Words like “fat” and “ugly” disappear from British author Roald Dahl’s children’s books. The books are being changed to be more inclusive and less offensive.
It is the publisher Puffin that is behind the changes, writes The Guardian.
Among other things, Augustus Gloop in “Kalle and the Chocolate Factory” will no longer be called “fat”, but “huge”. Mrs. Twits from “The Twits” is no longer described as “ugly”, but simply “nasty”.
The changes apply to new releases of English editions and only those of the author’s books aimed at children.
A spokesperson for the Roald Dahl Story Company says in a statement that “when publishing a new edition of a book that was written a long time ago, it is not uncommon to review the language and update other details, such as the book’s cover and page layout,” but he also writes that the changes are “small and carefully considered”.
Gender-neutral expressions are also used in some places. For example, the Oompa-loompies in “Kalle and the Chocolate Factory” are no longer described as “little men” but as “little people”.