The (Not So) Legacy of Roald Dahl

When I was little my mum brought me a Roald Dahl boxset, which contained such children's classics like The Twits, Matilda, The Witches and James and the Giant Peach, and started my love of reading. I really admire the creativity and imagination that went into his books and the way they showed kids that they can make a difference and do amazing things. Everyone I know read, and enjoyed, his books when they were little and, in effect, they have become a staple of my generation.

The Witches by Roald Dahl

(2001 Puffin edition)

I was therefore really surprised when I found some statistics, which were published by Renaissance Learning, that revealed that not one of Dahl's books was in the Top 10 Children's Best Loved Books in 2013! According to the 2013 What Kids are Reading survey, which gathered information from 300,000 schoolchildren from years 1-13, Dahl's stories were beaten by books including Stephanie Meyer's Twilight and Anthony Horowitz's Crocodile Tears. However, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling do make an appearance, so I guess all is not lost and children nowadays do have a partially decent taste in books! 

Whilst the books themselves seem to be losing popularity with younger readers; according to the survey, Dahl does lead the Top 10 Most-Read Children's Authors. This shows that whilst the reading tastes of children are changing; the nation does still value Dahl and his genius creations. The problem is therefore that they are just not being enjoyed by modern, young audiences... but why? What has changed?

The BFG by Roald Dahl
(2001 Puffin edition)

I was born into a generation where vampires, and their antics, were for grown-ups. Where my mum was very particular about what I read and never let me stay up after 8 o'clock (at the latest!). Roald Dahl, and his books, offered positive messages about growing up, achievement and doing what you think is right. They really inspired, entertained and provided the perfect bridge between 'infant' and children's literature, like every good children's book should do. 

However, nowadays I feel that the recent boom in vampire-esque fiction has changed everyone's perceptions and beliefs about what is suitable for young readers and, in turn, has made older, classic children's books, such as Dahl's, redundant and boring. It is such a shame to classic, children's literature just for the sake of making children grow up way too quick. 

In a couple of days, the 2014 What Kids are Reading survey will be published (here). I for one am looking forward to seeing what children in Britain are enjoying reading at the moment and if Dahl will still have some sort of presence in the league tables (I think he will but, then again, I am biased!). 

For those interested, a summary of the 2013 What Kids are Reading survey can be found here.

[Update 8/3/14]
The results have been released and... Roald Dahl is back!

Well... kind of...

The statistics published by Renaissance Learning reveal that Roald Dahl's books are being read, but are not necessarily the most loved with youngsters today.

Although the sample size taken this year only surveyed children from years 1-11; the results are sitll interesting. For instance, according to the survey, Dahl's works are still some of the most read among school years 3-11. The Twits also seems to be a recurrent popular read for children as it appeared in the top 10 most read lists for five of the year groups. Similarly, in years 7 and 8 it featured in the top 10 most-loved book lists.

Compared to last year, however, Dahl has dropped a place in the top 10 most-loved authors.

Needless to say children's taste in books is changing. This is paralleled in the statistic by The Hunger Games  featuring prominently in most of the years groups top 10 most-read and most-loved book lists. What really surprised me, however, is the fact that The Lord of the Rings triology and The Hobbit, which are well known for their complex language and story structure; are being read and loved by younger readers. This shows that reading amongst younger children is getting more and more popular, even if it is the result of movies being released.

As long as it gets children reading; I'm happy :-)