Dark lord and shouting tot pick up Roald Dahl prize

LONDON (Reuters) - "GET OUT OF MY ROOM!" are the first words yelled by Bella, the central character in "My Big Shouting Day", winner of the 2012 Roald Dahl Funny prize in the category aged six and under.

The victory was announced at an award ceremony in London by British literary charity Booktrust on Tuesday.

Bella's may seem a reasonable response to waking up to find your jewellery being licked by a baby brother, you may think.

But things do not improve from here, and nothing anyone does for Bella is right and it seems the only solution is to shout as loud as possible about the injustice of it all.

The response will be amusingly familiar to parents of young children everywhere.

"It just made me laugh and laugh. Who hasn't had, or at least wanted to have - a big shouting day?" prize judge, journalist and author Lucy Mangan said.

"Who hasn't just wanted to go to pieces when faced with 'the TERRIBLE EGG' or toothpaste that is just TOO minty?"

TEENAGE ANGST

"Dark Lord: The Teenage Years", a tale about a powerful netherworld lord who finds himself inhabiting the body of a chubby teenager scooped the seven to 14 year category prize.

The book focuses on Dirk Lloyd and his tribulations from being taken care of by social services and settled into his local school, when all he really wants to do is be appreciated as an evil force and return to his reign of terror.

"This is a wonderfully absurd take on beings from another planet or another world and like all books with this theme it makes us think about how odd and crazy we are," said Michael Rosen, author and chair of the judges.

The prize, now in its fifth year, was inspired by Dahl, who wrote children's classics "Matilda", "The Witches" and "Fantastic Mr. Fox". Rosen established the award when he was Children's Laureate to celebrate humour in children's literature.

"We know that reading for pleasure is an engine for attainment and achievement in all walks of life," Rosen said.

"Children, parents, teachers, librarians and all concerned with reading can find a rich vein of books for all ages in the back lists of this prize, and this year's shortlists and winners are engaging, fascinating and above all, very funny.'

Booktrust is a UK charity dedicated to encouraging people of all ages and cultures to engage with books.

(Reporting by Simon Falush, editing by Paul Casciato)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/dark-lord-shouting-tot-pick-roald-dahl-prize-135227776.html

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