Roald Dahl’s Wicked Words! Honestly?
You may or may not know I do a lot of ranting and today day is one of those days. I have to talk about a subject that is dear to my heart, the Roald Dahl books. Why on earth are they changing words in our much loved Roald Dahl books? These books are just fine as they are and what’s more, children are not going to question every single word he wrote. It was a sign of its time. Why can’t we accept it for what it is? Who are these people who make these decisions? We never see, hear, or know who they are. What gives them the right to do this? Roald Dahl has been a favourite author of mine since I was a little girl. I have read and re-read all his books many times over the years, along with my own kids and many other children. Not once did they question whether a person should be this or that or a word that might offend them. Children just enjoy what they are reading. They don’t stop and analyse each word. It’s ridiculous! There is a lot of vocabulary in those books that is funny, entertaining, strange and absurd, but that compels us and what makes Roald Dahl’s writing unique. It’s what captivates us to read his writing and keep reading. What’s most important is that his work’s stand out and intrigues kids which gets them talking and reading. Anything to get kids reading has to be a good thing. Don’t take it away from him and from them.
