2016 marks 100 years since the birth of Roald Dahl—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.
Roald Dahl said, “
If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.”
The Roald Dahl Literary Estate believes in doing good things. That’s why ten percent of all Roald Dahl income goes to charity partners.
In honor of Roald Dahl's 100th birthday, Penguin Young Readers will publish new collectible hardcovers editions of some of Roald Dahl's beloved stories on September 6, 2016, including
Matilda,
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,
Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator,
Fantastic Mr. Fox, and
James and the Giant Peach. Here's a look at the new covers:
I've loved Roald Dahl's stories since the very first time I picked up
Matilda as a kid, and I find that as an adult, I might love them even more, especially because I have the opportunity to share them with my own daughter. The wonderful people at Penguin and Wunderkind PR sent me a copy of
James and the Giant Peach to review, so I've got our thoughts below, plus more about Roald Dahl and the 100 Year Celebration, along with a giveaway.
Title: James and the Giant Peach
Author: Roald Dahl
Series: stand-alone
Publisher: Puffin Books
Publication Date: February 11, 2016 (first published 1961)
Source: paperback received from publisher
Purchase: Amazon |
Barnes & Noble
Phizzwhizzing new cover look and branding for the World's NUMBER ONE Storyteller!
James Henry Trotter lives with two ghastly hags. Aunt Sponge is enormously fat with a face that looks boiled and Aunt Spiker is bony and screeching. He's very lonely until one day something peculiar happens. At the end of the garden a peach starts to grow and GROW AND GROW. Inside that peach are seven very unusual insects - all waiting to take James on a magical adventure. But where will they go in their GIANT PEACH and what will happen to the horrible aunts if they stand in their way? There's only one way to find out . . .
"A true genius . . . Roald Dahl is my hero" - David Walliams
Now you can listen to James and the Giant Peach and other Roald Dahl AUDIOBOOKS read by some very famous voices, including Kate Winslet, David Walliams and Steven Fry - plus there are added squelchy soundeffects from Pinewood Studios!
Also look out for new Roald Dahl apps in the App store and Google Play- including the disgusting TWIT OR MISS! and HOUSE OF TWITS inspired by the revolting Twits.
It's not every day that you read a story of a boy orphaned when his parents were killed by a rampaging rhinoceros. I've always loved how imaginative the story of
James and the Giant Peach is, and I really loved the movie adaptation, but there is just something about sharing the story with a child that can't compare.
This was by no means our first time reading
James, but I think it was the first time Katie was able to contribute to the reading, which made it all the more special. It's amazing how much heart and spirit Roald Dahl put into this book. It's a timeless story of triumph and perseverance, and it will always be a favorite of mine...and now Katie's.
When I asked her what her favorite part of the story was, she told me that it was when the peach crashed through the fence to flatten the evil aunts. And I don't think I could honestly pick a better favorite scene from the story either.
GIF it to me straight:
About the author:
Roald Dahl (1916-1990) was born in Wales of Norwegian parents. In 1951, Roald Dahl met his future wife, the American actress Patricia Neal, who starred in films including The Day the Earth Stood Still, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and Hud, for which she won an Oscar. After establishing himself as a writer for adults, Roald Dahl began writing children's stories in 1960 and wrote two of his best-known novels, James and the Giant Peach and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in the U.S.
In September 1964, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was published initially in the U.S. with the U.K. following a few years later. It would go on to become one of the most famous and best-known of Roald's stories. The idea for the story grew out of his own well-documented love of chocolate and his school-day memories of acting as a taster for a famous chocolate factory. These first stories were written as entertainment for his own children, to whom many of his books are dedicated.
Today, Roald Dahl’s stories are available in 58 languages and have sold more than 200 million books. With more than 40 million Roald Dahl books in print in the U.S. alone, Dahl is considered one of the most beloved storytellers of our time and his popularity continues to increase as his fantastic novels, including James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, The BFG, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, delight an ever-growing legion of fans.
Find Roald:
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ROALD DAHL 100 CELEBRATORY BLOG TOUR
September 6 -
Lost In Lit - The Witches Feature - Revisiting The Witches as an adult
September 8 -
Cuddlebuggery - Quentin Blake's Illustrations of Roald Dahl's Books Feature
September 9 -
Paper Cuts - The Giraffe, the Pelly and Me Excerpt
September 10 -
Novel Novice - George's Marvelous Medicine Excerpt
September 11-
Who R U Blog - Charlie and the Glass Elevator Feature - Trivia
September 12 -
The Book Swarm - Danny, The Champion of the World Excerpt
September 12 -
Book Belles - James and the Giant Peach Feature - Book to Movie
September 13 - Roald's birthday! -
Mundie Kids - The BFG Review
September 13 - Roald's birthday - I Am A Reader - James and the Giant Peach Excerpt
September 13 -
The Novel Life -
Lessons that Roald Dahl has taught me feature
September 17 -
Book Briefs - Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator
September 17 -
Andi's ABCs - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Feature - ABCs
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 90th 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.
*Excerpted from NPR’s November 14, 2013 interview with Lucy Dahl, “Roald Dahl Wanted His Magical Matilda To Keep Books Alive”
Lucy: “I remember waking up in the night and going to the bathroom and seeing the glow of the light in the little [writing] hut while it was still dark outside.
“His hut was a sacred place. ... We were all allowed to go in there, but we only disturbed him when we absolutely needed to because he used to say that his hut was his nest. You would walk in and the smells were so familiar — that very old paper from filing cabinets. And he sat in his mother's old armchair and then put his feet up on an old leather trunk, and then on top of that he would get into an old down sleeping bag that he would put his legs into to keep him warm.
“He then had a board that he made that he would rest on the arms of the armchair as a desk table and on top of that he had cut some billiard felt that was glued on top of it, and it was slightly carved out for where his tummy was. When he sat down ... the first thing he did was get a brush and brush the felt on his lap desk so it was all clean.
“He always had six pencils with an electric sharpener that he would sharpen at the beginning of each session. His work sessions were very strict — he worked from 10 until 12 every day and then again from 3 until 5 every day. And that was it. Even if there was nothing to write he would still, as he would say, ‘put his bottom on the chair.’"
Friday, February 17, 2017
Epic and Fierce...I Could Not Put This Book Down: THE VALIANT by Lesley Livingston
Author: Lesley Livingston
Series: The Valiant, book #1
Publisher: Razorbill
Publication Date: February 14, 2017
Source: ARC received from publisher
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible
The words "female gladiator" were the only ones I needed to read to know that this was going to be my kind of book. Also, just the fact that it's such an utterly different setting than I've seen in most YA of late made me that much more eager to read it.
The Valiant is full of fierce friendships and bitter rivalries and brutal battle scenes and it was LIFE. Guys always get to have the epic battles in books and movies, while the females usually have to sit on the sidelines and pray for their safe return. So, it was delightful to see the tables turned in this story. And the author described the fighting with such precision and imagery that it felt like I was right in the thick of things, like I was the one holding the weapon, waiting to meet my fellow gladiatrix in battle.
Despite how awesome the fight scenes were, I found the romance to be very...meh. Very take it or leave it, if you will. I wasn't really here for that, though. There was a sweet, new love that died a swift death when Fallon was picked up by slavers, but I found that one more believable than the relationship she develops with the Roman soldier who should, by all accounts, be her sworn enemy. I just felt like this pair never spent enough time together to develop the kind of longing and devotion that they seemed to have toward one another. Not when there were so many more epic things happening around them...and to them.
My only real qualm with this novel, though, was how predictable I found it. And that's probably my own fault, as I read quite a bit more than the average reader and it's made me a lot more observant. Also, I think it's hereditary. My mom can watch the first five or ten minutes of a show and tell you what's going to happen for the rest of the episode...and she's almost always right. You can imagine how much fun it was watching television with her growing up. :P
I can't believe this was my first Lesley Livingston novel! It surely won't be my last. I've had her backlist novels on my TBR forever, but I'm going to make a point to check them all out very soon after reading The Valiant. I've always loved Roman history. I even loved when we were forced to read Julius Caesar in AP English. So, I am here for more of Fallon and her gladiatrix pals. And yes, obviously to find out what Caesar's plans for her are.
Friday, December 2, 2016
The Game is Afoot in A STUDY IN SCARLET WOMEN by Sherry Thomas
Author: Sherry Thomas
Narrator: Kate Reading
Series: The Lady Sherlock series, book #1
Length: 11 hrs 0 mins
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Publication Date: October 18, 2016
Source: ARC received from publisher via Goodreads giveaway, audiobook borrowed from library
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible
I absolutely adored this gender-swapped Sherlock Holmes story featuring the odd duck Charlotte Holmes as the madame detective. I've read - and watched - a lot of Sherlock retellings over the years, but recently, they've just been outstanding. And they only keep getting better! From Cumberbatch's portrayal to Ellie Marney's EVERY series to William Ritter's Sherlock/Doctor Who mash-up...I just can't seem to get my fill.
But a retelling in which, gasp, the detective of the hour is female, albeit secretly so? Now that's unique. And in immediate need of my attention. Especially the way in which Charlotte is able to pull off the deception and the way in which familiar characters are introduced to the story. It's like coming home to find that someone has rearranged all your furniture. Familiar and yet not.
The streets of London are in the capable hands of Charlotte Holmes with Sherry Thomas at the helm, though. I was a bit confused at first, what with the flashbacks and, erm, the shocking events that led to Charlotte pretending to be Sherlock, but soon all became clear and the real mystery was afoot. And it was rather ingenious, the way it unraveled.
I've thoroughly enjoyed the bit of Sherry Thomas' writing that I've read so far, including her YA series and one of her historical fiction novels, and I cannot wait to continue her Lady Sherlock series. I liked the small taste of romantic tension we got in this first installment, especially considering that love is probably at the very BOTTOM of Charlotte's list of priorities, and I can't wait to read more of her adventures and romantic liaisons...especially the scandalous ones!
Friday, October 28, 2016
{Blog Tour} They Did It Again: GEMINA by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff - Review & Giveaway
Author: Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
Narrator(s): Carla Corvo, Steve West, MacLeod Andrews, P.J. Ochlan & a full cast
Series: The Illuminae Files, book #2
Length: 12 hrs 34 mins
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: October 18, 2016
Source: ARC and audio provided for review by publisher
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible
The gist of that over there being: this sequel is as awesome as Illuminae, if not more so. I'm always wary of companion series because I fall hard for the characters in the first book every time. Way. Hard. So, for a duo of authors -- as amazing pants as these two are -- to make me love the characters in their second novel just as much is kind of unheard of.
I received both an ARC and an audiobook*** of Gemina for review, and being the visual person that I am, I followed along the text while I listened. Because with a book like this, you can't just hear an E X P L O S I O N on the audio without seeing it, not the way this series is presented. This sequel is just like Illuminae, told through a dossier of emails, text-like chats, and even files from AIDAN. You didn't think you'd seen the last of
himIT, did you?If you thought Kady and Ezra had a struggle on their hands in the previous book, what with a BeiTech ship on the warpath and a deranged AI taking charge, you ain't see nothin' yet. In this installment of the Illuminae Files, the characters are subjected not only to more BeiTech goons out for blood but also an alien life form that none of them are prepared for. All I can say is, Poor cow cows.
Our heroine this time around may be a pampered princess whose daddy runs Heimdall station, but Hanna's more dangerous than she looks. And she reminded me a lot of Lilac from These Broken Stars. Except harder to kill. Nik is a good guy with a bad boy rep, but he set his sights on Hanna long ago. He's good in a tough spot and also hard to kill. Which makes their pairing in this novel all the more fun. Add in Ella, his wise-hacking cousin and Hanna's smokin' hot boyfriend -- narrated by the incomparable Steve West on the audiobook, YUM! -- plus some seriously ruthless BeiTech mercenary-types who want to take them all out, and you've got a legit cast of characters.
Lots of action, too...and laughs and sobs and all the feels, really. Just like the first book. But more so. And with a psychedelic angle. Ha, you'll see what I mean. There is nothing I don't like about this book or series, but my favorite part might just be the action as reported by that analyst. That guy is hysterical. And he's got a British accent on the audio, which makes it even funnier.
Seriously. I don't care if you're not a fan of sci-fi or haven't read anything by these authors before. YOU NEED THIS SERIES IN YOUR LIFE. It's equal parts clever and funny and action-packed and soul-crushing and you are seriously missing out if you don't give it a chance. It's rare that I can say a sequel lived up to my expectations, but that's exactly what Gemina does. So go forth and grab this book and then live long and prosper.
***Slight spoiler if you're listening to the audio version*** OH! There is one thing I should mention about the audio: because I'm so familiar with narrators, I was able to figure out one thing much sooner than I probably should have. No biggie; it just left me incensed on behalf of some of the characters a lot earlier in the book. If you don't listen to much audio, you probably won't even notice. ;) And I think it would be much harder to guess if you're reading the text version.
One winner will receive a finished copy of Gemina. US only. Prizes provided by Penguin/Random House.
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Tuesday, October 4, 2016
{Blog Tour} THE MIDNIGHT STAR Look Book
In celebration of the release of The Midnight Star next week, Penguin has put together an epic blog tour. You'll find all manner of posts for this tour but yours truly is taking another stab at a look book, which you can find below.
Author: Marie Lu
Series: The Young Elites, book #3
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: October 11, 2016
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible
The Midnight Star Blog Tour:
Wednesday, September 7, 2016
{WOW} SPELLBOOK OF THE LOST AND FOUND by Moïra Fowley-Doyle
"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.
This week's WoW selection is...
's Pick:
Author: Moïra Fowley-Doyle
Series: stand-alone
Publisher: Kathy Dawson Books
Publication Date: May 2, 2017
I really enjoyed the author's first book and I love magical realism, so it was a no-brainer adding this title to my TBR...even if it doesn't come out for months and months and months. But that cover would be a gorgeous addition to any shelf. :D
What are you desperately waiting for this Wednesday? Let us know in the comments or share a link to your own WoW post!
Monday, September 5, 2016
{Blog Tour} Roald Dahl 100 Year Celebration & Giveaway #roalddahl100
2016 marks 100 years since the birth of Roald Dahl—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.
Roald Dahl said, “If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.”
The Roald Dahl Literary Estate believes in doing good things. That’s why ten percent of all Roald Dahl income goes to charity partners.
In honor of Roald Dahl's 100th birthday, Penguin Young Readers will publish new collectible hardcovers editions of some of Roald Dahl's beloved stories on September 6, 2016, including Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, Fantastic Mr. Fox, and James and the Giant Peach. Here's a look at the new covers:
I've loved Roald Dahl's stories since the very first time I picked up Matilda as a kid, and I find that as an adult, I might love them even more, especially because I have the opportunity to share them with my own daughter. The wonderful people at Penguin and Wunderkind PR sent me a copy of James and the Giant Peach to review, so I've got our thoughts below, plus more about Roald Dahl and the 100 Year Celebration, along with a giveaway.
Author: Roald Dahl
Series: stand-alone
Publisher: Puffin Books
Publication Date: February 11, 2016 (first published 1961)
Source: paperback received from publisher
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
It's not every day that you read a story of a boy orphaned when his parents were killed by a rampaging rhinoceros. I've always loved how imaginative the story of James and the Giant Peach is, and I really loved the movie adaptation, but there is just something about sharing the story with a child that can't compare.
This was by no means our first time reading James, but I think it was the first time Katie was able to contribute to the reading, which made it all the more special. It's amazing how much heart and spirit Roald Dahl put into this book. It's a timeless story of triumph and perseverance, and it will always be a favorite of mine...and now Katie's.
When I asked her what her favorite part of the story was, she told me that it was when the peach crashed through the fence to flatten the evil aunts. And I don't think I could honestly pick a better favorite scene from the story either.
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starryeyedjen
- I work with numbers by day, and I'm a mommy and avid reader by night. I'm a self-proclaimed Spreadsheet Queen, and I'll read anything you put in front of me. I seriously love all the books! And I adore audiobooks, too!
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