Ive just bought a box set from the charity shop. When can I start reading them to DD? Shes 4 at the moment. And which one should I start with? I imagine The Witches will give her a few sleepless nights…
DS1 is 4 and he is ok with The Enormous Crocodile. Anything else is beyond his scope at the moment, though I have read parts of Georges Marvellous Medicine to him which he thought was funny. He liked the medicine mixing but didnt really get the family relationship stuff. Dahl aimed most of his stories at around age 8 I believe.
I tried Matilda at 4 yo and they just didnt get it. There was too much to explain to let the story flow. Read it at 6yo and the loved it. At 7 weve worked through most of the Dahls and theyve really enjoyed them.
Maybe start with the giraffe and the pelly and me. We had that on a cassette (showing my age there) in the car . The Twits is good for a few giggles at the horrible things they do. Esio trot would also be good even if Mr Hoppy is a weird stalker. We
I started reading them to DS when he had chicken pox shortly before his 4th birthday. He was so so about them. The Dahl appreciation really took off when we got the CDs for a long car journey to go on holiday shortly before DS was 5. In the 2 years since I have read him all the books at bedtimes, weve listened to the CDs many, many times and seen the films of those which have been made into films.
The CDs are good I agree with pp. Dd is 7 so can now read the easier one herself eg matilda, charlie, twits, Georges marvellous medicine, bfg. She must have read the twits about 10 times, its a shorter book and easier read than the others. There are a lot of made up words in Dahl books which can make them tricky.
Well weve just galloped through two thirds of Georges Marvellous Medicine and she burst into tears when I said it was bedtime and that wed read the rest tomorrow – a success! Thank you.
We began with The Enormous Crocodile, then had The Twits and The Magic Finger on cassette in the car. We also had The MinPins when they were quite young – maybe a bit older than four though, I cant remember.
DD is 4.4 and so far I have read her The Enormous Crocodile, The Twits and Georges Marvellous Medicine. She enjoyed them.
my DD is five, just finishing reception. She loved Charlie and the chocolate factory, Matilda, BFG, Georges Marvellous medicine, she wants to do the witches next but I think it may scare her a bit.
My dsd has read (had read to her) Georges marvellous medicine, enormous Mr crocodile (she loves this) and some of the giraffe Pelly and me and she seemed to enjoy them at age 4.5. Cant wait to get to Matilda, the BFG etc
My DD liked Revolting Rhymes to be read to her at 4. Wed read the real fairy story and the Dahl version together. She thought the Dahl ones were very funny and a bit naughty (which was what kept her asking for them). At 6 she has just read Fantastic Mr Fox and James and the Giant Peach to herself. Shes started Matilda but its threat level is too high for her.
Ours are 3 and 4, and they love the Giraffe and the Pelly and Me. Also the Magic Finger.
4 or 5 for the easier ones (Twits, Girraffe, Enormous Crocodile). 6+ for BFG, Matilda etc (although at just 8, shes not quite able to stick with them by herself). Revolting rhymes from any age – read them to DD1 once, not thinking 3yo DD2 was paying much attention. She went around saying “whipped a pistol from her knickers” and cracking up laughing for weeks Must look into audiobook versions for our next long drive…
My 7 year old read a few Dahl this summer. She liked Mr Fox, the two charlie books and Matilda. She left The Witches and weve avoided James and the Giant peach on the basis that she found the film “too weird”
My DDs are 3 and 5.5 and they are both into princesses and fairies. I tried them with Pelly/Giraffe and that didnt go down too well. Now the eldest likes The Enormous Crocodile (also have it on CD) but it is beyond the youngest (too long). The eldest also likes Fantastic Mr Fox (on CD). At 4 she was having none of it though!
I recently read the twits to dd as a bedtime story. It took us about a week to get through but she really liked it. It was the first longer book with chapters wed read her. We then went on to the bfg which she also liked but not so much as the twits. Ive got Charlie and the chocolate factory but it looks longer so may wait a while for that. Weve also since read some dick king smith successfully to her and soon hope to start on the worst witch.
Hi just wondered what your 5/6 year old girls were reading? Just want to update daughters reading books. Thanks
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My DD liked Revolting Rhymes to be read to her at 4. Wed read the real fairy story and the Dahl version together. She thought the Dahl ones were very funny and a bit naughty (which was what kept her asking for them). At 6 she has just read Fantastic Mr Fox and James and the Giant Peach to herself. Shes started Matilda but its threat level is too high for her.
Maybe start with the giraffe and the pelly and me. We had that on a cassette (showing my age there) in the car . The Twits is good for a few giggles at the horrible things they do. Esio trot would also be good even if Mr Hoppy is a weird stalker. We
my DD is five, just finishing reception. She loved Charlie and the chocolate factory, Matilda, BFG, Georges Marvellous medicine, she wants to do the witches next but I think it may scare her a bit.
I recently read the twits to dd as a bedtime story. It took us about a week to get through but she really liked it. It was the first longer book with chapters wed read her. We then went on to the bfg which she also liked but not so much as the twits. Ive got Charlie and the chocolate factory but it looks longer so may wait a while for that. Weve also since read some dick king smith successfully to her and soon hope to start on the worst witch.
DS1 is 4 and he is ok with The Enormous Crocodile. Anything else is beyond his scope at the moment, though I have read parts of Georges Marvellous Medicine to him which he thought was funny. He liked the medicine mixing but didnt really get the family relationship stuff. Dahl aimed most of his stories at around age 8 I believe.
One day when George’s parents leave him in charge of giving his Grandma her medicine, George comes up with a plan of making a marvellous medicine which helps him get rid of her forever.
If you like this review and would like to buy this book from Amazon (kbc affiliate link),
George, the main protagonist in this book has a horrid grandma who is a miserable grouch and a lady with a witch-like character. He day in and day out suffers from her hands. Her tone is sharp and words are poisonous.
This book is apt for 7-10 year olds as at this age they can relate with George very well. They will also enjoy how George takes up things in his own hands, plots and plans so well that in the end everything ends well for everyone in the family.
I usually read my daughter’s books to once again get that childhood feel, but somehow was never eager to read this one as I thought that it’s apt for small kids only. But when my daughter insisted, I not only ended up reading it twice but also started admiring Roald Dahl as one of those authors who can look into a child’s heart and brain and bring out the deepest of the deep sensitivities a child has. It also brings out the fact that childhood is that time of life when our imagination works at its best and our ability of putting our thoughts and ideas into action is almost immediate. Probably because one is not as afraid of the result or of failure as as adult is.
Well, yes. Pullmans words cast me back to the worries of starting secondary school, and I vividly remember returning, once home, to the familiar worlds of Green Knowe and Kirrin Island, Redwall – oh, the late, lamented Brian Jacques – and The Borrowers. Ballet Shoes, White Boots, Apple Bough: I loved Noel Streatfeild, and it was comforting – more than that, it was wonderful – to be able to sink back into these much loved titles, regardless of the fact that I was starting to learn French and had my own locker and a packed lunch.
I may not be at school, but comfort reading, rereading and easy reading is something Ive been doing rather a lot of lately. When Im not reading for work purposes, I rarely have the energy to start something new. Instead, Id rather return to something familiar, which – if Im lucky, and it hasnt crossed my rereading path for a while – Ill probably have forgotten most of, so will be able to enjoy all over again.
A new report into what children are reading at school shows a “marked downturn in difficulty of books at secondary transfer”, it was revealed today. The books children are reading in year 7, according to the report What Kids Are Reading, include tons of Jeff Kinneys Wimpy Kid titles and David Almonds (wonderful) Skellig, along with Roald Dahls The Twits and Georges Marvellous Medicine. By year 7, says the study, which calculates the reading level of a book using software that measures the texts complexity, “students are reading at over a year below their chronological age”.
“One of the most important by-products of our reading is that we expand, develop and refresh our grasp and use of language. That doesnt happen if everything we read is easy and already familiar. Thats why challenging youngsters is vitally important. The trick is to write gripping or engaging stories in adventurous and ambitious prose. But it aint easy. Nor should it be.”
In fact, the book on my bedside table right now is a reread: Robert C OBriens The Silver Crown. It was yanked off my bookshelf by a curious baby and I was instantly transported back to the world of 10-year-old Ellen, so I leapt back in yesterday evening. Im not sure what that would put my reading age at, but Id imagine, at 34, Im being “seriously underchallenged”. Ah well. The Silver Crown is just as good as I remember it being all those years ago, and Im tired, so the age-appropriate stuff can wait.
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