I think it's been well-established that Roald Dahl is my favorite author of all time (with Charles Dickens at a close second). If you were in doubt about my love of Dahl's works you can check out
this masterpost that I wrote last year with no less than 5 reviews. XD It should come as no surprise that I fangirled
pretty hard over
Wonderful, Wicked, and Whizzpopping: The stories, characters, and inventions of Roald Dahl by Stela Caldwell with (of course) illustrations by the incomparable Quentin Blake. From the very first page (the front-matter section), it is apparent that this is a special book. There are little snippets which look like yellow, lined notebook paper which denote actual notes that Dahl wrote to himself about the books which made him famous. (He always wrote his books on yellow, lined notebook paper by the way.) Did you know it was nearly
James and the Giant Cherry instead of
James and the Giant Peach? That somehow doesn't have
quite the same ring to it. This entire book is like getting a glimpse behind the scenes PLUS reading condensed versions of some of his more famous children's books. The mixed media used in this book complements the subject matter perfectly. I'd go so far as to say this is a visually stunning book and you'd be silly not to check it out for yourselves...especially if you're a fan of Quentin Blake. You might have guessed already but this is a 10/10 in my books (pun totally intended).
 |
| The front-matter section which sets the tone for the rest of the book. |
 |
| How can you not love this?! |
 |
| There are a couple of foldouts which are fun. |
 |
| Blogger's hands not included in purchase of the book. |
 |
| I really loved these little touches. |
 |
| At the very end there's a little surprise. ;-) |
**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click
here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **
