children’s book author roald dahl and his daughter, lucy
What If Willy Wonka Was Your Dad?
Roald Dahl’s Magical Parenting With Food
“food was a huge part of our upbringing,” lucy dahl says. her father delighted his children with fanciful “midnight feasts” in the woods and often used mealtime to test out new characters from stories he was working on.
three-course dinner chewing gum.
fizzy lifting drinks.
everlasting gobstoppers.
these, of course, are the creations of willy wonka, who himself is the creation of author roald dahl. food is a huge part of his work, and as it turns out, dahl’s creative and sometimes twisted approach to food wasn’t confined to his books.
“food was a huge part of our upbringing,” says dahl’s daughter lucy.
tn this week’s episode of the sporkful podcast, ahead of father’s day, lucy shares stories of the witch’s potions that accompanied bedtime, the cabbage her father said came straight from the queen’s garden, and being woken up in the middle of the night to eat chocolate.
“everything about our childhood was eccentric,” she says, “although we didn’t realize it at the time because it was just normal to us.” lucy dahl is 51 now, but she still bursts with childlike glee when she recalls her father’s “midnight feasts.”
he’d wake the kids up in the middle of the night and pile them into the car – which was full of hot chocolate and cookies – and drive them up the road in the english countryside where they lived.
then they’d walk in to the woods in their pajamas to look for badgers.
“you couldn’t talk, and he’d say, ‘nobody move! and if you’ve got an itch, blow on it. try and hold your breath, try not to breathe!’ ” lucy recalls. “and sure enough, mr. badger would come prowling out and walk right past us. it was incredibly exciting.”only once they had seen an animal could they tuck in to their sweet feast.”and then,” lucy says, “we’d all go home, back to bed, delighted.”
roald dahl kept his kids entertained during normal eating hours, too. he often used mealtime to test out new characters from stories he was working on.”the minpins lived in the woods beyond our house,” lucy remembers, referring to one of her father’s last books, about a tiny people who live inside trees. “the BFG – the big friendly giant – lived underneath our orchard. it all coincided with what we ate. for breakfast were minpins’ eggs and fried bread. but what they actually were were quail eggs.”
just as roald dahl used stories to bring food to life at home, he used food to bring characters to life in his books. willy wonka’s fizzy lifting drinks aren’t just a fun idea – they also tell us something about who he is. in fantastic mr. fox, the three mean farmers who are out to get mr. fox are described only by their body shapes and their diets.
so this father’s day, wake your kids up in the middle of the night, take them into the woods in their pajamas to look for badgers, load them full of chocolate, then put them back to bed.
—
“even though you’re growing up,
you should never stop having fun. “
– nina dobrev
—
credits: npr, the spoon, the sporkful, dan pashman, m.haircloth
I have to say food and my love of it has played a significant part in my life and I can relate to this quite well.
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wonderful –
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You don’t stop playing because you get old- you get old because you stop playing. Credit due elsewhere.
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exactly –
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My father felt like that too. And I had a great childhood!!
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how lucky!
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My life is better for having read that post. Thank you, Beth 🙂
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thank you, ryan and happy father’s day to you )
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Thank you, Beth. Being a father is the happiest part of every day for me 🙂
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that’s wonderful –
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I’m not sure if my dad was spontaneous or bored when he would summon us into the car for random adventures. No matter what the reason, I benefited.
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that is so great –
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Happy tale for this day, Beth.
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it is indeed and happy father’s day to you, mark )
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Thank you, Beth!
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What a delight!
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yes )
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terrific!
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isn’t it? so fun –
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how amazing!
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it really is!
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Love it! Schnozzberry? Who’s ever heard of a schnozzberry?
>
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what? you haven’t? )
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Nice I wish my own Dad got to be around a little more but wasn’t because of his job and then he died way to soon. In February he was gone 56 years so that tells you how long he has been gone but I’m very sure we would of had more adventures had he lived past his early 30’s. Thank you for sharing it is a great article. I love the quote and love the book too.
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❤
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Thank you for sharing.
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absolutely. i just love his real life approach as well as his books.
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Magical parenting….. ❤
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yes)
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I’ve loved Roald Dahl’s books. Always something quirky in them. 🙂
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me too and absolutely, yes –
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What a wonderful way of parenting!
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i so agree!
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( ๑ ❛ ڡ ❛ ๑ ) ૭✧
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We LOVE Roald Dahl and now I love him even more! What a magical wonderful childhood to live with such a creative man.. Sounds like she did grow up with Willy Wonka as a dad!!
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and i agree with all of this, vicki!
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What a great post. Always loved his work. He helped me get into reading at a young age.
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He is all magic and whimsy
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This was a fantastic post I missed on Sunday, Beth.
Those children were lucky to have this creative and caring father, who came up with magical adventures. My grandies don’t get food on their flashlight walks, but they still love being out in the dark of night. So wonderful that Roald Dahl was a good Dad, as well as fantastic author. 🍥🍰🍫🍬🍭
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yes, it is wonderful on many levels. i’m sure your grandies are enjoying every moment of their adventures with you –
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I don’t have kids, but I do have characters. Often I load them up in the car late at night. Late at night can be interpreted as midnight. Then I drive to a lonely isolated place and we go looking for leprechauns. You’re welcome to join us if you like.
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sounds like a grand adventure –
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Well, they keep cutting my brake line and trying to push me off the cliff. I think something is rotten in Denmark.
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