Roald Dahl's Revolting Rhymes

Dahl, Roald. Roald Dahl's Revolting Rhymes. Revised ed. New York: Knopf Books For Young Readers, 2002. Print.

Summary
Roald Dahl presents fairy tales with an eccentric twist! In this collection of eerie poems, Roald Dahl takes the classic fairy tales, Cinderella, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Little Red Riding Hood, etc...and makes them his own. Known for being controversial, and even banned in some schools, this books is sure to make poetry fun for kids!

Key Vocabulary

• Bloke
• Parlormaid
• Gollikins
• Cherubs
• Grime

Roald Dahl has a tendency to make up words or use terms that originated in England (i.e. stony broke). Many of these words may need to be explained before reading.

Electronic Resources:
The Poetry Foundation

• The Poetry Foundation is a great source for students, teachers, and parents. Children can read classic poetry by authors such as Jack Prelutsky and Maya Angelou. With help from the experts, children can begin writing their own poetry. Teachers can also expose students to a variety of different poems and poetic style.

Roald Dahl

• For true fans, students can browse author Roald Dahl's official web page. Kids can get an insight into how the crazy mind of Dahl really works. They can catch a glimpse of his other works, as well as learn his life story. This website truly is stupendous!

Teaching Suggestions

Before reading:
Key vocabulary should be explicitly taught before reading this book. Prior knowledge of fairy tales should also be acknowledged. Students can give examples from fairy tales they remember and compare what they all have in common. (i.e common morals, themes, lessons, etc...). Children should also be introduced to poetry and told that this is a type of poetry they may encounter or even read themselves.

During reading: Students can make story maps of each poem in order to break it down to understand it. Students can break up into groups and each be assigned a poem to analyze. Poems should be analyzed for poetic structure (what makes it a poem) as well as content (what was this poem about?). Students can use venn diagrams to compare and contrast Dahl's poetic fairy tales to the classic fairy tales. How are they different? How are they the same?

After reading: Now that students have read poetry, they should try to be creative and write some of their own. Students can take on the Roald Dahl approach and choose a classic fairy tale or story that they have read and enjoyed. Using the fairy tale they chose, they can create a poem to help them remember the fairy tale, as well as giving others an insight into the story. These poems can be illustrated and shared with the class, if desired.