Book publisher Puffin has announced a walkback of its woke rewrites of Roald Dahl’s classic children’s books after backlash.
Earlier this week, the Roald Dahl Story Company, which manages the works of the British author, announced changes to his classic children’s stories, including “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “Matilda,” “James and the Giant Peach,” and “The BFG,” among others. But after a massive backlash from readers and commentators who enjoyed Dahl’s stories, Puffin announced it would release the original texts in addition to the woke updates.
“At Puffin we have proudly published Roald Dahl’s stories for more than forty years in partnership with the Roald Dahl Story Company,” said Francesca Dow, managing director of Puffin’s parent company Penguin Random House. “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.”
A total of seventeen titles will be published, including: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The BFG, Fantastic Mr Fox, James and the Giant Peach, The Witches, and others. The books will also include “archive material relevant to each of the stories,” the press release stated. They will be available later this year.
Earlier this week, Puffin announced that it had collaborated with the Roald Dahl Story Co., which manages the copyright and trademarks, to make hundreds of alterations in order not to offend anyone with Dahl’s original works. The Roald Dahl Story Co. admitted they had worked with Inclusive Minds, which monitors children’s literature for inclusion, diversity, and accessibility, The Washington Post reported. The UK Telegraph published a list of some of the hundreds of changes made by editors over the years. Lines have been altered, words and phrases have been removed altogether, and even added in some cases, in order to “ensure that it can continue to be enjoyed by all today.”
The backlash to the woke rewrites was swift and fierce, and included none other than Queen Consort Camilla. Daily Wire editor emeritus Ben Shapiro summed up much of the reaction to the move on Tuesday. “Rewriting Roald Dahl to remove the nastiness and meanness removes half the charm of the books,” Shapiro tweeted. “The whole point of the books is that the world is filled with nastiness and meanness, and children have to learn to navigate it in adventurous ways.”
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