New & old books from the Dahl family

All right, all right, all right, what's it going to be? A Triple Cream Cup for Christopher. A Sizzler for June Marie. And listen! Wonka's got a new one today.

What is it?

This is called a Scrumpdiddleumptious Bar.

When I was a child, of course I saw the movie, "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory," but I don't think I read any Roald Dahl books until my son Wyatt was old enough to listen. Now I consider myself a big fan.
While I haven't read everything Dahl's ever written, I have read most of his childrens books, and an assortment of his stories for grown-ups. Those can be quite disturbing...I am not certain Dahl was the nicest man in the world, and sometimes I think he might have been a bit of a scary personality! I remember my mom telling me that he was quite tough with his wife Patricia Neal after she suffered a stroke, and really harassed her into recovery. I don't know if that's true, but it has always bothered me in the back of my head, since she seemed like such a cool lady. If you happen to know, please educate me.
Most of the time, however, I do align myself with his kind & down-to-earth perspective in the many adventures portraying a fight against evil adults and wicked people -- who are sometimes supernatural. "The Witches" is one of my favorite books, with the endearing relationship between a boy and his grandmother battling creepy & crafty purple-eyed witches. The movie is fantastic, too, with Anjelica Huston as the spooky Grand High Witch.
Last week I stumbled upon what I consider to be a real find: a book written by Dahl and his second wife, Felicity, titled, "Memories with Food: At Gipsy House." I ordered it in a click. I love off-beat "cookbooks," and this one provides a double thrill, as it must be packed with Dahl genius.
Gipsy House is the home of Roald & Felicity, in Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, and apparently, this book is about the life and food they enjoyed while living there during the last decades of Dahl's life (I think Felicity is still there). I can't wait to see it!

Reading about Dahl's appreciation for candy and chocolate in his excellent memoir, "Boy: Tales of Childhood" has held me rapt more than once; and I attribute part of my Scandi-obsession to his beautifully conveyed memories of his idyllic childhood summers spent in Norway.
Not coincidentally, his grand-daughter, the beautiful Sophie Dahl, has recently published a fiction novel called "Playing with the Grown-Ups."

The protagonist dwells in Hay House, presumably modeled after Gipsy House. Perhaps a riskier proposition than buying one of her grandfather's books, but I'll probably end up getting it, too. I'll be very happy if it's turned out that Sophie has inherited the gift of storytelling.