Creative Reading & Writing with Roald Dahl: Humor, Horror, Thrills & Chills

Who doesn't love Roald Dahl? His classics Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach have been read and enjoyed by generations of children, while his Revolting Rhymes and Revolting Recipes are classics in their own right (and will give you an appetite for snozzcumbers, stinkbugs' eggs, and fresh mud burgers). Dahl has built a reputation for entertaining, thrilling, and even grossing out his young readers. In Humor, Horror, Thrills & Chills, one of three titles in the Creative Reading & Writing with Roald Dahl language arts series that uses Dahl's work to teach students about character development, metaphors, and plot twists, viewers discover his four rules of writing (make readers laugh with weird, funny names, sounds, and nonsense words; squirm with outrageously disgusting things; enthralled through the use of magical settings; and tense with surprises). Designed for students in grades 3-6, the program suffers a bit (for American viewers) from having a pair of British hosts who speak very fast. Still, given Dahl's popularity, educators should find this to be a very useful addition to a unit on creative writing. The other titles in the series (series price: $117) are: Characters, Metaphors and Similes, and Plot Twists and Turns. Aud: E, I, P. (J. Asala)