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I asked my mum, who's a very clever psychotherapist, and she says that kids love stories about death; they need it, they need to have stories that deal with death and explain it, as a place to put their fears.
Roald Dahl
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Children seek stories that confront death to understand their fears.

In this quote, Roald Dahl highlights the importance of storytelling in helping children process the concept of death. By engaging with narratives that address mortality, children can externalize and explore their fears in a safe and constructive environment, allowing them to cope with one of life's fundamental realities.

Themes

DeathStoriesChildrenFearEducationPsychotherapy

In practice

Example use cases

A teacher might use this quote to introduce a discussion about grief in literature.

More from Roald Dahl

The books transported her into new worlds and introduced her to amazing people who lived exciting lives.
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Matilda said, "Never do anything by halves if you want to get away with it. Be outrageous. Go the whole hog. Make sure everything you do is so completely crazy it's unbelievable.
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By the time I am nearing the end of a story, the first part will have been reread and altered and corrected at least one hundred and fifty times. I am suspicious of both facility and speed. Good writing is essentially rewriting. I am positive of this.
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You seemed so far away," Miss Honey whispered, awestruck. "Oh, I was. I was flying past the stars on silver wings," Matilda said. "It was wonderful.
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If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.
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I don't care if a reader hates one of my stories, just as long as he finishes the book.
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