Most of us know Roald Dahl today as a master storyteller — if you don’t know who he was and have not read his books, go and read his books because he is the world’s number one storyteller. Back to Dahl, there was more to him than the books he wrote because he was also a spy, ace fighter pilot, chocolate historian and medical inventor.

He was curious and had a childlike sense of humour that made him fascinated by the weird and the wacky. So it is only natural that there should be a book that not only brought to his fans some curious facts about this master storyteller and his stories, but also contains other facts that Dahl would have liked. Dahlmanac 2, Fun Facts and Jokes with Roald Dahl is such a book full of weird and wonderful facts about the world around us and Dahl.

The themes and sections are based on his famous stories and the man himself. “Beard and Other Disguises” starts by stating Dalh’s intense dislike for beards and then goes on to include facts on “Hairy record breakers” and “Masters of disguise” and “The very best animal disguises” deals with the tricks animals use to camouflage themselves.

There was more to him than the books he wrote because he was also a spy, ace fighter pilot, chocolate historian and medical inventor.

There is also an unpublished story, The Upside Down Mice, and a chapter, Spotty Powder, that was originally in his famous book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but was later dropped. There is a very interesting section on “How to make a coded message even more difficult to read”.

As Dahl’s books contain tales of disasters too, there is a whole section containing facts about some natural disasters, and Section 5, “Poison,” tell you loads about poisonous plants and animals.

There really is so much more in this fact book than can be written about here for the jokes, riddles, activities, poems, and sayings by Dahl are scattered throughout the book, enough to enchant and occupy a reader for a long time.

Dahlmanac 2, Fun Facts and Jokes with Roald Dahl is ideal for one’s bedside table and can be read and enjoyed by early readers too.

Available at Paramount books

Published in Dawn, Young World April 1st, 2017