Read a book, or watch tv...?

"Please, oh please, we beg, we pray
Go throw your TV set away
And in its place you can install
A lovely bookshelf on the wall"

Taken from the poem 'Television' by Roald Dahl.

Roald Dahl Day

It’s Roald Dahl Day! Everyone’s favourite children’s author is celebrated every year on his birthday, 13^th September. You can find out more on the website and do catch Michael Rosen’s Puffin Virtually Live webcast from 2pm till 2.45pm today. The theme this year is mischief and mayhem, so it should be lots of fun!

We’ve got lots of books by and about Roald Dahl in Townhill Library, so why not pop in today to pick up some weekend reading. Roald Dahl Day is the perfect excuse to rediscover a childhood favourite, or find a new treat.

We’ll leave the last word to author Nadia Shireen, who this morning tweeted "As is customary on #RoaldDahlday, learn a new word, outwit a grown-up and scoff some Dairy Milk." Sounds good to us! 

It’s Roald Dahl Day!

The wickedly funny children’s author is celebrated every year on the 13^th September, which was his birthday. Roald Dahl Day 2012 is a particularly special one as the BFG (Big Friendly Giant, for those who don’t know), one of Dahl’s most iconic creations, is 30 this year! Click in to the Roald Dahl Day website for quizzes, activities and “50 Scrumdiddlyumptious Ways to Celebrate Roald Dahl Day”! We’ll be tweeting our favourite words on our Twitter page and posting some Roald Dahl-related quotations and information on our Facebook page, so keep an eye on both today. It’s going to be gloriumptious!

Coming soon, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: The musical!

 A new musical based on Roald Dahl’s classic, Charlie and the chocolate factory, will open in the West End next June. The BBC News website reports that Sam Mendes, he of American Beauty fame, will direct the show. Dahl is a firm favourite with children and adults alike and Charlie and the chocolate factory is one of his best known books. It has already been adapted for the big screen twice – once in 2005 starring Johnny Depp and before that Willy Wonka and the chocolate factory was released in 1971 and starred Gene Wilder. (The 2005 version is on telly this weekend if you fancy a look!)

The producers are sure to be hoping that Charlie can replicate some of the success of the RSC’s production of Matilda the musical, also based on one of Roald Dahl’s books. Matilda has not only proved popular with audiences, but also won a record breaking seven Laurence Olivier Awards this year.

As you’d expect, Matilda and Charlie and the chocolate factory are available, along with lots of other Roald Dahl books, from Townhill Library’s Teaching Practice collection. If you haven’t already read it (or if you have!), Dahl’s autobiography, Boy, is well worth a look. His preoccupation with the sweet shop and his boarding school’s location next to the Cadbury factory might offer clues as to his inspiration for Charlie and the chocolate factory!

Roald Dahl honoured by Royal Mail

Does anyone out there still write letters? I hope so! If you do, you'll now be able to show your appreciation for Roald Dahl on the envelopes thanks to a series of stamps issued by the Royal Mail. The stamps feature Quentin Blake's illustrations from some of Dahl's best-loved books, including the BFG, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year.

Dahl's books have delighted children (and adults) for years and continue to entice children into a world of books and stories today. His classics are available in the Teaching Practice section of Townhill Library, so please feel free to come in for a browse and pick up an old favourite. We also have some of his more grown up stories, such as Tales of the Unexpected, available on the ground floor. They are characterized by the same subversive humour and outlook as his books for children and are definitely worth a read! If you'd like to find out more about his fascinating life, we've got some biographies you might be interested in, or hear it straight from the horse's mouth with his autobiographies Boy and Going Solo.

It's Roald Dahl Day!

This celebration of Dahl's work takes place every year on the 13th September, the author's birthday. This year is extra special as it's also the 50th anniversary of James and the Giant Peach. Find out more about Roald Dahl Day and the man himself on the official website: http://www.roalddahl.com/.

Come and rediscover Roald Dahl in Townhill Library, where we have a number of his books available to borrow. Choose from his children's books, his autobiographies or some Tales of the Unexpected. You're bound to find something you like!

Has anyone got any favourites they'd like to share? I remember enjoying Roald Dahl's Revolting Rhymes as a child. For anyone who hasn't come across it, it's a wickedly funny collection of poems based on some classic fairy tales, retold in Roald Dahl's unmistakable style. Brilliant!