LONDON – Beloved children’s books by British author Roald Dahl are being rewritten to remove language deemed offensive by publisher Puffin.

According to British newspaper The Daily Telegraph, Puffin hired sensitivity readers to rewrite parts of the books to ensure that they “can continue to be enjoyed by all today”.

This resulted in hundreds of changes across Dahl’s works.

For instance, the word “fat” has been trimmed from new editions of relevant books, while the word “ugly” has also been culled.

The character of Augustus Gloop in Charlie And The Chocolate Factory (1964) is described instead as “enormous” and Mrs Twit from The Twits (1979) is no longer “ugly and beastly” but just “beastly”.

Some passages not written by Dahl have also been added, such as in The Witches (1983).

A paragraph about witches being bald beneath their wigs has a new line added: “There are plenty of other reasons why women might wear wigs and there is certainly nothing wrong with that.”

However, the Roald Dahl Story Company said “it’s not unusual to review the language” during a new print run and any changes were “small and carefully considered”.

Gender-neutral terms have also been added. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory’s Oompa Loompas are now called “small people” instead of “small men”, while the Cloud-Men in James And The Giant Peach (1961) have become Cloud-People.

The changes were made in conjunction with Inclusive Minds, a collective passionate about inclusion and accessibility in children’s literature.