Penguin Random House will publish 17 Roald Dahl’s in their original form after it received backlash after making changes “for modern sensibilities.”
It’s not that Puffin is updating the stories with a modern culture like cell phones, the internet, streaming, etc. No one is fat. They’re enormous. Boys and girls? Simply known as children. Descriptions are also gender-neutral. Matilda reads Jane Austen instead of Rudyard Kipling.
Penguin will publish the unredacted The Roald Dahl Classic Collection. The changed versions are under Puffin, a subsidiary of Penguin.
“Readers will be free to choose which version of Dahl’s stories they prefer,” Penguin wrote in the press release.
Here is the statement from Francesca Dow, the managing director at Penguin Random House Children’s:
“At Puffin we have proudly published Roald Dahl’s stories for more than forty years in partnership with the Roald Dahl Story Company. Their mischievous spirit and his unique storytelling genius have delighted the imaginations of readers across many generations. We’ve listened to the debate over the past week which has reaffirmed the extraordinary power of Roald Dahl’s books and the very real questions around how stories from another era can be kept relevant for each new generation.“As a children’s publisher, our role is to share the magic of stories with children with the greatest thought and care. Roald Dahl’s fantastic books are often the first stories young children will read independently, and taking care for the imaginations and fast-developing minds of young readers is both a privilege and a responsibility.“We also recognise the importance of keeping Dahl’s classic texts in print. By making both Puffin and Penguin versions available, we are offering readers the choice to decide how they experience Roald Dahl’s magical, marvellous stories.”“Roald Dahl once said: ‘If my books can help children become readers, then I feel I have accomplished something important.’ At Puffin, we’ll keep pursuing that ambition for as long as we make books.”
It took the criticism to make Penguin realize “the importance of keeping Dahl’s classic texts in print?” Give me a break.
Queen Consort Camilla told authors on Thursday, “Please remain true to your calling, unimpeded by those who may wish to curb freedom of your expression limits on your imagination. Enough said.”
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