Boy: Tales of Childhood by Roald Dahl
Reading level: Young Adult

In Boy, Roald Dahl recounts his days as a child growing up in England. From his years as a prankster at boarding school to his envious position as a chocolate tester for Cadbury's, Roald Dahl's boyhood was as full of excitement and the unexpected as are his world-famous, best-selling books.

USA - Buy Boy: Tales of Childhood

The book is written in simple English. It starts of with a brief history of Dahl's family describing how his father came to Wales from Norway and set up a business there. This part of the book aptly titled 'Starting Point' gives us an insight to Dahl's family background and has delightful pictures of Dahl as a baby, his mother and father and a charming picture of his childhood home at a place called Radyr in the south of Wales.

His memories of school are in no way similar to yours or mine. He often got caned by the headmaster of the school, had to deal with a wretched matron and was bullied by the prefects of his school to warm toilet seats, in winters.

There are some extremely light hearted moments in the book like the time when he put a stinking mouse in a jar of gobstoppers to get back at the owner of the sweet shop for his meanness, and his math class with a fine teacher called Corkers who insisted on indulging in all activities except teaching the boys.

Like any other child of his age, Dahl feared doctors and he feared them for a good reason. At the age of nine he went to the doctor to get his adenoids removed. Instead of putting Dahl under anesthesia and operating upon him, that great man of medicine forced a pencil like instrument up his mouth and removed his adenoids. (Yikes!!)

Packed with anecdotesâ?? some funny, some painful, all interestingâ?? this is a book that's sure to please.