Like many great books and stories, there is a plot, characters, theme, irony, and every other literary term one was taught in high school English class. The placement and choosing of such things, however, is what separates good books from bad ones. Without theme, characterization, diction, and the many other parts that make up a book, there would be no feel for the story and certainly no excitement to carry on with the reading. Roald Dahl included all of the above, which brought his children’s stories to life. Through characterization and conflict, Roald Dahl provides the reader with a feel for the characters and enthusiasm to read.
Roald Dahl, born in Llandaff, Wales on September 13th, 1916, was the son of Harald and Sofie Dahl. From the beginning of his life Roald had bad luck, with the death of his father, and his oldest sister, Astri, when he was just three. His mom was then left to raise six children. Dahl’s mother, however, became an inspiration and a role model for him, to which he based the grandmother in his children’s story, The Witches on his mom (Roald Dahl Biography "Childhood"). Dahl’s schooling took place at St. Peter’s prep school in Weston-Super-Mare, UK. School was not one of Dahl’s favorite things to do, but it served as a purpose for him to find some of the characters in his children’s book, such as “Ms. Trunchball” from Matilda. After St. Peter’s, Dahl completed his schooling at Repton at the age of fourteen.
After finishing school here, Roald went on to something bigger and better, The Public Schools Exploring Society, who journeyed to Newfoundland. He then started to work for Shell as a salesman in Dar es Salaam. (Roald Dahl Biography "War & Adventure") Roald Dahl’s writing career began when a friend of ...
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...ed children to read, and led them to love it.
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After a four week survey of a multitude of children’s book authors and illustrators, and learning to analyze their works and the methods used to make them effective literary pieces for children, it is certainly appropriate to apply these new skills to evaluate a single author’s works. Specifically, this paper focuses on the life and works of Ezra Jack Keats, a writer and illustrator of books for children who single handedly expanded the point of view of the genre to include the experiences of multicultural children with his Caldecott Award winning book “Snowy Day.” The creation of Peter as a character is ground breaking in and of itself, but after reading the text the reader is driven to wonder why “Peter” was created. Was he a vehicle for political commentary as some might suggest or was he simply another “childhood” that had; until that time, been ignored? If so, what inspired him to move in this direction?
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What kid hasn’t heard of Dr. Seuss? From “One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish” to “A person’s a person, no matter how small” to “From there to here, from here to there, funny things are everywhere”, Dr. Seuss has filled the lives of children with whimsical stories and ideas. (8) Using casual dialect and everyday objects, he was able to spark the imagination of others. All the while, he instilled lessons into his writings. It is not a surprise that Dr. Seuss received an award for a “Lifetime of Contribution to Children’s Literature”. His work will be read and enjoyed for decades to come. All in all, no matter which Dr. Seuss story that the reader might select, his or her imagination will be sparked, and the reader will surely be entertained.
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Laura Ingalls Wilder may be viewed as one of the greatest children’s authors of the twentieth century. Her works may be directed towards a younger crowd but people of all ages enjoy her literary contributions. The way that Wilder’s books are written guarantees that they have a place among classics of American literature (“So many…” 1). Laura Ingalls Wilder’s form of writing portrays an American family’s interworking in a journey through childhood.
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The writing of a memoir through the eyes of a child can produce a highly entertaining work, as proved by Wole Soyinka. Through the use of third person and the masterful use of the innocence and language of childhood, Soyinka has written a memoir that can make us remember what is was like to see the world through the eyes of a child.
Dahl modeled one of the book’s central characters, Willy Wonka, around himself. Both men lived in their creative worlds and lived their lives as kids in a grown person’s body. For Wonka, he hid inside his chocolate factory and made candy, a child’s delight. As for Dahl, on the other hand, he hid inside of his writing hut and wrote books for children. This concept of serving the youth is seen in Storyteller, “‘ It’s really quite easy,’ [Dahl] would say. ‘I go down to my little hut, where it’s tight and dark and warm, and within minutes I can go back to being six or seven or eight again.’ (Storyteller 40). Or as his alter ego, Willy Wonka, put it in an early draft of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: ‘In my factory I make things to please children. I don't care about adults.’” In action, both men were much like children. Being creative and working for children was not only these men’s occupations, but also their ways of life. Storyteller points out further similarities. “Both men shared an apparently boundless self-confidence and ‘No arguments, please’ public manner. Both could be grandiose, mercurial, capricious. Both cultivated a sense of mystery around themselves. Both were misunderstood. In all these respects Wonka mirrored his creator.” (Storyteller 400). These men not only acted similar in revolving their lives around children, but the way they interacted with others was also alike. The
Roald Dahl was a famous British writer. He was inspired to write because of his dreams and life experiences. He enjoyed telling bedtime stories to his children. These bedtime stories were published and some were made into films. Roald Dahl was great writer and was recognized for his work.