I'm reading 'Danny the Champion of the World' to my sons at bedtime. Recommended by a friend.
My boys love Roald Dahl's gear. They love how each chapter ends on a cliffhanger. They love the story about a boy and his Dad. It's got a lot to say about fatherhood, and there's nothing like being a father to your sons by reading them a story on fatherhood, to make you think about your own.
Amidst the narrative are lots of powerful little insights that Dahl drops in like raisins.
Like this raisin, that my mate Al noticed.
But here's one that opened my boys eyes up wide tonight. Dropped as it was in the middle of the scariest scene of the story so far... where Danny really does ponder the possibility that his Dad is lying alone in Hazell's forest, bleeding out from gunshot wounds. He's weighing up the idea of driving the old Austin motor vehicle to go find his Dad. His Dad, who's never left Danny alone like this before. It's 2:30am. He's never driven outside the yard. He's never been out of first gear. He's just 9 years old.
"I will not pretend I wasn't petrified. I was. But mixed in with the awful fear was a glorious feeling of excitement. Most of the really exciting things we do in our lives scare us to death. They wouldn't be exciting if they didn't."
My boys love Roald Dahl's gear. They love how each chapter ends on a cliffhanger. They love the story about a boy and his Dad. It's got a lot to say about fatherhood, and there's nothing like being a father to your sons by reading them a story on fatherhood, to make you think about your own.
Amidst the narrative are lots of powerful little insights that Dahl drops in like raisins.
Like this raisin, that my mate Al noticed.
But here's one that opened my boys eyes up wide tonight. Dropped as it was in the middle of the scariest scene of the story so far... where Danny really does ponder the possibility that his Dad is lying alone in Hazell's forest, bleeding out from gunshot wounds. He's weighing up the idea of driving the old Austin motor vehicle to go find his Dad. His Dad, who's never left Danny alone like this before. It's 2:30am. He's never driven outside the yard. He's never been out of first gear. He's just 9 years old.
"I will not pretend I wasn't petrified. I was. But mixed in with the awful fear was a glorious feeling of excitement. Most of the really exciting things we do in our lives scare us to death. They wouldn't be exciting if they didn't."
A great book. Finished it last week. Was tempted to sneak next door with the boys late at night and rustle the neighbours Rhode Island Reds.
ReplyDeleteWe're onto the BFG now.