Roald Dahl author page

Roald Dahl biography

Roald Dahl was born in Llandaff, South Wales, and went to Repton School in England. His parents were Norwegian, and his childhood holidays were spent in Norway. In 1933 he joined the Shell Company, which sent him to Mombasa in East Africa.

When the Second World War began in 1939, Dahl became a fighter pilot. In 1942 he was made assistant air attaché in Washington, where he began writing short stories. His first major success as a writer for children came in 1964.

Dahl wrote children’s books including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, Fantastic Mr Fox, The Twits, The Witches, The BFG and Matilda. The BFG, illustrated by Quentin Blake, was published by Jonathan Cape in 1982 and is an adventure, fantasy and funny story for readers aged 6 to 10.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory introduced Willy Wonka, the owner of a chocolate factory who hides five golden tickets in his chocolate bars. A Penguin Classics edition of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was published on 30 August 2011, with 192 pages and original interior art from the 1964 edition.

Roald Dahl teaching resources

• The official Roald Dahl lesson plans page provides free KS1 and KS2 classroom resources across English, Maths, STEM, Art, PSHE, Geography, Drama, Music, Computing and Design and Technology, with filters by story, age group, subject and lesson length.
• The official Roald Dahl activities page links to printable and practical activities for stories including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Fantastic Mr Fox, George’s Marvellous Medicine, Matilda, The BFG, The Enormous Crocodile and The Twits.
• Roald Dahl HQ on YouTube is the official Roald Dahl Story Company channel, with story-related videos, trailers, readings, behind-the-scenes clips and classroom-friendly material for author study and book discussion.
• The Roald Dahl Museum’s schools and groups page gives details of its Sandford Award-winning schools programme, including visits to the Museum in Great Missenden and virtual classroom sessions focused on Roald Dahl’s writing process, literacy skills and creative writing.
• The Roald Dahl Museum’s learning resources page provides free teacher resources created by the Museum, including children’s rights materials linked to Sophie and Matilda, plus school enquiry information for onsite and virtual learning.
• Puffin Schools’ Roald Dahl resources page gathers publisher classroom materials, including activity ideas, KS2 resource packs, and video resources linked to Roald Dahl books such as The BFG, Boy, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Witches.