Roald Dahl Mini Author Study

Roald Dahl
"The greatest storyteller of all time"

Roald Dahl was born on September 13, 1916 in Llandaff, Wales. His parents were originally from Norway. As a kid he loved to read fantasy books and listen to his mom tell stories.

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Early Life

Multiple Choice

What kind of stories did Roald Dahl like to read as a kid?

• Historical fiction

• Fantasy

• Biographies

• Non-Fiction

​Dahl attended Repton school, a very prestigious boarding school in Repton, Darbyshire. He graduated in July 1934. During his years at Repton, the Cadbury chocolate company ocassionally sent new boxes of chocolates for the students to try. This sparked an idea for one of the books that Dahl Later wrote. Can you guess what it was?

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School

After School

​Roald Dahl did not enjoy school very much, so after he graduated he did a variety of different things such as.....
-crossed the Atlantic and hiked through Newfoundland
-worked for the Shell Petroleum company
-joined the Royal Air Force and flew a fighter jet in WWII!

Multiple Choice

What is something that Roald Dahl after school?

• Swam with sharks

• Opened a Christmas tree farm

• Flew a fighter jet in WWII

• Built a house

Dahl married Patricia Neal in 1953. They were married for 30 years and had 5 children.

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​Post war life

​Dahl published his first children's book, The Gremlins, in 1943. He went on to publish 17 other children's books including: James and The Giant Peach, Matilda, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The BFG, and The Witches

Children's books

His children's books are usually told from the point of view of a child. The usually involve evil adults who mistreat the child and have one "good" adult that helps them counteract the evil ones. Dahl uses fun, creative language to keep his readers entertained.

Multiple Choice

Which element does Roald Dahl usually include in his children's books?

• chapters

• table of contents

• pictures

• fun, creative language

-Dahl was 6'6" tall
-He had a diary as a kid and hid it at the top of a tree so his sister wouldn't find it
-Favorite color: yellow
-He wrote his books in a little shed in his garden
-Many of his characters were based off of people he met in real life

-A man whose real name was Willy Wonka wrote to Dahl in 1971
-James and the Giant Peach was originally going to be called James and the Giant Cherry.
-Roald Dahl never learned to type. He wrote everything in a red book with a pencil.
-He was voted as Britain's favorite author in the year 2000

Fun facts:

Multiple Choice

What was Roald Dahl's favorite color?

• Yellow

• Red

• Blue

• Green

Multiple Choice

How many children's books did Roald Dahl publish?

• 5

• 17

• 3

• 25