originally written for American magazines such as Ladies Home Journal, Harper's, Playboy and The New Yorker, then subsequently collected by Dahl into anthologies, gaining world-wide acclaim. Dahl wrote more than 60 short stories and they have appeared in numerous collections, some only being published in book form after his death. His stories also brought him three Edgar Awards: in 1954, for the collection Someone Like You; in 1959, for the story "The Landlady"; and in 1980, for the episode of Tales of the Unexpected based on "Skin".

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