Clik here to view.
This Is No Way to Practice Medicine: George’s Marvelous Medicine
Roald Dahl’s George’s Marvelous Medicine is dedicated, rather cruelly, to doctors. I say “rather cruelly,” because much of the book is a fierce indictment of modern medicines, which, in Dahl’s...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Land of Giants and Dreams: The BFG
Sophie, an orphan, is suffering a major attack of insomnia, brought on, author Roald Dahl suggests, by the magic of moonlight, or perhaps by the fact that she’s living in a dormitory and has lost her...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Transformation and Death: The Witches
“I don’t mind at all,” I said. “It doesn’t matter who you are or what you look like as long as somebody loves you.” After the tragic death of his parents in a car accident when he is only seven, the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Precociousness and Telekinesis: Matilda
Matilda, published in 1988, is one of Roald Dahl’s longest and most intricate novels for children. The story of a highly precocious little girl who slowly develops powers of telekinesis, it focuses...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Last Excursions into Fantasy: The Minpins and the Vicar of Nibbleswicke
As a kind of final round up of Roald Dahl’s fiction before we get to the movies based on Dahl’s fiction, two short reviews of Dahl’s last works: The Minpins and The Vicar of Nibbleswicke. Reviews...
View ArticleClik here to view.
When Chocolate Goes Scary: Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory
As I noted during my post on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, my first viewing of the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory left me, how do we put this? Deeply traumatized for life. In...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Reality, Dream and Animation: James and the Giant Peach
Distressed at previous movie treatments of his books, Roald Dahl refused to allow anyone to film James and the Giant Peach during his lifetime. After his death, however, his widow agreed to sell the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Jim Henson and Roald Dahl Present: The Witches
Jim Henson’s last work was done on The Witches, a live-action/puppet adaptation of Roald Dahl’s 1983 novel. It was, oddly enough, the first and only time these veteran children’s entertainers had...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Celebrating Girl Power: Matilda
The second movie based on a Roald Dahl novel to be released in 1996 was Matilda. Like the novel, Matilda tells the story of a precocious young girl who, after severe emotional abuse from her parents...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Another Journey Into Chocolate: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005 film)
Despite getting a writer’s credit for Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl by all accounts hated the final film, to the point where he was reluctant to allow any of his books to be...
View ArticleClik here to view.
When I Grow Up: Fantasy Musicals!
It’s hard to separate out the fantasy from the sci-fi in the case of musicals because you already have the added fantastical element of characters breaking into the song with practically zero...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Witches 30th Anniversary Edition Sweepstakes!
Out on August 27 from FSG, the 30th anniversary edition of Roald Dahl’s The Witches includes an introduction by James Patterson, photographs, reproductions of original manuscript pages, a fascinating...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The BFG Hears Your Lonely Heart in the Movie’s First Trailer
It may not be 3 a.m., but it is the witching hour, because Disney and Amblin Entertainment have released the first trailer for Steven Spielberg’s The BFG, based on the beloved children’s book by Roald...
View ArticleClik here to view.
5 Funny Books About Very Bad Witches
The best thing about writing about wicked witches is that they can be awful. Delightfully, relentlessly awful. I love stories that treat serious subjects with a dash of humor, and writing about people...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Most Important Books We’ve Been Given for Christmas
A book can stay with you forever, and receiving a book unasked that shapes your life so significantly can feel particularly fateful. Below, some of the Tor.com staff reveal books that they’ve received...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How Fantasy Candy Kingdoms Have Evolved Over 200 Years
Fantasy fiction has a sweet tooth. It seems that worlds full of magic and mayhem need sugar to keep their denizens powered through endless winters, strange adventures, and harrowing school years. We’ve...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Precociousness and Telekinesis: Rereading Roald Dahl’s Matilda
Matilda, published in 1988, is one of Roald Dahl’s longest and most intricate novels for children. The story of a highly precocious little girl who slowly develops powers of telekinesis, it focuses...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Five Fantastical Heroines in Great Children’s Books
My first children’s novel, Candy, is out now from Scholastic UK, and forthcoming soon in several European countries. This is as surprising to me as it must be for anyone who realises my last book in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Netflix Adapting Roald Dahl Classics Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate...
Netflix is establishing a Roald Dahl cinematic universe of sorts: The streaming service announced today that it will adapt a number of Dahl’s beloved books into “animated event series” starting in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
8 Fantasy Tales That Indulge Our Sweet Tooth
Fantasy fiction has a sweet tooth. It seems that worlds full of magic and mayhem need sugar to keep their denizens powered through endless winters, strange adventures, and harrowing school years. We’ve...
View Article