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Penguin to publish two versions of Dahl's work, the original and another one with 'woke' censorship

Puffin Books will publish the censored edition, but after the controversy, the classic edition will continue to be printed.

Libros de Roald Dahl (imagen de archivo).

(Wikimedia Commons)

Published by
Alejandro Baños

Penguin made a Solomonic decision following the controversy over its announcement that its children's division, Puffin Books, would censor Roald Dahl's works to make them politically correct. Through a press release, the publisher announced that it will continue to print Roald Dahl's original texts while also publishing the woke version.

In The Roald Dahl Classic Collection, Puffin will not make a woke modification of the vocabulary Dahl used in novels such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - a work in which the Umpa Lumpas were intended to be described as "little people" rather than "little men" - or Matilda, as reported in an investigation by The Telegraph. A collection that will include 17 titles by the author and will be published later this year under the Penguin Random House Children's imprint. Francesca Dow, its managing director, stated:

At Puffin we have proudly published Roald Dahl's stories for over forty years in collaboration with the Roald Dahl Story Company. His mischievous spirit and unique storytelling genius have delighted the imagination of readers of many generations. We listened to last week's discussion, which 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 utmost thought and care. Roald Dahl's fantastic books are often the first stories children read independently, and nurturing the imaginations and rapidly developing minds of young readers is both a privilege and a responsibility.

To which he added:

We also recognize the importance of keeping Dahl's classic texts in print. By making both the Puffin and Penguin versions available, we are giving readers the choice of how they experience Roald Dahl's magical and wonderful stories. Roald Dahl once said, 'If my books can help children become readers, then I feel I have accomplished something important.' At Puffin, we will continue to pursue that ambition as long as we continue to make books.
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