Roald Dahl, beloved author, was born September 13, 1916. In his lifetime, Dahl wrote 19 novels, 13 short story collections, and 5 works of poetry. Since the launch of his public career, over 21 film adaptations and multiple stage plays have adapted his works, and his creations have continued to entertain readers ever since.
Some Roald Dahl fun facts:
- He invented more than 500 new words and character names
- He wrote most of his books in his garden shed
- He would also only write his stories using a pencil and yellow paper.
- James and the Giant Peach was almost called James and the Giant Cherry. It was changed from a cherry to a peach because Dahl said a peach was "prettier, bigger and squishier than a cherry".
- Roald Dahl fought in WW2, was a spy, and, before becoming an author, Dahl was a pilot for the Royal Air Force.
- Roald Dahl wrote the film storyline for the fifth James Bond movie You Only Live Twice.
For his 108th birthday, your library can help you celebrate with our selection of his novels and film adaptations. You can also learn more about Roald Dahl with our biographies and our online scholarly databases, available to anyone with a library card.
- Novels
The Gremlins. (1943).
Some Time Never: A Fable for Supermen. (1948).
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James and the Giant Peach. (1961). After James Henry Trotter's parents are tragically eaten by a rhinoceros, he goes to live with his two horrible aunts, Spiker and Sponge. Life there is no fun, until James accidentally drops some magic crystals by the old peach tree and 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. Inside, James meets a bunch of oversized friends--Grasshopper, Centipede, Ladybug, and more. With a snip of the stem, the peach starts rolling away, and the great adventure begins!
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Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. (1964).
Willy Wonka's famous chocolate factory is opening at last! But only five lucky children will be allowed inside. And the winners are: Augustus Gloop, an enormously fat boy whose hobby is eating; Veruca Salt, a spoiled-rotten brat whose parents are wrapped around her little finger; Violet Beauregarde, a dim-witted gum-chewer with the fastest jaws around; Mike Teavee, a toy pistol-toting gangster-in-training who is obsessed with television; and Charlie Bucket, Our Hero, a boy who is honest and kind, brave and true, and good and ready for the wildest time of his life!
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The Magic Finger. (1966).
The Gregg family loves hunting, but their eight-year-old neighbor can't stand it. After countless pleas for them to stop are ignored, she has no other choice -- she has to put her magic finger on them. Now the Greggs are a family of birds, and like it or not, they're going to find out how it feels to be on the other end of the gun.
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Fantastic Mr. Fox. (1970).
Three farmers, each one meaner than the other, try all-out warfare to get rid of the fox and his family.
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Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. (1972).
The sequel to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, join your favorite characters on an intergalactic joyride!
Last seen flying through the sky in a giant elevator, Charlie Bucket's back for another adventure. When the giant elevator picks up speed, Charlie, Willy Wonka, and the gang are sent hurtling through space and time. Visiting the world's first space hotel, battling the dreaded Vermicious Knids, and saving the world are only a few stops along this remarkable adventureImage
Danny: The Champion of the World. (1975).
Danny's life seems perfect: his home is a gypsy caravan, he's the youngest car mechanic around, and his best friend is his dad, who never runs out of wonderful stories to tell. And when Danny discovers his father's secret, he's off on the adventure of a lifetime. Here's Roald Dahl's famous story about a 9-year-old boy, his dad, and a daring and hilarious pheasant-snatching expedition. Just as important, it's the story of the love between a boy and his father who, in Danny's own words, is "the most marvelous and exciting father a boy ever had." A young English boy describes his relationship with his father and the special adventure they share together.
My Uncle Oswald. (1979).
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The Twits. (1980).
Roald Dahl’s thrillingly grotesque book for young readers is now available in a gorgeous new gift edition, featuring the deliciously wicked artwork of Quentin Blake. Mr. and Mrs. Twit are the smelliest, nastiest, ugliest people in the world. They hate everything–except playing mean jokes on each other, catching unsuspecting birds to put in their bird pies, and making their caged monkeys, the Muggle-Wumps, stand on their heads all day. But the Muggle-Wumps have had enough. With the help of Roly-Poly Bird, they set out to get some well-deserved revenge.
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George's Marvelous Medicine. (1981).
A Taste of her own medicine George's grumpy grandma needs something stronger than her usual medicine to cure her grouchiness. A special medicine, a remedy for everything. George knows just what to put in it, and he's in for the surprise of his life when he sees the results of his mixture.
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The BFG. 1982.
Captured by a giant! The BFG is no ordinary bone-crunching giant. He is far too nice and jumbly. It's lucky for Sophie that he is. Had she been carried off in the middle of the night by the Bloodbottler, the Fleshlumpeater, the Bonecruncher, or any of the other giants -- rather than the BFG -- she would have soon become breakfast. When Sophie hears that they are flush-bunking off in England to swollomp a few nice little chiddlers, she decides she must stop them once and for all. And the BFG is going to help her!
- Short Stories
Roald Dahl published an incredible number of short story collections. Many are available through ACLD's catalog. For those which are no longer in print, we hope you'll use our interlibary loan capabilities to get your copy to read.
- Over to You: Ten Stories of Flyers and Flying. (1946).
- Someone Like You. (1953).
- Kiss Kiss. (1959).
- Skin and Other Stories. (1960).
- Selected Stories of Roald Dahl. (1968).
- Twenty-Nine Kisses from Roald Dahl. (1969).
- Switch B*tch. (1974).
- The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More. (1977).
- Tales of the Unexpected. (1979).
- Taste and Other Tales. (1979).
- A Roald Dahl Selection: Nine Short Stories. (1980).
- More Tales of the Unexpected. (1980).
- New Tales of the Unexpected. (1980).
- The Way Up to Heaven and Other Stories. (1980).
- Revolting Rhymes. (1982).
- The Umbrella Man and Other Stories. (1982).
- The Great Automatic Grammatizator and Other Stories. (1982).
- Dirty Beasts. (1983).
- The Best of Roald Dahl. (1983).
- Two Fables. (1986).
- Completely Unexpected Tales. (1986).
- A Second Roald Dahl Selection. (1987).
- Rhyme Stew. (1989).
- Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life. (1989).
- Lamb to the Slaughter and Other Stories. (1995).
- Edward the Conqueror and Other Stories. (1996).
- The Roald Dahl Treasury. (1997).
- Further Tales of the Unexpected. (1999).
- A Taste of the Unexpected. (2005).
- Vile Verses. (2005).
- Songs and Verse. Roald Dahl. (2005)
- Collected Short Stories. (2006)
- Spotty Powder and other Splendiferous Secrets. (2010)
- Three Tales of Magic and Mischief. (2012).
- Cruelty. (2016).
- Madness. (2016).
- Deception. (2016).
- Lust. (2016).
- Trickery. (2017).
- Innocence. (2017).
- Fear. (2017).
- War. (2017).
- Biographies
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Who Was Roald Dahl? by True Kelley.
Roald Dahl is one of the most famous children's book authors ever. Now in this Who Was--? biography, children will learn of his real-life adventures. A flying ace for the British Air Force, he was married to an Academy Award-winning actress. He also wrote books and screenplays for adults.
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More About Boy: Roald Dahl's Tales From Childhood by Roald Dahl.
Humorous anecdotes from the author's childhood describe summer vacations in Norway and life in an English boarding school.
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Inside Charlie's Chocolate Factory: The Complete Story of Willy Wonka, the Golden Ticket, and Roald Dahl's Most Famous Creation by Lucy Mangan.
Explores the lasting legacy of Roald Dahl's popular book, examining the development of the original story and characters, its social history, and the varying film and stage adaptations.
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Roald Dahl: Teller of the Unexpected: A Biography by Matthew Dennison
From one of our finest literary biographers comes a brilliant biography of Roald Dahl: the much-loved author and creator of countless iconic literary characters. Roald Dahl was one of the world's greatest storytellers. He conceived his vocation as that of any fearless explorer and, in his writing for children, he was able to tap into a child's viewpoint throughout his life. He crafted tales that were exotic in scenario, frequently invested with a moral, and filled with vibrant characters that endure in public imagination to the present day. In this brand-new biography, Matthew Dennison re-evaluates the traditional narrative surrounding Dahl--that of school sporting hero, daredevil pilot, and wartime spy-turned-author--and examines surviving primary resources as well as Dahl's extensive literary output to tell the story of a man who identified as a rule-breaker, an iconoclast, and a romantic--both insider and outsider, war hero and child's friend.
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This authorized biography, written by a BBC producer and director who knew Dahl and worked with the cooperation of the author's adult children and both wives--one of whom was film star Patricia Neal--covers the man and his reputation.