The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me by Roald Dahl

True to Dahl's witty style and brilliance, this book doesn't fail to entertain. One day, a young lolly shop aficionado called Billy sees an old sweet shop, The Grubber, which has been recently sold. Whilst standing goggled-eyed and wishing it had been him who was the lucky purchaser, a porcelain lavatory comes flying out the window, followed by a kitchen sink and an empty canary cage. The reader is engaged immediately. As it turns out the building is being renovated by a giraffe, a pelican and a monkey; a very unlikely trio. They are however, a very enterprising window-cleaning team and it seems that one of the richest men in Britain requires their services. The Duke cannot believe what service this team has to offer; a giraffe with an extendable neck is one marvellous thing but their criminal-foiling abilities is quite another. They are simply indispensable and so who will look after The Grubber in their absence? Quentin Blake comes to the party as always with his comical sketches adding greatly to the eccentric and bizarre characters who inhabit the books of Dahl. This is a short novel which will be quickly devoured by primary school children as well as being appreciated by adults. 

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You can listen to the unabridged version by Hugh Lorry:

Dirty Beast by Roald Dahl

Roald Dahl's Dirty Beasts is a treat of humorous (slightly black) poems about animals. Poems include The Pig, The Crocodile, The Lion, The Scorpion, The Anteater, The Porcupine, The Cow, The Toad, and lastly, The Tummy Beast. They are all written in rhyming couplets and take ordinary animals and turn them into people-eating monsters, usually for reasons of self-preservation or because of some misunderstanding. This book is perfect for reading out loud and Quentine Blake's illustrations are as lively as ever. The one about the emaciated anteater who eats an aunt is good fun, but my  favourite poem is probably The Porcupine. You can watch an animation of it below:

The Twits by Roald Dahl

The Twits was the first novel I ever read by Roald Dahl. I read it as a class novel to a grade 6 class at South Queenstown in Primary School in 1987 followed by The BFG and Matilda. I know a certain David Snell used to really enjoy them. Dahl's books are a good way to get children reading and they are very rich in detail when it comes to the main characters. If you really like Dahl's style you will also enjoy reading David Walliam's novels which are interestingly enough also illustrated by Quentin Blake. The Twits are a truly a bogan couple, disgusting in fact, and you will be very surprised and maybe even horrified at some of their antics. The book is a humorous read which will leave you hungry for more of this author's books. The original Rolad Dahl website is worth the visit and contains a biography about Dahl, lists all his books and has some fun stuff to do. Just click on the link below:

http://www.roalddahl.com/

Listen to chapter 1 by clicking on this link. The other chapters are also available.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJzlPT_-Vwc

Matilda by Roald Dahl

I bought this hardback edition of Matilda when I was teaching on the west coast of Tasmania at South Queenstown Primary (which no longer exists) and my grade 6 class just loved it. It is an outstanding book by the famous author Roald Dahl who also wrote Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach and The Twits which are equally memorable. Its central character is the very intelligent Matilda who can read novels like Great Expectations and multiply fourteen by nineteen in a flash. Unfortunately, she lives with two undesirable parents, a lay-about mum and a dodgy used-cars salesman father who are blind to the fact they have a gifted daughter. In fact they treat her like dirt. At school she has to deal with the Trunchball, who lives up to her name, but luckily finds an ally in her classroom teacher, Miss Honey. There is adventure, magic and violence, the stuff of Dahl novels, and it is hard to put this one down. Students who read this novel can borrow the DVD I have. Here is the trailer for it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfJAvIA9aJY