BOY. By Roald Dahl. Illustrated. 160 pp. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux. (Ages 10 to 14)

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1 Boy Tales of Childhood Review by Hazel Rochman ( printed in the January 20, 1985 edition of The New York Times) "Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake are uncanny..." BOY. By Roald Dahl. Illustrated. 160 pp. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux. (Ages 10 to 14) In real life the witch won. Mrs. Pratchett, the mean and filthy sweetshop lady, watched with relish as......the headmaster giant ferociously caned 8 year old Roald Dahl and his four friends for putting a dead mouse in her candy jar. No wonder so much of Mr. Dahl's widely popular (and sometimes ghoulish) fiction has children and small creatures inflicting gruesome punishment on disgusting and malignant adults. These autobiographical stories are as frightening and funny as his fiction. He explains in the introduction that he is not writing a boring history of his life, but about those things comic, painful, unpleasant that he has never been able to forget. The stories feel as if they have been told as family folklore, honed down to essential incident and sharp detail. They have the intense drama and simplicity of the fairy tale, and its unequivocal extremes of good and evil. After a brief sketch of his early years and his Norwegian father's death when Roald was 4, the division is clear: home, in Britain, was "totally idyllic"; school was misery. There were vacations in Norway, feasts and mischief in his close, large, wealthy and almost entirely female family, led by his indomitable and beloved mother. But from age of 9 to 18 he endured the harsh rigor of select English boys' boarding schools, where, as in Dickens's novels of childhood, grotesque adults wielded savage power over the helpless and innocent students. Mr. Dahl does not patronize himself as a child. What "Boy" saw was the truth. "We hated her and we had good reason for doing so," he says of Mrs. Pratchett. The matron who ruled the school dormitories was an "ogre." The horror of the ritualized, sadistic beatings by masters and prefects remains with him: "I couldn't get over it. I never have got over it." The comedy, too, is close to the macabre, as when his nose hangs by a thread after a farcical automobile accident. He admires Thwaites, the doctor's son, who knows about "scabs and when they were ready to be picked off," explains why spit makes candy change color and tells long stories about how licorice is made from rat's blood ("Two men stir the bubbling caldron with long poles and in the end they have a thick steaming rat stew"). Remembering, Mr. Dahl is in quiet control, chatting to his readers, explaining a few historical differences, illustrating each incident with scraps of his weekly letters home, his mediocre report cards, small ink drawings, and family album photographs with captions in longhand like "me seven months." The tension between this casual commonsense tone and the lurking demonic terror gives these tales their power. As you read the following excerpt from Boy Tales from Childhood, analyze and evaluate Roald Dahl s writing. When you find a word or phrase that exemplifies Writer s Craft or Good Storytelling, highlight the word/phrase. Be prepared to defend your reason for highlighting. Ask yourself, What makes a good story? 1

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8 Name Young Author s Narrative Essay: 100 pts. Planning: Think about what you want to write. Read the prompt box to make sure you are writing about the topic. Make notes. Use your prewriting skills, i.e. mapping. Carefully read the five statements below the prompt. Writing: * Type or write your rough draft. * Revise your paper with a partner (PQP). * Edit your paper. * Type your final draft. * Turn in your paper on Stories about something you have done or something that happened to you are usually the most interesting to read. Write a personal narrative about a time in your life when something emotional (humorous, serious, sad, exciting, etc.) happened to you or your family. As you write your paper remember to: Describe the event and what happened to you or your family. Include many vivid, specific, and sensory details about the event. Present your ideas in a clear and logical order, including a beginning, middle, and end. Use a variety of words and well-constructed sentences. Include figurative language. Correct any errors in grammar, mechanics, spelling, usage, and sentence formation. Typing Guidelines: 12pt font that is easy to read Length is not to exceed three typed pages, double-spaced with one inch margins. Type name, Grade 7, and Springton Lake Middle School at the top of the page. Grading Checklist: Your paper will be scored using the domains below (PSSA format). Use this checklist to score your paper before turning it in for a grade. Did you meet all of the criteria? My Score: Mrs. Gregg s Score: /10 Focus 5pts. strong topic sentence--pose a thought-provoking question? 5 pts. ending has closure Leave your audience with a strong ending thought. /50 Content 10 pts. Beginning of story grabs the audience 10 pts. Descriptive details in beginning 10 pts. Descriptive details in middle 10 pts. Descriptive details in end 10 pts. Closure in ending (All loose ends are tied up.) /10 Organization 5pts. Does your story go in order (B, M, E)? 5pts. Did you use transition words? Did you indent all of your paragraphs? /10 Style 2 points each use of sensory words/figurative language; Underline the 5 uses. *sights, sounds, smells, tastes, things felt/touched *simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, alliteration /10 Correct Heading/Typing Guidelines (See above.) /10 Conventions (One point taken off per editing error and per 5 comma errors.) /100 Total Points Remove this paper from your packet, and staple it to the front of your essay. 8

9 Most exciting thing that ever happened to me or my family Funniest thing I ever saw Worst time in my life Happiest time in my life Best accomplishment 9

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13 Young Author s Narrative Essay Pre-Writing Fill in the pre-writing chart with as many SPECIFIC details as possible. Topic: Intro. Grabber : What happened? (List five key events you want to be sure to include.) Who was involved? (List names and describe who they are.) When it happened? Where it happened? How did it make you feel? Things that were said: Why it was important: 13

14 Smells I remember: Sensory Details: Sounds I remember: Sights I remember: Tastes I remember: Tactile (Things I touched/felt) Use the space below for your map or web for your story. 14

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21 Praise Question Polish Author of paper: 1 st Person Reviewing Paper The author of the paper READS their own paper to their partner. The partner completes this PQP form for the author of the paper. At least two other people should hear your paper. You can PQP with someone at home. Praise: What did you like about the paper? What was the best part? Question: What is unclear? What questions do you have about the details? Polish: What suggestions do you have for making the paper better? What part do you think could be made better? Young Authors Narrative Essay Grading Rubric: (Did they meet all of the requirements?) Yes Needs No Revision Focus Strong topic sentence--pose a thought-provoking question? Ending has closure Audience is left with a strong ending thought. Content Beginning of story grabs the audience Descriptive details in beginning Descriptive details in middle Descriptive details in end Closure in ending (All loose ends are tied up.) Organization Does you story go in order (B, M, E)? Are there paragraphs? Did you use transition words/phrases? Style Use of sensory words/figurative language? Check off all that you heard. sights sounds smells tastes things felt/touched simile metaphor hyperbole personification alliteration Are the five best uses underlined? Correct Heading/Typing Guidelines? Name Grade 7 Springton Lake Middle School Size 12 font Easy to read one inch margins 21

22 Author of paper: 2 nd Person Reviewing Paper Praise: What did you like about the paper? What was the best part? Question: What is unclear? What questions do you have about the details? Polish: What suggestions do you have for making the paper better? What part do you think could be made better? Use of sensory words/figurative language? Check off all that you heard. Are the five best uses underlined in the paper? sights sounds smells tastes things felt/touched hyperbole alliteration simile metaphor Author of paper: 3 rd Person Reviewing Paper Praise: What did you like about the paper? What was the best part? Question: What is unclear? What questions do you have about the details? Polish: What suggestions do you have for making the paper better? What part do you think could be made better? Use of sensory words/figurative language? Check off all that you heard. Are the five best uses underlined in the paper? sights sounds smells tastes things felt/touched hyperbole alliteration simile metaphor 22

23 Favorite Part My Name: Student Feedback Sheet 1. Name of author of paper: What Grabbed my attention the most Word Choices I especially liked Figurative language techniques I noticed (Write term or example from writing) My score: 8: good paper 9: great paper 10: Wow! paper

24 I vote for these three essays to move on in the competition: