September 13th: The Day Roald Dahl was Born

September 13th 1916 was the birthday of literary legend Roald Dahl. Ultimately famous for his fascinating children's books, Dahl is without a doubt one of the greatest story-tellers for children in the 20th century. His timeless tales still captivate young audiences today, most recently with the immensely successful stage production of Matilda. As strong a statement as this may be, I would probably consider a child who has not encountered a Roald Dahl story to have suffered a deprived childhood (to an extent!). Embraced by millions of parents and teachers across the globe, Dahl's knack for telling stories that excite and educate is largely recognised and proves his rightful position as the 16th in The Times list of the '50 greatest British writers since 1945'.
   Born in Cardiff with Norwegian parents, Dahl was brought up with a culture of folk tales and story-telling; however, it was not until he actually had children of his own that he began writing his own stories. Originally he was an adult writer, and his work was released later under the title of Tales of the Unexpected. Would you believe that classic books like James and the Giant Peach, The B.F.G., Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and many more were all written in a little hut at the bottom of Dahl's garden. Not everyone knows that also in his repertoire were the screenplays for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (in which he created the evil character of the Child-Catcher) and James Bond's You Only Live Twice. 
   Alongside his writing success Roald Dahl also fought in World War 2 in the Royal Air Force, flying Hurricane fighter planes. And, he was good at it. He was awarded with a promotion to Wing Commander and an intelligence officer. After the Second World War he married Patricia Neal for 30 years, bearing 5 children. Olivia, Dahl's first child, died of measles aged 7, and so he dedicated his book The B.F.G. in her honour. Roald Dahl died in November 1990 and has left a lasting impression on the world's imagination, with his legacy of children's story-telling living on to this day. Have you read Roald Dahl's work? Do you agree that it deserves to be in the literary canon of children's literature of the 20th century?