AQS All you need to know about Roald Dahl, the world’s no. 1 storyteller F ROALD DAHL’S LIFE Did Roald Dahl visit lots of countries? ROALD DAHL AND WRITING Roald Dahl loved travelling. When he left school he visited When was Roald Dahl born? Newfoundland, Canada with the Public Schools’ Explorers How long did Roald Society’s expedition. He also lived in Dar-es-Salaam in How did Roald Dahl become Dahl take to write a Roald Dahl was born in Llandaff, near the Welsh capital of Tanzania while working for Shell. His war time adventures Cardiff, on 13 September 1916. Roald’s parents, Harald Dahl and took him to various places including Egypt and Greece and an author? book? Sofie Magdalene Hesselberg, were both Norwegian and he was Washington. D.C. He also lived in New York for a time too. named after Norway’s famous polar explorer, Roald Amundsen. Roald Dahl was always writing letters home as a child, Roald Dahl usually took  READ MORE: Going Solo but it was a crash he suffered while he was in the Royal Air around one year to write a Force during World War II that led him to writing stories as book; however, at two years, Did Roald Dahl like chocolate? an adult. After the war he was sent to America Did Roald Dahl have any hobbies? Matilda took him the longest to Yes! When Roald Dahl was at his boarding school in Repton, his where he met with the author C.S. Forester, write! class was sent boxes of chocolates to taste test for Cadbury’s. It Roald Dahl loved inventing. In fact he helped invent the who wanted to write an article about Dahl’s was the first time he realised that you could have a job creating Wade-Dahl-Till valve to help his son following a brain injury. time in the RAF. C.S. Forester asked Roald How many books did Roald Dahl write? chocolate and this inspired him to write Charlie and Chocolate The valve went on to be used in thousands of operations. to write some notes to help him with Factory when he was older. He also enjoyed experimenting with food, just like Willy his article, but Roald ended up writing Roald Dahl wrote lots and lots of books for children - 17 to Wonka, and even wrote his own cookbook. such a brilliant account himself that they be precise. He also wrote lots of poems for children which were published his version instead! This was Shot made into three books called Revolting Rhymes, Dirty Beasts and Where did Roald Dahl go on his holidays? Other hobbies included gardening, keeping budgerigars and making his own picture frames. Down Over Libya, which was later titled A Rhyme Stew, as well as two autobiographies which were about Roald Dahl went on holiday to Norway with his family every Piece of Cake when it was re-published in his own life (Boy and Going Solo), two grown-up books and lots summer from the age of four to seventeen. He said in Boy, that  READ MORE: The Roald Dahl Cookbook The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six of short stories for adults. going to Norway was like going home. They would visit Roald’s More in 1977. grandparents in Oslo, before travelling to the island of Tjöme. What was Roald Dahl’s favourite colour?  READ MORE: Going Solo, The Wonderful What was Roald Dahl’s favourite book  READ MORE: Boy World of Henry Sugar that he wrote? His favourite colour was yellow like the daffodil, which is the national flower of Wales, where he was born. His favourite of all the books he wrote was The BFG, because How did Roald Dahl get ideas it was one of the stories he used to tell his children and “For me, the importance the BFG reminded him a little of himself. The BFG was also of all of this was that for his stories? featured in Danny the Champion of the World as one of the Why was the Roald Dahl Museum Roald Dahl took inspiration from all sorts of things, Danny’s dad’s bedtime stories. I began to realise that and Story Centre opened? including his family and friends, his experiences in life the large chocolate  READ MORE: The BFG and After Roald Dahl’s death, his widow, Liccy, was determined and sights around the local village. For example, lots of companies actually did the landmarks on the High Street in Great Missenden are Danny the Champion of the World to find a home for his amazingly complete collection of featured in Roald Dahl’s stories, such as the ‘Norphanage’ possess inventing manuscripts, photos, Ideas Books and letters. Roald himself wanted his archive to be kept together and in the UK. Soon from The BFG and the red petrol pumps from Danny the rooms and Champion of the World. Who was Roald Dahl’s favourite author? an old coaching inn went up for sale in Great Missenden, the they took village where Roald Dahl lived and wrote for 36 years - and  READ MORE: The BFG, Danny the Roald Dahl had many favourite authors including Charles their inventing the rest was history... Champion of the World Dickens and Ernest Hemingway! He also enjoyed the poetry of The museum opened in 2005, and has welcomed thousands Dylan Thomas, and quoted him in the book Matilda. very seriously.” of visitors since! In 2012, the inside of Roald Dahl’s Writing Hut was moved to the museum piece by piece, reconstructed  READ MORE: Matilda Roald Dahl, Boy exactly as he left it when he died.

Did you know? Roald Dahl always carried a notebook with him so he could write down any super He What was Roald Dahl’s first book called? What was Roald Dahl’s last book called? ideas for stories as soon as he had them. Roald Dahl was 27 years old when he wrote his first children’s The last book Roald Dahl wrote was called The Minpins, believed a story idea was like a dream, and if book, which was called The Gremlins. later titled Billy and the Minpins, which was published in you didn’t write down the idea straight away 1991 shortly after his death. you might never find it again! Illustrations © Quentin Blake 2018