{"id":13203,"date":"2026-10-15T20:22:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-15T12:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/?p=13203"},"modified":"2026-10-20T11:07:01","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T03:07:01","slug":"nicegp_plus_dahl_2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/2026\/10\/15\/nicegp_plus_dahl_2026\/","title":{"rendered":"The amaz\u00ading \u201cNICE Grand\u00adpa x Mr. Dahl\u201d mag\u00adic potion"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a>
The cov\u00ader of the Chi\u00adnese edi\u00adtion of \u201cThe Mag\u00adnif\u00adi\u00adcent Mr. Dahl\u201d.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After all these years, Grand\u00adpa Nice\u2019s \u201cThe Great Mr. Dahl\u201d has final\u00adly come to Chi\u00adna!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This book is very spe\u00adcial to me because it is a biog\u00adra\u00adphy writ\u00adten by one of my favorite authors (Michael Rosen) for anoth\u00ader of my favorite authors (Roald Dahl)! Such a good thing is rare even for a book\u00adworm, let alone the fact that this year (2026) coin\u00adcides with Rosen win\u00adning the high\u00adest award in the world of chil\u00addren\u2019s books\u2014the Hans Chris\u00adt\u00adian Ander\u00adsen Award, com\u00admon\u00adly known as the \u201cLit\u00adtle Nobel Prize\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I am hon\u00adored to have been invit\u00aded to trans\u00adlate this book, but first and fore\u00admost, I am a read\u00ader and a writer eager to \u201clearn\u201d some nar\u00adra\u00adtive tech\u00adniques from it. My book cart shows that I bought this book back in 2015 (three years after the Eng\u00adlish ver\u00adsion was pub\u00adlished), and have read it at least five times since then. In the Red Mud Chil\u00addren\u2019s Book Clas\u00adsics Study Groups that I have host\u00aded, \u201cDahl\u201d was the most fre\u00adquent\u00adly recur\u00adring theme, and this book was always on the must-read list, because it is absolute\u00adly the best guide to deeply explor\u00ading Dahl\u2019s \u201cwrit\u00ading secrets\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back then, fueled by this intense curios\u00adi\u00adty, I sought out \u201cNice Grand\u00adpa\u2019s\u201d *The Amaz\u00ading Mr. Dahl*. By the way, at that time, Michael Rosen was\u00adn\u2019t yet \u201cNice Grand\u00adpa\u201d; he was still the author of pic\u00adture books like *We\u2019re Going to Catch a Bear*, *The Sad Book*, and *Choco\u00adlate Cake Is Deli\u00adcious*. So, what exact\u00adly would \u201cNice Grand\u00adpa\u201d say in an entire book about Roald Dahl?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Please allow me to briefly out\u00adline the sev\u00aden key fea\u00adtures of this chil\u00addren\u2019s biog\u00adra\u00adphy:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Fea\u00adture 1: Spe\u00adcial\u00adly designed for child read\u00aders.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Rosen him\u00adself is a very suc\u00adcess\u00adful chil\u00addren\u2019s book author who also fre\u00adquent\u00adly per\u00adforms plays and reads poet\u00adry for chil\u00addren, and is par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly adept at com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adcat\u00ading with them. In this book, he adopts a friend\u00adly and inter\u00adac\u00adtive \u201cchat\u00adting\u201d tone, mak\u00ading exten\u00adsive use of first and sec\u00adond per\u00adson nar\u00adra\u00adtion, engag\u00ading in direct dia\u00adlogue with young read\u00aders like an old friend, dis\u00adcussing issues. He not only tells sto\u00adries but also fre\u00adquent\u00adly shares his own feel\u00adings, great\u00adly bridg\u00ading the gap between him\u00adself and the read\u00aders. For exam\u00adple, when show\u00ading Dahl\u2019s let\u00adters from his child\u00adhood, he jok\u00ading\u00adly says:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n

    \u201c\u201cWhat do you think of this let\u00adter? I delib\u00ader\u00adate\u00adly kept the typos in it because they\u2019re real\u00adly fun\u00adny!\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

    Dahl\u2019s let\u00adter to his moth\u00ader<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • Fea\u00adture Two: They delve into and share \u201cwrit\u00ading secrets\u201d with\u00adout reser\u00adva\u00adtion.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      What sets this book apart from all oth\u00ader biogra\u00adphies you can read is that it tru\u00adly focus\u00ades on \u201cwrit\u00ading\u201d itself; you could even give it a sub\u00adti\u00adtle: \u201cDahl Teach\u00ades You How to Become a Great Writer!\u201d Of course, it\u2019s Rosen him\u00adself who\u2019s real\u00adly teach\u00ading. Using his own pro\u00adfes\u00adsion\u00adal sen\u00adsi\u00adtiv\u00adi\u00adty as a writer, he metic\u00adu\u00adlous\u00adly dis\u00adsects the cap\u00adti\u00advat\u00ading writ\u00ading tech\u00adniques in Dahl\u2019s sto\u00adry, such as exag\u00adger\u00ada\u00adtion, sus\u00adpense, and the skill\u00adful use of pro\u00adnouns. He states this in the intro\u00adduc\u00adtion:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n

      \u201c\u201cWrit\u00ading often seems sim\u00adple, clear, and truth\u00adful, but it is actu\u00adal\u00adly always more com\u00adplex. This book is about that.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

      Dur\u00ading his expla\u00adna\u00adtions, Rosen not only spoke prac\u00adti\u00adcal\u00adly but also in a very inter\u00adest\u00ading way. For exam\u00adple, when ana\u00adlyz\u00ading the scene in *Matil\u00adda* where the head\u00admas\u00adter is scold\u00ading some\u00adone, he point\u00aded out:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n

      \u201c\u201cThis kind of writ\u00ading is called \u2018hyper\u00adbole\u2019 or \u2018extreme hyper\u00adbole\u2019 (in Eng\u00adlish, it\u2019s pro\u00adnounced like \u2018hyper\u00adbole-li\u2019) \u2013 I dare say Roald would love that word!\u201d\u2018<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

      <\/figure>\n\n\n\n

      <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n
      • Fea\u00adture 3: Like a detec\u00adtive, pos\u00adsess\u00ading both curios\u00adi\u00adty and metic\u00adu\u00adlous log\u00adic.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

        Rosen him\u00adself under\u00adstood this very well, and he made this state\u00adment at the begin\u00adning:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n

        \u201c\u201cWhat I\u2019m going to say is that any\u00adone who writes about Roald Dahl\u2019s life has to be very, very care\u00adful about one thing.\u201cRoald\u2019s sto\u00adries are not always entire\u00adly true.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

        There\u00adfore, Rosen incor\u00adpo\u00adrates numer\u00adous let\u00adters Dahl wrote to his moth\u00ader when he was young into his biog\u00adra\u00adphy. How\u00adev\u00ader, he does\u00adn\u2019t mere\u00adly dwell on the lit\u00ader\u00adal mean\u00ading; instead, he guides the read\u00ader, like a detec\u00adtive, to metic\u00adu\u00adlous\u00adly ana\u00adlyze the words and deduce Dahl\u2019s true psy\u00adchol\u00ado\u00adgy hid\u00adden behind them. My favorite pas\u00adsage is this: when Dahl lies in a let\u00adter writ\u00adten from board\u00ading school say\u00ading \u201cthe teach\u00aders are all very nice,\u201d Rosen astute\u00adly infers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n

        \u201c\u201cPer\u00adhaps Roald want\u00aded to con\u00advince his moth\u00ader that every\u00adthing was alright, even if that was\u00adn\u2019t the case.\u201cThose who learn to do this def\u00adi\u00adnite\u00adly have the poten\u00adtial to become excel\u00adlent sto\u00adry\u00adtellers!<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

        <\/figure>\n\n\n\n
          \n
        • Fea\u00adture 4: Dahl\u2019s life expe\u00adri\u00adences are close\u00adly linked to his cre\u00adative work.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

          Rosen excels at find\u00ading real-life pro\u00adto\u00adtypes and cre\u00adative ori\u00adgins for Dahl\u2019s clas\u00adsic char\u00adac\u00adters in anec\u00addotes, demon\u00adstrat\u00ading Dahl\u2019s mas\u00adter\u00adful skill in extract\u00ading nar\u00adra\u00adtive mag\u00adic from real\u00adi\u00adty. For exam\u00adple, in recount\u00ading Dahl\u2019s child\u00adhood expe\u00adri\u00adence of drink\u00ading \u201cMis\u00adtor\u201d potion in an attempt to ward off the flu, Rosen writes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \n

          \u201c\u201cI can\u2019t help but think of that boy named George and his \u2018mag\u00adic potion\u2019\u2026 What about you?\u201d\u2018<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

          When dis\u00adcussing Daryl\u2019s \u201crat con\u00adspir\u00ada\u00adcy\u201d of putting dead rats in the can\u00addy jar, Rosen ana\u00adlyzed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \n

          \u201c\u201cIf you\u2019re some\u00adone who likes to imag\u00adine \u2018what if\u2026?\u2019, such as \u2018what would hap\u00adpen if my best friend turned into a cat?\u2019, then con\u00adgrat\u00adu\u00adla\u00adtions, you\u2019re not far from becom\u00ading a writer!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

          <\/figure>\n\n\n\n
          <\/figure>\n\n\n\n
            \n
          • Fea\u00adture Five: It cap\u00adtures the core essence of Dahl\u2019s work: always firm\u00adly \u201cstand\u00ading on the side of chil\u00addren\u201d.<\/strong> <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

            In response to crit\u00adi\u00adcism from adult read\u00aders that Dahl\u2019s books were filled with hor\u00adri\u00adble char\u00adac\u00adters and vicious plots, Rosen astute\u00adly point\u00aded out the core empa\u00adthy that res\u00adonat\u00aded strong\u00adly with child read\u00aders. A prime exam\u00adple is his analy\u00adsis of the abuse of James in *James and the Giant Peach*, where Rosen notes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \n

            \u201cRoald also did some\u00adthing impor\u00adtant:He made us stand firm\u00adly on James\u2019 side. I think that\u2019s one of the most impor\u00adtant char\u00adac\u00adter\u00adis\u00adtics of his work.<\/strong>Time and again, his read\u00aders have sided with the chil\u00addren, rebelling against those dread\u00adful adults. To some adult read\u00aders, this makes his books seem some\u00adwhat shocking\u2014even a lit\u00adtle offen\u00adsive. But for count\u00adless young read\u00aders, it is pre\u00adcise\u00adly this qual\u00adi\u00adty that makes his works so delight\u00adful, thrilling, and full of play\u00adful\u00adness and adven\u00adture.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

            <\/figure>\n\n\n\n
              \n
            • Fea\u00adture Six: Can\u00addid\u00adly reveals the \u201cunre\u00adli\u00ada\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adty\u201d and lit\u00ader\u00adary exag\u00adger\u00ada\u00adtion in Dahl\u2019s nar\u00adra\u00adtive.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

              As men\u00adtioned ear\u00adli\u00ader, Rosen explic\u00adit\u00adly stat\u00aded that Dahl\u2019s \u201cauto\u00adbi\u00adog\u00adra\u00adphy\u201d was unre\u00adli\u00adable, but as a fel\u00adlow writer, he all too well under\u00adstood the \u201cneces\u00adsi\u00adty\u201d of such exag\u00adger\u00ada\u00adtion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              \n

              \u201c\u201cHe may have embell\u00adished his sto\u00adry. And the rea\u00adson I think so is\u2014shh\u2014I often do that when I write sto\u00adries!\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

              Rosen seems to be advo\u00adcat\u00ading for this \u201cpriv\u00adi\u00adlege\u201d of writers\u2014that in order to pur\u00adsue the inter\u00adest of the sto\u00adry, the truth can some\u00adtimes be \u201cslight\u00adly mod\u00adi\u00adfied,\u201d which may be what \u201clit\u00ader\u00adary pro\u00adcess\u00ading\u201d is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              <\/figure>\n\n\n\n
                \n
              • Fea\u00adture 7: With strong self-empa\u00adthy, they bypass adult \u201cscan\u00addals\u201d and focus on fam\u00adi\u00adly and cre\u00adative work.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                Rosen deeply res\u00adonat\u00aded with Dahl, draw\u00ading on his own life expe\u00adri\u00adences. At the same time, to cater to the needs of child read\u00aders, he skipped over Dahl\u2019s com\u00adplex adult life entan\u00adgle\u00adments, focus\u00ading instead on his child\u00adhood, fam\u00adi\u00adly rela\u00adtion\u00adships, and cre\u00adative jour\u00adney. What moved me most was Rosen\u2019s writ\u00ading when dis\u00adcussing Dahl\u2019s sev\u00aden-year-old daugh\u00adter\u2019s death from measles:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                \n

                \u201cI can relate to this expe\u00adri\u00adence. I lost a son, and my father went through the same pain\u2026 I have a strange feel\u00ading that Roald and I are cop\u00ading with all this grief, anger and con\u00adfu\u00adsion in sim\u00adi\u00adlar ways.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

                Read\u00aders famil\u00adiar with \u201cThe Book of Heart\u00adbreak\u201d will know what Rosen is talk\u00ading about at this point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                <\/figure>\n\n\n\n

                As the old say\u00ading goes, \u201cNo one is per\u00adfect.\u201d I think that out\u00adsiders, as well as Dahl\u2019s fam\u00adi\u00adly, espe\u00adcial\u00adly his first wife (the Oscar-win\u00adning film star Patri\u00adcia Neill), from whom he had a painful divorce, could find a whole host of neg\u00ada\u00adtive com\u00adments to over\u00adshad\u00adow Dahl. But Dahl is such a unique individual\u2014a fas\u00adci\u00adnat\u00ading yet excep\u00adtion\u00adal\u00adly com\u00adplex genius. For read\u00aders who tru\u00adly want to under\u00adstand his com\u00adplete life sto\u00adry, I high\u00adly rec\u00adom\u00admend read\u00ading biogra\u00adphies writ\u00adten for adults, one of which is *The Sto\u00adry\u00adteller: Roald Dahl\u2019s Biog\u00adra\u00adphy* (by Don\u00adald Stu\u00adlock, 2010), list\u00aded in the \u201cRef\u00ader\u00adences\u201d sec\u00adtion at the end of the book. This is a detailed biog\u00adra\u00adphy offi\u00adcial\u00adly autho\u00adrized by the Dahl fam\u00adi\u00adly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                <\/figure>\n\n\n\n
                <\/figure>\n\n\n\n
                <\/figure>\n\n\n\n

                How\u00adev\u00ader, the oth\u00ader two unau\u00adtho\u00adrized books, Roald Dahl (by Jere\u00admy Tre\u00adglewyn, 1994) and Roald Dahl: The Life of a Sto\u00adry\u00adteller (by Matthew Den\u00adni\u00adson, 2022), are also worth read\u00ading. The for\u00admer delves into many \u201cexplo\u00adsive\u201d details that are unfa\u00advor\u00adable to Dahl\u2019s image, while the lat\u00adter offers more trib\u00adutes to this com\u00adplex sto\u00adry\u00adteller.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                <\/figure>\n\n\n\n

                Anoth\u00ader book, *Roald Dahl\u2019s Mag\u00adi\u00adcal Potions* (2016), writ\u00adten by med\u00adical pro\u00adfes\u00adsor Tom Solomon, can help us see some of Dahl\u2019s bril\u00adliant insights in the med\u00adical field. Even those who call Dahl a \u201ccom\u00adplete bas\u00adtard\u201d have to admit that he remains an indis\u00adpens\u00adable fig\u00adure in chil\u00addren\u2019s lit\u00ader\u00ada\u00adture, a \u201cworld-renowned best\u00adselling author, war hero, spy,\u201d and\u2026 a med\u00adical genius.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                Writ\u00adten by A\u2011Jia on May 5, 2026 in Bei\u00adjing<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                What exact\u00adly did Grand\u00adpa NICE write in \u201cThe Great Mr. Dahl\u201d?<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13204,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,4,12],"tags":[505,8,507,506,9,504],"class_list":["post-13203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-my-translation","category-story-of-story-tellers","category-ajia-review","tag-nice","tag-8","tag-507","tag-506","tag-9","tag-504"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/\u8fbe\u5c14\u4f20\u8bb0\u4e2d\u6587\u7248\u5c01\u9762.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13203","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13203"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13203\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13265,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13203\/revisions\/13265"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}