Happy Sunday to you all!
I am so very happy to be a part of this 'Celebratory Blog Tour' for Roald Dahl's 100th birthday!
SO many fond childhood memories when it comes to his books... I remember for a short period of time trying to use all of his made-up words in everyday lingo - it didn't work very well and annoyed my 3rd grade teacher, lol! Maybe I'll do better now...
I am so very happy to be a part of this 'Celebratory Blog Tour' for Roald Dahl's 100th birthday!
SO many fond childhood memories when it comes to his books... I remember for a short period of time trying to use all of his made-up words in everyday lingo - it didn't work very well and annoyed my 3rd grade teacher, lol! Maybe I'll do better now...
by Roald Dahl
Original release date: 1988
New paperback release date: February 11th, 2016
Published by Penguin
Genre: Middle Grade to Everyone
Format: Paperback
SUMMARY
Matilda is a little girl who is far too good to be true. At age five-and-a-half she's knocking off double-digit multiplication problems and blitz-reading Dickens. Even more remarkable, her classmates love her even though she's a super-nerd and the teacher's pet. But everything is not perfect in Matilda's world. For starters, she has two of the most idiotic, self-centered parents who ever lived. Then there's the large, busty nightmare of a school principal, Mrs. ("The") Trunchbull, a former hammer-throwing champion who flings children at will and is approximately as sympathetic as a bulldozer. Fortunately for Matilda, she has the inner resources to deal with such annoyances: astonishing intelligence, saintly patience, and an innate predilection for revenge.
She warms up with some practical jokes aimed at her hapless parents, but the true test comes when she rallies in defense of her teacher, the sweet Miss Honey, against the diabolical Trunchbull. There is never any doubt that Matilda will carry the day. Even so, this wonderful story is far from predictable. Roald Dahl, while keeping the plot moving imaginatively, also has an unerring ear for emotional truth. The reader cares about Matilda because in addition to all her other gifts, she has real feelings.
MATILDA and MY DAD
MATILDA will always hold a special spot in my heart in more ways than one... not only was it the first Roald Dahl book I've ever read, and then became one of my most favorite childhood re-reads; it is also a favorite that my family and I can share with my dad.
First, let me be honest - my dad is not a reader. Nor has he ever read Matilda, or any other book every (except the Bible). His love for Matilda originated from the movie starring Mara Wilson, Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman... the latter two being some familiar faces to him from television already. He was very intrigued to see these characters in such a film and needed to see the movie again without any interruptions. And since then, anytime the movie was on television, dad did what he could to watch it in its entirety.
Now, a quick reminder, my dad is not a reader *laughs*... finding out that the movie is based on a book was mind-blowing to him. He comes from a generation where those things are separate - it's either a book or a movie and that's that. He's heard of movies being "based on books" which to him meant they took the idea of the book and did something similar, but it's not the same. And then I started talking about the book... he's was intrigued, shocked and giddy with excitement to finally be able to talk about something we had in common other than family, food and the newscasters poor choice in hairstyles or clothes on the local news channel. We connected in a way that we had never connected before - and discussed things we never imagined we would have ever talk about: character development, how accurate the adaption is/was, Matilda's abilities and how they came to be and where they may have come from, how and why the author wrote the story and why they chose to make it into a movie, etc.
At first he saw Matilda as just a silly little girl and compared her to the likes of Home Alone - a funny movie with lots of kid pranks and dumb adults. But with further discussion, he began to see her strength and humor, and the struggles she goes through from being different...
My father will never read Matilda. And I'm okay with that. What matters most now is that he admires my love of books, and how important they are to me. And though he admires it, he still doesn't completely understand my love of books, he is not a collector or hobbyist. But, after our in-depth discussion of Matilda and seeing how a book can make you think, create discussions and build your imaginations, he has a new understanding and respect for those who do love books. He no longer sees our books as "throwing away money on dust collectors" and this makes my heart happy. If only we could get all non-book-lovers to realize how much our world comes from reading... and to stop saying "just watch the movie".
And now, I am really looking forward to seeing dad's next surprise... my son is currently reading Matilda for the first time, and hasn't seen the movie in its entirety yet. He's hoping to watch it with his grandpa so they can talk about it too!
First, let me be honest - my dad is not a reader. Nor has he ever read Matilda, or any other book every (except the Bible). His love for Matilda originated from the movie starring Mara Wilson, Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman... the latter two being some familiar faces to him from television already. He was very intrigued to see these characters in such a film and needed to see the movie again without any interruptions. And since then, anytime the movie was on television, dad did what he could to watch it in its entirety.
Now, a quick reminder, my dad is not a reader *laughs*... finding out that the movie is based on a book was mind-blowing to him. He comes from a generation where those things are separate - it's either a book or a movie and that's that. He's heard of movies being "based on books" which to him meant they took the idea of the book and did something similar, but it's not the same. And then I started talking about the book... he's was intrigued, shocked and giddy with excitement to finally be able to talk about something we had in common other than family, food and the newscasters poor choice in hairstyles or clothes on the local news channel. We connected in a way that we had never connected before - and discussed things we never imagined we would have ever talk about: character development, how accurate the adaption is/was, Matilda's abilities and how they came to be and where they may have come from, how and why the author wrote the story and why they chose to make it into a movie, etc.
At first he saw Matilda as just a silly little girl and compared her to the likes of Home Alone - a funny movie with lots of kid pranks and dumb adults. But with further discussion, he began to see her strength and humor, and the struggles she goes through from being different...
My father will never read Matilda. And I'm okay with that. What matters most now is that he admires my love of books, and how important they are to me. And though he admires it, he still doesn't completely understand my love of books, he is not a collector or hobbyist. But, after our in-depth discussion of Matilda and seeing how a book can make you think, create discussions and build your imaginations, he has a new understanding and respect for those who do love books. He no longer sees our books as "throwing away money on dust collectors" and this makes my heart happy. If only we could get all non-book-lovers to realize how much our world comes from reading... and to stop saying "just watch the movie".
And now, I am really looking forward to seeing dad's next surprise... my son is currently reading Matilda for the first time, and hasn't seen the movie in its entirety yet. He's hoping to watch it with his grandpa so they can talk about it too!
*A paperback finished copy of MATILDA was sent to me by the publisher for an honest feature. All thoughts here are my own.
GIVEAWAY
(Bumbles and Fairy-Tales is not to be held responsible for any lost, damaged, unclaimed, etc. prizes.)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR - Roald Dahl
Roald
Dahl (1916–1990) was one of the world’s most imaginative, successful and beloved storytellers. He was born
in Wales of Norwegian parents and spent much of his childhood in England. After
establishing himself as a writer for adults with short story collections such
as Kiss Kiss and Tales of the Unexpected, Roald Dahl began writing children's
stories in 1960 while living with his family in both the U.S. and in England. His
first stories were written as entertainment for his own children, to whom many
of his books are dedicated.
Roald
Dahl’s first children’s story, The
Gremlins, was a story about little creatures that were responsible for the
various mechanical failures on airplanes. The
Gremlins came to the attention of both First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who loved
to read the story to her grandchildren, and Walt Disney, with whom Roald Dahl
had discussions about the production of a movie.
Roald
Dahl was inspired by American culture and by many of the most quintessential
American landmarks to write some of his most memorable passages, such as the thrilling final scenes in James and the Giant Peach - when the peach lands on the Empire
State Building! Upon
the publication of James and the Giant
Peach, Roald Dahl began work on the story that would later be published as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and
today, Roald Dahl’s stories are available in 58 languages and, by a
conservative estimate, have sold more than 200 million copies.
Roald
Dahl also enjoyed great success for the screenplays he wrote for both the James
Bond film You Only Live Twice in 1967
and for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,
released one year later, which went on to become a beloved family film. Roald Dahl’s popularity continues to increase
as his fantastic novels, including James
and the Giant Peach, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Matilda, The BFG, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,
delight an ever-growing legion of fans.
Two
charities have been founded in Roald Dahl’s memory: the first charity, Roald
Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity, created in 1991, focuses on making life
better for seriously ill children through the funding of specialist nurses,
innovative medical training, hospitals, and individual families across the UK.
The
second charity, The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre – a unique cultural,
literary and education hub – opened in June 2005 in Great Missenden where Roald
Dahl lived and wrote many of his best-loved works. 10% of income from Roald
Dahl books and adaptations are donated to the two Roald Dahl charities.
On
September 13, 2006, the first national Roald Dahl Day was celebrated, on what
would have been the author’s 90th birthday. The event proved such a
success that Roald Dahl Day is now marked annually all over the world. September
13, 2016 is Roald
Dahl 100, marking 100 years since the birth of the world’s number one
storyteller. There will be celebrations for Roald Dahl 100 throughout 2016,
delivering a year packed with gloriumptious treats and surprises for everyone.
ROALD DAHL 100 CELEBRATORY BLOG TOUR
September 5 - Peace Loves Books - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Excerpt
September 5 - The Compulsive Reader - Danny, The Champion of the World Review
September 5 - The Starry Eyed Revue - James and The Giant Peach Review
September 6 - Ex Libris Kate - The Witches Review
September 6 - Cracking The Cover - The Magic Finger Feature - Short Review and History
September 6 - Lost In Lit - The Witches Feature - Revisiting The Witches as an adult
September 7 - Cozy Reading Corner - Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator Excerpt
September 7 - The Plot Bunny - The Magic Finger Review
September 7 - Lilli's Reflections - The Twits Excerpt
September 8 - The Irish Banana - Matilda Review
September 8 - Ticket To Anywhere - Danny, The Champion of the World Excerpt
September 8 - Cuddlebuggery - Quentin Blake's Illustrations of Roald Dahl's Books Feature
September 8 - Beth Fish Reads - Going Solo Review
September 9 - Ravenous Reader - The BFG Excerpt
September 9 - Paper Cuts - The Giraffe, the Pelly and Me Excerpt
September 9 - The Lovely Books - The Witches Excerpt
September 9 - A Glass of Wine - James and the Giant Peach Excerpt
September 10 - Novel Novice - George's Marvelous Medicine Excerpt
September 10 - YA Bibliophile - Fantastic Mr. Fox Review
September 10 - Watercolor Moods - The Magic Finger Feature - Collage
September 11- Jessabella Reads - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Review
September 11- Who R U Blog - Charlie and the Glass Elevator Feature - Trivia
September 12 - Belle of the Library - The Twits Review
September 12 - Book Mania Life - George's Marvelous Medicine Review
September 12 - The Book Swarm - Danny, The Champion of the World Excerpt
September 12 - Book Belles - James and the Giant Peach Feature - Book to Movie
September 13- Roald's birthday! - Brittany's Book Rambles - Matilda Excerpt
September 13 - Roald's birthday! - Mundie Kids - The BFG Review
September 13 - Roald's birthday! - Read Now Sleep Later - Boy Excerpt
September 13 - Roald's birthday - Consumed By Books - Matilda Excerpt
September 13 - Roald's birthday - I Am A Reader - James and the Giant Peach Excerpt
September 13 - The Novel Life - Lessons that Roald Dahl has taught me feature
September 13 - The Book Rat - Esio Trot Excerpt
September 14 - Belle's Bash - The BFG Excerpt
September 14 - WinterHaven Books - Esio Trot Excerpt
September 14 - A Book and A Latte - The Magic Finger Excerpt
September 14 - Hello Chelly - Matilda Feature - BookBags
September 14 - Loving Dem Books - Youtube Feature
September 15 - Writing My Own Fairy-Tale - George's Marvelous Medicine Review
September 15 - The Book Bandit -The Giraffe, and the Pelly and Me Review
September 15 - Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile - Esio Trot Review
September 15 - Coffee, Books and Me - Top Ten Reasons You Should Read Roald Dahl's Books
September 16 - Undeniably Book Nerdy - Boy Review
September 16 - Supernatural Snark - James and the Giant Peach Review
September 16 - My Friend Amy - Going Solo Excerpt
September 16 - The Quiet Concert - Danny, the Champion of the World Review
September 17 - Book Briefs - Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator
September 17 - Andi's ABCs - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Feature - ABCs
September 17 - Just Another Rabid Reader - The Magic Finger Review
September 17 - Adventures of Cecelia Bedelia - Roald Dahl Feature - Food Feature
September 18 - Bumbles and Fairy-Tales - Matilda Feature - Reading With Dad
September 18 - Addicted 2 Novels - Esio Trot Review
September 18 - Pure Imagination - Fantastic Mr. Fox Excerpt
September 18 - Green Bean Teen Queen - What Roald Dahl Means To Me Feature
September 19 - Bookiemoji - The Witches Excerpt
September 19 - Shooting Stars Blog - Roald Dahl Feature - Etsy Products
September 19 - Alexa Loves Books - Matilda Feature - Style Files
September 19 - Nightly Reading - Matilda Review
