To read Roald Dahl to my nearly 3 year old

[Discopanda]

OK, more light-hearted than your average AIBU. I have a mental bucket list of books I really loved growing up that I want to share with my daughter and I adored Roald Dahl books from a very early age. I'm thinking of starting with the shorter stories like The Giraffe, The Pelly and Me and Esio Trot. Baring in mind she is very bright and loves books, I personally think toddlers are more than capable of enjoying Dahl books too. Does anybody else have a reading bucket list?

I'd say 3 was too young.

And a lot of Roald Dahl is quite scary. I remember DS reading Danny Champion of the World at 7 or 8 and getting absolutely traumatised when Danny's dad went out AND DIDN'T COME BACK.

I'm going through the Roald Dahl books with my younger two now...they are 5 and 6 (very nearly 6 and 7). Despite both being good readers for their age, I still think some of it is beyond their comprehension yet.

I agree about the comprehension bit. The dd's have only recently started to 'get' stuff like Roald Dahl.

Fuzzpig - I really enjoyed reading The Borrowers, but we ditched The Borrowers Afloat (dull). My ds also has a significant speech problem, and as i say has only just started enjoying picture books, after a long tme of tactile baby books. He is at school, and has reading books home (wordless Biff and Chip books) so we read those separately (along with simple picture books) so the girls get the full attention of being read something less babyish.

I think you are suffering from hurry sickness. I felt that most of Roald Dahl is over the head of most three year olds however bright. There is a difference between high expectations and plain silly expectations. The ernomous crocodile is an exception, but the humour in most of dahl's books is too dark for that age group. Bring on Dahl when your child is five or six

DS (4.7) hasn't got the attention span to sit and listen while I read to him - he either wants to read himself, or have pictures to look at. But he has got some of the Roald Dahl audio books and really likes to listen to those as he goes to sleep - we've got a set with Fantastic Mr Fox, Esio Trot, Enormous Crocodile and The Giraffe, the Pelly and Me. Not sure how much he's taking them in, but he does seems to have a vague idea of what happening and I think he finds it easier because they're background noise rather than needing to be the sole focus. He's also a big fan of The Owl Who Was Afraid Of The Dark - again, the audio book.

I tried some of the books - we read Esio Trot and The Magic Finger, but his attention wandered pretty quickly. Same with The Magic Faraway Tree - there's just too much text for him at this stage.

But never mind, his time will come - and there are a lot of my old books waiting for him when he's interested enough to read them!!

It is possible to spoil a book by reading it to them too early. I learnt my lesson with DC1, so I would suggest caution...

Yes I made that mistake with bedknobs and broomsticks (same author as the borrowers, so I was nervous about starting the latter, but a flick through showed the language is much simpler)

Incidentally I bought DS the Roald Dahl heroes and villains anthology today - it's in whsmiths labelled at £7/2 for £10 but went through on its own as a fiver! It's got 4 of the shorter stories in so should be just right for my 5yo :)

(Yes I think I'll leave it at just the first borrowers book for now)

Pippi longstocking was one of DD's presents last year - the recent one illustrated by Lauren Child. We both really enjoyed it! Not sure what I'm getting her this xmas (always get some lovely gift edition type things as we rely on library books most of the year) but holding out til I can sneak into the Moomin shop next week in case they've got a nice copy of the story.

Reasonable or unreasonable doesn't really matter. However, I would say there are so many more brilliant kids books now than when we (OK maybe just me as I am old) were young and it would be a shame to miss out on them. Also when we were kids, there was little option for bright kids but to be pushed on into books more appropriate for an older age group, which they didn't really appreciate as they don't have the maturity for them (here I am talking really about top end of primary rather than 3 but worth a thought now!). Now there are far more options.

The worst thing though is when YOU hate a book you are reading to your kids that you used to love ... Olga da Polga and 5 Children and It suffered this fate in our house, although DS liked them (he is very kind!)

I'm looking quite forward to reading DD "The BFG" and "The Witches".

Maybe I'll be kind and let her enjoy the Willy Wonka movies before reading her the book and showing her what crap both movies were.

I started reading George's marvelous medicine to my just turned 4 yo and had to stop as it was too old for him. The relationship between George aand his gran is really negative and it's not something he understands the humour of yet. My DH was also raising guys eyebrows at introducing him to the idea of mixing up all the things you can find in the house and feeding it to someone!

We got through about a third and he was engaged but a bit scared so we just didn't come back to it. I really want him to love it like I did.

We're doing GMM now. Give it a couple of years AllBoxedUp.

And yes...there hasn't been a good film of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory made yet. The 70s version with Gene Wilder is better than the 2005 remake with Johnny Depp though.
I expected good things with Burton and Depp but it wasn't to be. Load of old shit sadly.

Oh yes uggggh to the burton version. Didn't like his Alice in wonderland either.

For DD's birthday I got tickets to the Illyria (outdoor theatre company - not sure if they are national or local?) version of GMM, it was brilliant!

I'm also desperate to do BFG and the witches but I know my DD would find both too scary ATM.

Thinking of Matilda for this Xmas (as well as some non-Dahl - but it seems to be becoming a tradition that there's always something by him! I've also got her the RD top trumps and the Brainbox game )

Ok im going to be controversial here. I loved Roald Dahl when I was younger. I tried to re-read esio trot to my dc's and found it so disturbing! Its a really weird book. Lots of mild racism in Charlie and the great glass elevator and his hatred of fat/ugly people runs throughout most of his books. Not what I remembered at all can't really bring myself to read them aloud

DS is nearly 3 and loves the magic finger and the BFG, Roald Dahl is DH's favourite so he started them early. I'm not sure he actually gets it, but he likes DH's enthusiasm I think.

:( my DS is 2.9 and still can't handle a Julia Donaldson all the way through. Where have I gone wrong?! On mn everyone seems to always be reading such complex books to young children and my DS never seems to be at the same point!

I've not read Esio trot but I see what you mean. I have certainly struggled with some themes in books I've read with DD for example the sexism of famous five (my absolute favourite) - I just try and use it to initiate conversation and debate with her, like chatting about how silly it is that they think girls can't do suchandsuch (just encountered the same issue in the borrowers too but DD seems well trained now as she immediately pointed it out!)

I am struck by how utterly sociopathic young George is, in gleefully mixing up this evil concoction that should by all rights kill Grandma stone dead at first sup, while calmly and politely replying to her called enquiries from the other room.
"What are you doing in through there George?"
"Nothing Grandma"

I like it. It's dark.

I don't think you've gone wrong at all mrscog, it's not unusual at that age! Plenty of years ahead for longer stories, don't worry :) there's no way my DD would've been ready at that age, but now it's her favourite part of the day, so she's really not missed out!

Don't get me wrong he's a brilliant author and I love his short stories for adults. Brilliantly dark. I think I'll be more inclined to read them when dc's are a little older and we can discuss some of the out dated ideas. Not esio trot though. It's just too creepy, even for adults!

Wejammin - do you know, I was going to say earlier that for a 3 yr old you could be reading from a Haynes manual for all it matters...it's the time spent with you they enjoy, even if they haven't a scooby what's going on in the story.

None of my lot could have successfully followed the BFG at 3. Not even close.

I bought a tin of Roald Dahl CDs for car journeys. I'd read the books with the children at around 6-7, then found this set.
They are now 14 and 16 and the CDs still get played on long journeys. DH hadn't read them as a child and he absolutely loves them!

mrsCog - please don't worry - he sounds perfectly fine to me.
I do think that some things people claim on mumsnet needs to be taken with a shovelful pinch of salt as well.
While they type it, it's true, and they are the best mum in the world to the cleverest kid.

That's nice and everything, but not always quite the truth.

Roald Dahl was the first longer book we read to the DDs, we started with The Enormous Crocodile, The Magic Finger, Esio Trot (looking forward to the film at Christmas), Fantastic Mr Fox.

There are 18 months between the DDs and sometimes DD1 jumps ahead, at the moment we are reading books to them separately, although this is partly to get DD1 to read something other than the Rainbow Fairies/partly to push her ahead with her comprehension.

There can be good and bad discussions about old fashioned values in books. I have now decided I can't face reading any more Enid Blyton to them because there's no benefit to the sexism/racism in those books. But better books like 'When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit' introduces those difficult concepts in a much more educational way.

If your kids will enjoy it then go ahead! Don't push the issue if they get a bit bored though. If you can't wait, why not just read them for yourself? There are so many gorgeous picture story books out there. Or even some of the picture chapter books might be more suitable than the longer Roald Dahl books if they aren't that captivated by them.

My kids love reading - I think in part because I am a huge reader and the house is filled with books. We've both read to them all from a very early age. I read The Twits and The Magic Finger to them at bedtime (a chapter or two a night) when they were about 3 or 4. Both DDs were able to read at age 4 and DD1 read Charlie and the Chocolate by herself when she was 5.5. She loved it! She's about to turn 7 and has by now read all of my old Enid Blyton books, all my Roald Dahl books, the first 3 Narnia books and is now embarking on the Percy Jackson books. She doesn't seem interested in reading Harry Potter yet.

DD2 has been able to read well from an early age - she taught herself when she was 3!! (by using the foam letters in the bath to spell things and listening to us helping DD1 with her reading) - but when it comes to reading chapter books she doesn't always have the comprehension. She can read it all but can't take all the story in, IYSWIM. She's read The Twits and has just started on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

DS (just turned 3) loves being read to but isn't that interested in actually learning his alphabet yet so I suspect he'll either wait until he gets taught to read in school or perhaps I'll try him again in a year or so. Hopefully he'll retain his love of books! I don't think he'd be interested at all in me sitting down and reading Roald Dahl to him! He's much more interested in Benedict Blathwayt's Runaway Train books