Hello there!

Today I am honored to be a part of the Roald Dahl 100th Birthday Blog Tour, featuring his autobiography, BOY: Tales of Childhood! Before I get started, I am going to talk about my history with Roald Dahl.

I remember when I read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for the first time. I think I was seven, and I read it with my mom. Shortly after, we read Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator and Fantastic Mr. Fox and I loved them so much. I am so grateful to be on this blog tour because Roald Dahl’s writing is something out of dreams; his books are whimsical and imaginative and wish I had his creativity. So, happy 100th birthday, Roald Dahl!

BOY: Tales of Childhood by Roald Dahl

Pub. Date: 1984

Publisher: Penguin/Puffin

Pages: 176

Format: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N |Indiebound | Book Depository | Library

Goodreads Synopsis:

BOY, Roald Dahl’s bestselling autobiography, is full of hilarious anecdotes about his childhood and school days, illustrated by Quentin Blake.
As a boy, all sorts of unusual things happened to Roald Dahl. There was the time he and four school friends got their revenge on beastly Mrs Prachett in her sweet shop.
There are stories of holidays in fishing boats, African adventures and the days of tasting chocolate for Cadbury’s.
You’ll hear tales of horrible school bullies and the motor-car accident when Roald’s nose was nearly sliced clean off . . .
Roald Dahl vividly shares his memories; some are funny. Some are painful. Some are unpleasant. All are true.

Roald Dahl is such a quirky writer that you wonder where all of his ideas came from, and this book gives you an insight into his childhood and background. In BOY, he recounts adventures, mishaps and memories and through these stories you can definitely how some real-life events inspired his writing. For example, he tasted chocolate at Cadsbury’s, which I would believe gave him the idea to set a book at a chocolate factory. He tells his stories so descriptively and this autobiography makes you want to keep reading. I loved that this book includes pictures and “artifacts” so to speak, of his family and his past, and the illustrations add a nice touch. I am glad he wrote this autobiography because he is such an influential part of literature, and you feel like you get to know him a lot better through reading about his own personal experiences. Definitely pick this book up if you are a Dahl fan!

About 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 90^th 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.

Giveaway:

1 winner can pick 5 books from the Roald Dahl collection! US Only.

Rafflecopter:

ENTER THE GIVEAWAY HERE!

Thank you so much to Hannah @ Irish Banana for letting me be a part of this blog tour, and to Penguin for providing my review copy and hosting the giveaway!

What is your favorite Roald Dahl book? I’d love to know!