Roald DahlSophia Smith-Savedoff

Sydney MortonHannah Kast

Biography

Roald Dahl was born on September 13, 1916 in Llandaff, South Wales. He passed away on November 23, 1990 in

Oxford, England.

When Roald was four years old his father past away and he was sent to a boarding school in England. Roald attended

numerous boarding schools due to his mischievous behavior.

After secondary education, Roald refused an offer from his mother to attend Oxford or Cambridge University because he

wanted to start his career.

Becoming an Author

Roald followed his career as a business man to a series of different countries including Egypt, where he suffered a severe head

injury in a plane accident.

Roald was sent to Washington, D.C. to recover and start a new job, which is where he began writing for the Saturday Evening

Post.

Roald Dahl wrote his first children's novel, The Gremlins, in 1943.

Well Known Titles

George’s Marvelous Medicine

James and the Giant Peach

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Matilda

The Witches

The BFG

The Book of Ghost Stories

Influences

    English boarding schools with harsh discipline (and even abuse) lead to stories of heroic children

and evil adults 

At one of his schools, Cadbury Co. would have boys test chocolates—a favorite with Dahl.  Chocolate makes a recurring appearance

in many of his novels.

Criticisms • two dimensional

characters • problematic portrayal of

adults• accusations of ageism,

sexism and racism• grotesque and violen•  • http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/ALAN/

fall98/royer.html

      

“If you are going to get anywhere in life you have to read a lot of books.”  “Writing is all propaganda, in a sense. You can get at greediness and selfishness by making them look ridiculous. The greatest attribute of a human being is kindness, and all the other qualities like bravery, and perseverance are secondary to that.”  

Roald Dahl on Reading and Writing:

Roald Dahl on Writing for Children

"I only write about things that are exciting or funny. Children know I’m on their side.”

 “If you want to remember what it’s like to live in a

child’s world, you’ve got to get down on your hands and knees and live like that for a week. You’ll find you have to look up at all these… giants around you who are always telling you what to do and what not to do.”

 http://www.jubileebooks.co.uk/jubilee/magazine/authors/roald_dahl/

roald_dahl.asp

Dahl's Writing Reviewed

“Roald Dahl… addressed his child readers over the heads and behind the backs of disapproving adults, and they loved him for it. He reveled in the vulgar and disgusting, drawing delighted cries of “yuck” with his graphic descriptions of food caught in the beard of Mr Twit.”The Independent “Dahl books, strong on plot and instilled with a tremendous sense of mischief, insist on seeing the world through children’s eyes, and often portray adults as silly, uncomprehending or insensitive; no wonder kids love them.”Sainsbury’s - The Magazine  http://www.jubileebooks.co.uk/jubilee/magazine/authors/roald_dahl/roald_dahl.asp

Resources for Teachers

• http://www.roalddahl.com/Roald Dahl’s website, includes biography, photos, interviews, books and more

• http://www.webenglishteacher.com/dahl.html

Includes links to biographic information and lesson plans for individual books

More Resources

• http://litplans.com/authors/Roald_Dahl.html

• Links to literature plans for Roald Dahl’s well known books

• http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00001656.shtml

• Database of literature plans and biographical information- separates by book

Final Teacher Resources

• http://www.roalddahlfans.com/teachers.php

• Collection of literature plans, separated by books and short stories

The BFG

Young Sophie is snatched by a Big Friendly Giant, and taken away in the middle of the night.  The BFG collects

dreams and is responsible for blowing them into people’s heads while they sleep.  But there are other giants who snatch children out of their beds and eat them.  Sophie and the BFG devise a plan to bring this to the

attention of the Queen of England and enlist her help in stopping the child-eating

giants.

“When James accidentally drops some magic crystals by the old peach tree, strange things start to happen. The

peach at the top of the tree begins to grow, and before long it’s as big as a

house. Then James discovers a secret entranceway into the fruit, and when he

crawls inside, he meets a bunch of oversized friends-Grasshopper,

Centipede, Ladybug, and more. After years of feeling like an outsider in his

aunts’ house, James has finally found a place where he belongs. With a snip of the stem, the peach starts rolling away,

and the adventure begins!”

James and the Giant Peach.

Matlida

Matilda is the story of a precocious young girl who loves reading. Her teacher,

Miss Honey, is the only adult who appreciates her

strengths. Matilda’s parents tell her to watch more TV, and the school principle,

Miss Trunchbull, is incredibly mean to all the

students. Matilda’s life becomes interesting,

however, when she realizes she has magic powers…