Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Hardwood Creek Library (Forest Lake) | J 821.92 DAH | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Stillwater Public Library | J 821.92 DAH | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
Roald Dahl is best remembered as the author of many well-loved children's stories. But he was also the creator of some astonishingly imaginative, outrageous, and wonderfully disgusting verses. From oozing grobes to slimy slugs, this extraordinary collection is bursting with Dahl's poems, verses, and songs. And with full-color original illustrations from a distinguished group of more than twenty artists, including Quentin Blake,William Joyce, and Lane Smith, this lavish volume is a must-have for any Dahl fan's library.
Author Notes
Roald (pronounced "Roo-aal") was born in Llandaff, South Wales. He had a relatively uneventful childhood and was educated at Repton School. During World War II he served as a fighter pilot and for a time was stationed in Washington, D.C.. Prompted by an interviewer, he turned an account of one of his war experiences into a short story that was accepted by the Saturday Evening Post, which were eventually collected in Over to You (1946).
Dahl's stories are often described as horror tales or fantasies, but neither description does them justice. He has the ability to treat the horrible and ghastly with a light touch, sometimes even with a humorous one. His tales never become merely shocking or gruesome. His purpose is not to shock but to entertain, and much of the entertainment comes from the unusual twists in his plots, rather than from grizzly details.
Dahl has also become famous as a writer of children's stories. In some circles, these works have cased great controversy. Critics have charged that Dahl's work is anti-Semitic and degrades women. Nevertheless, his work continues to be read: Charlie and Chocolate Factory (1964) was made into a successful movie, The BFG was made into a movie in July 2017, and his books of rhymes for children continue to be very popular.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-6-Dahl wrote many delightful poems, some of which are hidden in his splendid novels. This dynamic collection includes "The Centipede's Song" from James and the Giant Peach and "Willy Wonka's Wonka-Vite" from Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. The verses are illustrated by an assortment of talented artists, including Chris Wormell, Chris Riddell, Babette Cole, and Tony Ross. Quentin Blake's signature line drawings introduce each thematic section. Playful lines like "Veruca Salt, the little brute,/Has just gone down the rubbish chute ("Concerning Veruca Salt") and "We may see a Creature with forty-nine heads/Who lives in the desolate snow,/And whenever he catches a cold (which he dreads)/He has forty-nine noses to blow" ("There's No Knowing What We Shall See") are irresistible. Unfortunately, no biographical information is provided for the illustrators. An index lists the titles of the poems under their sources along with their page numbers but no index of first lines is included. This vivacious addition to poetry collections will amuse a broad audience.-Kirsten Cutler, Sonoma Library, CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Vile Verses by Roald Dahl will likely propel readers directly into the author's longer works. Some selections can be appreciated on their own, such as "Snow-White and the Seven Dwarfs" (from Revolting Rhymes)-"When little Snow-White's mother died,/ The king, her father, up and cried,/ `Oh, what a nuisance! What a life!/ Now I must find another wife!' " In Babette Cole's portrait, the new queen looks both magnetic and diabolical. William Joyce reimagines "The Ant-Eater" from Dirty Beasts, and various passages from James and the Giant Peach and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory come to life thanks to artists as diverse as Alexis Deacon and Neal Layton-whose Oompa-Loompas are especially comical. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Brimful with Dahl's typical wicked humor, vitriol, and potty references, this volume of verse is sure to be a kid-pleaser. Some of the verses originally appeared as passages in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and other books, and some are previously unpublished. A collective of well-known artists including Quentin Blake, Lauren Child, Lane Smith, and Chris Wormell illustrate the poems. Ind. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
Gr. 5-8. The title is well chosen, and Dahl's particularly viperish, not to say ghoulish, rhymes are full of ill-humor and occasionally delicious nasties. A few of these have never been published before, but most are familiar, made new by a gaggle of well-known illustrators (Lane Smith, Babette Cole, Satoshi Kitamura, William Joyce). The foreword and the images that introduce each section are by the delicious Quentin Blake, and they are very funny. This is a hard collection to take all at once: Augustus Gloop and Veruca Salt get what they deserve, to be sure, but Dahl is vitriolic about Goldilocks. The tone of the witches (Down Vith Children! ) is a little scary, and the sinister sibilance of the Grobes matches what may happen. There's a fair amount of potty humor--but that's typical Dahl. Like the recent D Is for Dahl by Wendy Cooling (2005), this is another way to repackage Dahl. --GraceAnne DeCandido Copyright 2005 Booklist
