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Original poster

Ronald dahl for a 4 year old

28 replies

whirlwindofchaos · 08/07/2010 12:43

DD is 4 and half. Loves the tim burton charlie and chocolate factory. Loved the recent fantastic mr fox ( which i thought was rubbish) She also loved alice in wonderland and the corpse bride.( tim burton again)

Anyway, i was wondering if i should maybe start reading her the twits, or eiso trot. Or magic finger, or georges marvellous medicine. I think she will appreciate the darkness in them, rather than be a bit scared.

She has a very active imagine and loves books, but i dont want to read above her level.
What do you reckon?

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tullytwo · 08/07/2010 12:46

Think she is prob a bit young tbh I have a 4 yr old and wouldnt read them to her yet as a lot of it would be over head I think but give it a try and see.

By the way its Roald not Ronald

piprabbit · 08/07/2010 12:49

If your DD coped with Tim Burton's Alice without cowering in fear, then I'm sure she will cope with hearing you read Roald Dahl.

TheButterflyEffect · 08/07/2010 12:52

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

mrsfred · 08/07/2010 12:54

DD1 is 5 and we have just finished Matilda and The BFG. We did a chapter before bed each night and she loved them.

simpson · 08/07/2010 12:57

My DS (5 next month) loves Roald Dahl.

We do 2 chapters of Fantastic Mr Fox before bed and we have also done the Enormous Crocodile which was a big hit too.

BFG is next on the list

Cakesandale · 08/07/2010 12:57

I think it depends what you choose really.

My dd read George's Marvellous Medicine when she was nearly five - she loved that one, and she is definitely a scaredy cat so it can't be too sinister.

I have read Esio Trot to her and that one is just funny. Nothing scary at all, and she has had The Twits read to her at school and loved it.

So you could maybe start with these and see how she gets on? I think they are quite variablem but if she can deal with The Corpse Bride she should be fine.

jammietart · 08/07/2010 12:58

DS is 5 and loved Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. We're just reading James and the Giant Peach and he is much less interested plus I think the first few chapters with the horrible Aunt who beat James and make him sleep on a plank of wood is too old for him.

Cakesandale · 08/07/2010 13:00

Yikes I was going to move onto that one. Now i think perhaps not [ grin]

jammietart · 08/07/2010 13:02

Well I think we might ditch James and start on George's Marvellous Medicine!

simpson · 08/07/2010 13:03

My DS also likes some of the poems/rhymes he has written.

The one about croccy woc and I am sure there is one about a pig who eats the farmer (sounds grusome but its not, honest!!)

notyummy · 08/07/2010 13:05

daughter is 3.11 and loves the The Enormous Crocodile. We have the sudio book of James and the Giant Peach and she loves that. Will start Fantastic Mr Fox shortly.

EmmaBemma · 08/07/2010 13:10

We've read Dirty Beasts, George's Marvellous Medicine and The Twits - daughter is 3. However, she doesn't understand everything and I often substitute or miss out words I know she won't get.

EmmaBemma · 08/07/2010 13:11

"The one about croccy woc and I am sure there is one about a pig who eats the farmer (sounds grusome but its not, honest!!) "

It is gruesome! That's the point. But fun gruesome at an age-appropriate level, I grant you - not like Saw or something.

DastardlyandSmugly · 08/07/2010 13:14

DS is 4.5 and we've read all of them. I sometimes had to read on longer than normal so I didn't end on a scary bit but overall he really enjoyed them. We talked about anything scary later as well and he was happy with any explanations I came up with.

simpson · 08/07/2010 13:14

LOL EmmaBemma - thats what I meant

I think the croccy woc one is from Dirty Beasts.

Original poster
whirlwindofchaos · 08/07/2010 13:15

thats good. mostly positive then.

I think she will get it, and not be scared. id love to read them all to her, they were my favs when i was little.

few friends said that they were inappropiate and too scary and could imprint violence in her head at a young age ( WTF!!) and i should only read things she herself could read with in a year.

But, my girl has a wonderful imagination, and i think would really appreciate the sheer magicalness of it all.

OP posts:
llareggub · 08/07/2010 13:16

My DS is 3.8 and has enjoyed The Enormous Crocodile and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Having said that, there were times when he just wasn't interested in Charlie due to the lack of pictures; it really depended on his mood.

kreecherlivesupstairs · 08/07/2010 13:21

YY, I read Esio Trot about 400 times to DD before she could read herslf. I think I could quote large parts of the story without needing to refer to the book . She adores and still does anything by Roald Dahl.

TheBride · 08/07/2010 13:21

I LOVED the Enormous Crocodile but I was an evil child so I used to make my babysitter change the ending so that the crocodile got to eat the curly wurly bird and the little children.

I dont have any violent tendencies now though, so I dont think it damaged me.

Original poster
whirlwindofchaos · 08/07/2010 13:28

yeah - i think thats just a load of rubbish.
And i dont see whats wrong with reading a child a book they cant read themselves. Surely thats all part of the joy?

Mind you, this person also had a go because i took her to alice in wonderland, which incidentally dd loved and has been trying to get me to get the dvd. yes, its grim, but i think its age appropiate, and the twits is only about silly things, which children love. I loved dalh, lots of children do, beacuse he writes things children love, not what their parents love.

OP posts:
Quality · 08/07/2010 13:28

DD1 is 4.5 and DD2 is 2.8, they have roald dahl storycd's and love fantastic mr fox, the enromous crocodile and the giraffe, the pelly and me, we also have the books and have read them to them for a couple of years.
We started george's marvellous medicine at bedtime a few months ago whcih was a massive hit and have started charlie and the chocolate factory as well.
For some reason DD1 doesn't like the Twits though, I blame Quinten Blake's picture of Mr Twitand lost interest in James quite quickly.
Dirty beasts has them ins stiches too.

MrsJohnDeere · 08/07/2010 13:33

Ds1 is 4.2 and just starting to enjoy having Roald Dahl read to him, but the younger ones - Enormous Croc, Giraffe and Pelly and Me, some of the rhymes.

bouncingblueberries · 08/07/2010 13:40

My ds is just turned 4 and he loves reading Roald Dahl. We started with George's Marvellous Medicine and have since read The Giraffe, the Pelly and Me, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Fantastic Mr Fox and the Enormous Crocodile. He adored each and every one and we even have some of them on audio tape, which he loves listening to. He also loves Dirty Beasts.

I don't think it matters at all that he'll not be able to read these books himself for a while - it's helped improve his concentration loads and his imagination and curiosity have exploded! I also love the fact that I'm sharing books with him that I loved as a child and I love seeing him react in ways I remember reacting to the stories. dh and I both hope they help instill a love of books and reading in him like they did with us. Roald Dahl is fantastic and much loved in our household!

gorionine · 08/07/2010 13:45

I started reading Roald dahl stories to my Dcs when I found out about him when DD1 was arround 7yo. My dcs share a bedroom and her little brothers have enjoyed the reading as much as she did. I think as longue as you are not expecting a 4yo to read it on his/her own they will definitely enjoy the story! We started with THe BFG and got completely hooked on the author!

kreecherlivesupstairs · 08/07/2010 14:45

I've just remembered The Witches. DD read this last year when she was eight and it scared the life out of her. I've no idea whey this one over any of the others she has read and she won't tell me.