Boy is an autobiography written by the great children's author, Roald Dahl about his early years of school and growing up in South Wales and England and the many adventures that young students get into during their formative years.
Dahl brings his gift of storytelling alive in this non-fiction account of how he grew up in Cardiff, Wales and then going to different schools as he grew up. There are adventures to the Sweetshoppe, playing games with friends, his first time moving from home for school, and many trips to see the headmaster for disobedience. One aspect that Dahl clearly explains are the punishments that are leveled upon students in this time and his own feelings and experiences. He does write with the knowledge that children will be reading it, however he does not attempt to gloss over what happened during school days if rules were broken.
Dahl also works to include drawings and photographs that represent memories and give explanations to different portions of text. He does a great job providing the detail necessary for the reader to picture what event he is discussing and be able to picture themselves alongside as if a part of the action itself.
As it is an autobiography, much of the perspective is how Dahl perceived it and yet it holds a strong sense of accuracy for the reader while still alowing them to draw their own conclusions about the actions happening.
This book would be a great tool for educators to compare and contrast school back in the early 1900's with school today. It is also an excellent view into a similar yet very different culture of the British kingdom and would be a great source for seeing the differences even in those that seem so the same. Educators could also use this book for older readers as an introduction to non-fiction or biographies. While it does show the violence of the schools very clearly, Dahl works to keep a positive tone throughout the novel that make it an easy-going read, especially for those students that have not experienced non-fiction work before.
This book is targeted for readers aged 8 and up. While I do believe it is mostly appropriate for readers of this age range, readers must be aware and prepared for the mentions of violence within the pages as regards to the canings of students for infractions. It is at times a very somber book, detailing the truth without seeing a happy ending or the headmaster villains receiving discipline for their own actions. It is a very well written depiction of Dahl's life and many readers will enjoy seeing how this famous author grew up and what school was like back in the early 1900s.
Read alikes for Dahl's Boy include its sequel: Going Solo (also by Dahl), Looking Back: A Book of Memories (Lois Lowry) and Blister (Susan Shreve).
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