Roald Dahl is a renowned children’s author, known all over the world for his beloved stories. Roald Dahl was born in Llandaff, Wales in the year 1916, to Norwegian parents. He was named after the Norwegian explorer, Roald Amundsen, who was the first man to reach Antarctica.
Roald Dahl lived an extraordinary and successful life. He wrote twenty children’s books and published forty-eight books in total over the course of his lifetime. But he was also a chocolate historian and medical inventor. And, during the Second World War he served in the Royal Air Force as a fighter pilot and a spy. Whilst working for MI6 Roald Dahl worked alongside Ian Fleming, the author of James Bond!
What is Roald Dahl Story Day?
Roald Dahl Story Day is a day dedicated to Roald Dahl. It commemorates him and all his incredible achievements. Roald Dahl Story Day is celebrated every year on his birthday, the 13th of September, and people all over the world come together to celebrate the magic he brought to, and continues to bring, children everywhere.
What has Roald Dahl written?
Though Roald Dahl wrote many books during his lifetime there are a few notable stories he wrote that have captivated readers worldwide.
The first book Roald Dahl had published was The Gremlins, which loosely inspired the little creatures in the 1984 Steven Spielberg film of the same name. He’s also written many more magical books, like Matilda, The BFG and James and the Giant Peach. But, arguably his most famous book is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which has been made into two Hollywood films. In total, he sold more than 250 millions copies of his books, worldwide.
He also had a lot of success on television, with the series Tales of the Unexpected running for several series in the 70s and 80s, based on short stories he’d written. And some of his stories were adapted for the US hit series Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
Facts about Roald Dahl
- Aside from writing children’s books, Roald Dahl also worked as a screenwriter and even worked on the screenplay for the 1967 James Bond movie You Only Live Twice and the film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
- Many of his books, including Fantastic Mr. Fox, have been turned into musicals and even a few operas.
- He created over 250 new words and many different character names.
- He was fluent in Norwegian
- There’s even a Roald Dahl museum in Great Missenden, with three galleries and heaps of interactive activities for kids and their families to enjoy.
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