Roald Dahl

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Perhaps one of the most noted children and adolescent book writers of all time, Roald Dahl is a beloved author by both the young and young at heart. Born in September of 1916 in Llandaff, Wales, Roald was known as a bit of a mischief maker in his earlier days.

While his parents wished him to attend British boarding schools, he was thrown out of The Cathedral School for putting a dead mouse in the headmaster’s sweets container. He was sent onto other boarding schools, and eventually excelled in the sports of squash and football.

Roald Dahl seemed to dabble in everything, as he harboured an interest in photography as well. With the donning of World War II, Roald was sent to serve his country and went to war in 1939 after he enlisted in 1934. He fought the Germans in the Royal Air Force and throughout his time he was eventually named Wing Commander and gathered five aerial victories to merit the title of a flying ace.

After leaving the air force he began his astounding writing career during the 1940′s. ‘Hot Down Over Libya’ was his first published title chronicling his experiences in the war and earned a spot in The Saturday Evening Post. From there he embarked on his children’s works with ‘The Gremilins’ in 1943. Following this he supplied his eager readers with ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’, ‘James and the Giant Peach’, ‘Matilda’, and ‘The Witches’. All of which were turned into feature films.

Along with his award winning kids’ books, Dahl released a series of adult short stories, television scripts, movies, and other non fiction works. He has garnished, among many others, three Edgar Awards, and has been deemed one of the best selling fiction writers of all time.

Roald Dahl eventually died in 1990 due to myelodysplastic syndrome, a blood disorder. Yet his legacy lives on in both the Children’s Laureate Michael Rosen Funny Prize award and even his own day of celebration on the 13th of September.