Roald Dahl
by
sorgqd8x3
Last updated 6 years ago
Discipline:
Language Arts Subject:
Writers Biographies
Roald Dahl was born on September 13, 1916 in Llanaff, Wales. When he was young, his father passed away leaving his mother to raise six children. His school life was miserable; he hated Repton High School. Dahl was often beaten up at his school and wrote about it in his journal. Later, he would use the dark memories from his childhood to inspire his children’s stories. In fact, one of the only good things to come from Repton was the chocolate taste tests from the chocolate factory down the road. The chocolate was yet another memory to inspire a future children’s classic. During the summers Dahl and his siblings would travel to Norway to visit his aunts. He hated those visits nearly as much as he hated school and eventually his aunts found themselves reflected as the antagonists in his bestseller The Witches. Dahl did not go to university after high school but instead got hired by the Shell Company. He was sent abroad to South Africa but later joined the Royal Air Force when World War II began. He served as a pilot in the RAF and was shot down. After a six-month recovery period he went to America and landed his first job as a writer 1942. By 1943 his first children’s book, The Gremlins, was published. He married American actress Patricia Neal in 1953 and had five children. Their marriage lasted 30 years during the midst Patricia Neal had a stroke and lost the ability to walk and talk for quite some time. In 1983, Dahl divorced Neal and married Felicity Crosland. Roald Dahl died on November 23, 1990 from blood disease. He is buried in Buckinghamshire, England. In November 1996, the Roald Dahl Children’s Gallery was opened in his honor.
Accomplishments
• 13 September 1916 Roald Dahl born in Llandaff, Wales• 1929 Enters Repton School in Derby• November 1939 joins the RAF• 1940 Libya plane crash• 1942, Washington D.C., news article• The Gremlins, published April 1943• July 2, 1953 marries Patricia Neal• November 1961 publication of James and the Giant Peach• 1964 publication of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory• November 23, 1990 dies
1. Edgar Allen Poe Award 19542. Whitbred Award for The Witches in 19833. Smarties Award in 1990 for Esio Trot4. Blue Peter prize for Matilda in 20005. In 2008 the Roald Dahl estate launched an awards in his name- the Roald Dahl Funny Prize
Lasting Impact
In my opinion, Roald Dahl's most significant contribution as an author is James and the Giant Peach. While this was not his first children's book, it was the first to become famous. The success from James and the Giant Peach encouraged Dahl to write more books for children. James and the Giant Peach soon became a children's classic, only one among many of his best selling books to come. Over 50 years after the publication of James and the Giant Peach, his novel is still considered a children's classic and read to millions of kids everyday. Despite the fact that The Gremlins was his first children's book, and James and the Giant Peach was originally thought of as a bedtime stories for his daughters, all of Dahl's future success and fame will stem from his most significant work, James and the Giant Peach.
Works Cited
Biography
1. “I have a passion for teaching kids to become readers, to become comfortable with a book, not daunted. Books shouldn't be daunting, they should be funny, exciting and wonderful; and learning to be a reader gives a terrific advantage.” Road Dahl
Roald Dahl
Timeline
Citations:Corbis, . Roald Dahl in 1971. 1971. The Telegraph. The Telegraph. Web. 9 June 2014.
There are no comments for this Glog.