1. “Invention, my dear friends, is 93% perspiration, 6% electricity, 4% evaporation, and 2% butterscotch ripple.”
-- Roald Dahl for Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)

2. Roald Dahl Group Author Study EDML 177 November 2010
Lindsey, Nolan, Rose, Stafford

3. Dahl Biography Born 1916 in Wales Unhappy childhood:
Boyhood trips to candy shop inspired Charlie and Chocolate Factory
Unhappy childhood:
Mother raised Roald alone after father died
Autobiography entitled Boy details Dahl’s school days and many pranks
WWII Ace in Royal Air Force
Married Twice:
American Actress Patricia Neal in 1953
Settled in Great Missenden, England
2nd wife: friend Felicity Crosland in 1980
Here’s what I found for bio info/ inspiration- hope it’s not too much! -          Born Llandaff, Wales Sep 13, 1916 to Norwegian parents- Harald and Sofie. -          Father (and older sister) died when he was 3: mother left with 6 children (2 step, 4 biological)                Based grandmother in “The Witches” on Sofie as his tribute to her- strong figure. -          Grew up with Norwegian tales of trolls and mythical creatures, told by mother by heart; older, read adventure stories, Kipling, and then Dickens and Thackeray -          Father was a diary-writer- prolific (pages a day during World War I)—Dahl kept his own secret diary from age 8 “To make sure that none of my sisters got hold of it and read it, I used to put it in a waterproof tin box tied to a branch at the very top of an enormous conker tree in our garden -          Father was also a painter, furniture maker and gardener, which Dahl took up himself -          Mother and Dahl shared keen intellect and interest in everything- cooking, wine, lit, paintings, animals -          School days of gazing in the sweet shop windows inspired Charlie and the Choc. Factory -          Boarded at St. Peter’s prep school in Weston-Super-Mare from 9-13 years old; Miss Trunchball is based on the matron! -          At age 13, went to Repton in Derbyshire- his English teacher said that he was “quite incapable of marshalling his thoughts on paper”!!  ….(but the school was close to the Cadbury factory…) -    Early days at these two schools are recounted in his first autobiography Boy in which he recounts a long list of pranks played by him or other boys and the harsh punishments and indignities that resulted. -          In general, his clear memories of his unhappy childhood are what he said set him apart from other children’s writers. -          Spent time in the RAF during WWII becoming an Ace with five enemies grounded, injured in a crash, eventually transferred to Washington in          Met CS Forester; wrote an article for him to publicize the British war effort, and was noticed! -          Started with the Gremlins, a picture book, pub. 1943, caught Eleanor Roosevelt’s eye and often went to the White House etc! -          Married actress Patricia Neal in 1953, divided time between Eng and US -          Career began for real in 1960s, after marrying and having two daughters, spending the mean time writing short stories for adults, almost always with twist endings and dark humor. Settled in Great Missenden, England -          Began with stories for daughters Olivia and Tessa- James and the Giant Peach- 1961, Charlie 1964, then The BFG, Danny the Champion of the World, The Twits, The Witches, Boy, Going Solo, Matilda -    He did all of his writing in a small hut in his garden.  He actually told his children that there were wolves living inside to keep them from bothering him.  Next to his writing chair he kept three mementos: A piece of his hip bone (that had been removed), a model of the 'hurricane' plane he flew in WWII, and a large ball of foil he made from all the wrappers from the chocolate bars he ate.    -          Eventually had 5 children with Patricia (oldest daughter, Olivia died at age 7 and baby son Theo was brain-damaged after road accident) -    Starting in the late 1960’s and continuing into the `70s, Dahl wrote a number of screen plays including Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, James Bond You Only Live Twice, and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory -          In 1972 met Felicity (Liccy) Crosland and divorced Patricia to marry Liccy in 1983; all eventually adjusted to friendship, around large extended family -          David Gritten: plot strong, mischievous, see world through children’s eyes, silly/uncomprehending/insensitive adults -          Generous- arranged for Italian orphans to come vacation in his village, and would personally help many other needy children Roald Dahl died on 23 November 1990, at the age of 74 of a blood disease, myelodysplastic syndrome, in Oxford,[27] and was buried in the cemetery at St. Peter and St. Paul's Church in Great Missenden. According to his granddaughter, the family gave him a "sort of Viking funeral". He was buried with his snooker cues, some very good burgundy, chocolates, HB pencils and a power saw. Dahl's children's works are usually told from the point of view of a child. They typically involve adult villains or villainesses who hate and mistreat children, and feature at least one "good" adult to counteract the villain(s). These stock characters are possibly a reference to the abuse that Dahl stated that he experienced in the boarding schools he attended. They usually contain a lot of black humour and grotesque scenarios, including gruesome violence. The Witches, George's Marvellous Medicine and Matilda are examples of this formula. The BFG follows it in a more analogous way with the good giant (the BFG or "Big Friendly Giant") representing the "good adult" archetype and the other giants being the "bad adults". This formula is also somewhat evident in Dahl's film script for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Class-conscious themes – ranging from the thinly veiled to the blatant – also surface in works such as Fantastic Mr Fox and Danny, the Champion of the World

4. Dahl Biography Writing career Themes Died in 1990
Started with adult fiction, then started writing for his daughters
Wrote in solitude in a hut in his garden
Themes
Adult villains who hate children
Dark humor
Prevalent violence and abuse
Died in 1990
Buried in Great Missenden
Here’s what I found for bio info/ inspiration- hope it’s not too much! -          Born Llandaff, Wales Sep 13, 1916 to Norwegian parents- Harald and Sofie. -          Father (and older sister) died when he was 3: mother left with 6 children (2 step, 4 biological)                Based grandmother in “The Witches” on Sofie as his tribute to her- strong figure. -          Grew up with Norwegian tales of trolls and mythical creatures, told by mother by heart; older, read adventure stories, Kipling, and then Dickens and Thackeray -          Father was a diary-writer- prolific (pages a day during World War I)—Dahl kept his own secret diary from age 8 “To make sure that none of my sisters got hold of it and read it, I used to put it in a waterproof tin box tied to a branch at the very top of an enormous conker tree in our garden -          Father was also a painter, furniture maker and gardener, which Dahl took up himself -          Mother and Dahl shared keen intellect and interest in everything- cooking, wine, lit, paintings, animals -          School days of gazing in the sweet shop windows inspired Charlie and the Choc. Factory -          Boarded at St. Peter’s prep school in Weston-Super-Mare from 9-13 years old; Miss Trunchball is based on the matron! -          At age 13, went to Repton in Derbyshire- his English teacher said that he was “quite incapable of marshalling his thoughts on paper”!!  ….(but the school was close to the Cadbury factory…) -    Early days at these two schools are recounted in his first autobiography Boy in which he recounts a long list of pranks played by him or other boys and the harsh punishments and indignities that resulted. -          In general, his clear memories of his unhappy childhood are what he said set him apart from other children’s writers. -          Spent time in the RAF during WWII becoming an Ace with five enemies grounded, injured in a crash, eventually transferred to Washington in          Met CS Forester; wrote an article for him to publicize the British war effort, and was noticed! -          Started with the Gremlins, a picture book, pub. 1943, caught Eleanor Roosevelt’s eye and often went to the White House etc! -          Married actress Patricia Neal in 1953, divided time between Eng and US -          Career began for real in 1960s, after marrying and having two daughters, spending the mean time writing short stories for adults, almost always with twist endings and dark humor. Settled in Great Missenden, England -          Began with stories for daughters Olivia and Tessa- James and the Giant Peach- 1961, Charlie 1964, then The BFG, Danny the Champion of the World, The Twits, The Witches, Boy, Going Solo, Matilda -    He did all of his writing in a small hut in his garden.  He actually told his children that there were wolves living inside to keep them from bothering him.  Next to his writing chair he kept three mementos: A piece of his hip bone (that had been removed), a model of the 'hurricane' plane he flew in WWII, and a large ball of foil he made from all the wrappers from the chocolate bars he ate.    -          Eventually had 5 children with Patricia (oldest daughter, Olivia died at age 7 and baby son Theo was brain-damaged after road accident) -    Starting in the late 1960’s and continuing into the `70s, Dahl wrote a number of screen plays including Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, James Bond You Only Live Twice, and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory -          In 1972 met Felicity (Liccy) Crosland and divorced Patricia to marry Liccy in 1983; all eventually adjusted to friendship, around large extended family -          David Gritten: plot strong, mischievous, see world through children’s eyes, silly/uncomprehending/insensitive adults -          Generous- arranged for Italian orphans to come vacation in his village, and would personally help many other needy children Roald Dahl died on 23 November 1990, at the age of 74 of a blood disease, myelodysplastic syndrome, in Oxford,[27] and was buried in the cemetery at St. Peter and St. Paul's Church in Great Missenden. According to his granddaughter, the family gave him a "sort of Viking funeral". He was buried with his snooker cues, some very good burgundy, chocolates, HB pencils and a power saw. Dahl's children's works are usually told from the point of view of a child. They typically involve adult villains or villainesses who hate and mistreat children, and feature at least one "good" adult to counteract the villain(s). These stock characters are possibly a reference to the abuse that Dahl stated that he experienced in the boarding schools he attended. They usually contain a lot of black humour and grotesque scenarios, including gruesome violence. The Witches, George's Marvellous Medicine and Matilda are examples of this formula. The BFG follows it in a more analogous way with the good giant (the BFG or "Big Friendly Giant") representing the "good adult" archetype and the other giants being the "bad adults". This formula is also somewhat evident in Dahl's film script for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Class-conscious themes – ranging from the thinly veiled to the blatant – also surface in works such as Fantastic Mr Fox and Danny, the Champion of the World

5. Dahl’s Legacy Wildly popular Books (especially with kids)
James and Giant Peach
Charlie and Chocolate Factory
Matilda
The BFG
Movies/Screenplays
James Bond
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (twice)
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Witches
Museum

6. Book Highlights – James and the Giant Peach
“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!” “This book is a fantastic adventure story with the classic Roald Dahl twist, eccentric characters and an extraordinary journey.I would suggest James and the Giant Peach to anyone in search of a one of a kind story.” K.T., Young Adult Books Central
Dahl, R. (1961) James and the Giant Peach. NY: Puffin Books.
Book reviews from yabookscentral.com

7. Book Highlights – Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
“Willy Wonka’s famous chocolate factory is opening at last! But only five lucky children will be allowed inside. And the winners are: Agustus Gloop, an enormously fat boy whose hobby is eating; Veruca Salt, a spolied-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’s 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!” “This is an amazing book! I bet almost every one has seen at least one of the movies, but not many people have read the book. I recomened it to every one. But you should only read it if you are eating chocolate at the same time, or you will get very HUNGRY!” Rose, Young Adult Books Central
Dahl, R. (1964) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. NY: Puffin Books.
Book reviews from yabookscentral.com

8. Matilda
“Who put superglue in Dad’s hat? Was it really a ghost that made mom tear out of the house? Matilda is a genius with idiot parents--and she’s having a great time driving them crazy. But at school things are different. At school there’s Miss Trunchbull, two-hundred menacing pounds of kid-hating headmistress. Get rid of the Trunchbull and Matilda would be a hero. But that would take a super genius, wouldn’t it?” “I loved this book soooo much I've read it tons and tons of times and also to my little cousins who absolutely love it. I absolutely love the fact that Matilda has these powers that help make her so special, wish I had them they'd be great to have.” Liz, Young Adult Books Central
Dahl, R. (1988) Matilda. NY: Puffin Books.
Book reviews from yabookscentral.com

9. References/Website Resources:
Official Dahl Site:
Dahl Museum:
Interviews with Dahl
Notes from interview by David Bishop:
Dahl Lesson plans for teachers:
Dahl Facts:

10. References/Website Resources :
Biography:
Dahl’s School Days
Summary of his autobiography, entitled BOY, including hilarious pranks and school stories:
Ophelia Dahl talks about her fathers’ writing:
Marriages:
Dahl’s wives talk about meeting him:
Dahl/Neal Marriage and Divorce:
Obituary in NY Times:
Photo: Keystone / Getty Images

11. “A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men.”
-- Roald Dahl for Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)