Roald Dahl By Jaylin Lowe

Early Childhood Born on September 13, 1916, in Wales Fifth of seven siblings Grew up in Wales Both father and sister died when he was three Pure Norwegian Almost lost his nose in a car crash Didn’t like writing at that time

Education Went to Llandaff Cathedral School (ages 7-9) Went to St. Peters –a boarding school in England (ages 9-13) Went to Repton –a boarding school in England (ages 13-20) Good at sports, captain of Fives (like handball) and Squash-Rackets (squash) and also played football Only person in the school who studied photography Won many awards in photography Chose not to go to college because he wanted to travel

Accomplishments He wrote many books and screenplays including: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 1973 Matilda 1988 Fantastic Mr. Fox 1970 James and the Giant Peach 1961 Danny the Champion of the World 1975 The BFG 1982 The Witches 1975 Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Influences Became a writer almost by accident First made up stories for bedtime stories for his children Was asked to write a story about being a fighter pilot and says he wouldn’t have considered being a writer otherwise Led to being a full time writer Strict schools led to the writing of cruel adults Being a Cadbury’s Chocolate tester gave him ideas to write Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

My Favorites Matilda- a story of a brilliant girl with horrible parents The Witches- the story of real witches Danny the Champion of the World- the story of poaching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - a story of a magnificent factory and misbehaving children

Author’s Craft (1 of 3) The Witches Literary Elements Danny the Champion of the World teamwork Atmosphere loyalty Grandson, Grandma, and Grand High Witch Character Danny, Dad, and Mr. Hazell “She was tiny, probably no more than 4 and a half feet tall.” Direct Characterization “He was actually a wildly funny person.” “A stupid vitch [sic] who answers back, must burn till her bones are black.” Indirect Characterization “Instead of stepping over old Bertie, he actually kicked him out of the way.” Grandson is turned into a mouse Climax Danny goes to get all the pheasants

Danny the Champion of the World Author’s Craft (2 of 3) The Witches Literary Elements Danny the Champion of the World “Help! Help!” External Conflict “Get them off!” “My blood turned to ice. I began to shake all over.” Internal Conflict “Dad.” I called out. “Dad, are you there?” “This smelly brat, this filthy scum, this horrid louse will very soon become a lovely little mouse!” Dialogue “Well, my goodness me, William, what on earth have you been up to?” “A real witch has the most amazing powers of smell.” Imagery “The motor was beginning to rattle and shake.” “My blood turned to ice.” Metaphor “My son Danny is the Champion of the World” 1st person Point of View 1st Person

Danny the Champion of the World Author’s Craft (3 of 3) The Witches Literary Elements Danny the Champion of the World This boy’s parents has died and now he lives with his kind grandma in Norway. He listens to his grandma's stories about witches and soon he runs in to the grand High Witch herself! Plot Danny’s father loves poaching and loves to poach Mr. Hazels birds. Danny (who has grown up in a gypsy caravan with his father) comes up with an idea to poach every single one of Mr. Hazels birds. “Because I had my mouth full,” said Bruno. Motivation “But now it’s wanderings were over, and because the wooden spokes in the wheels were beginning to rot, my father had propped it up underneath with bricks.” “It doesn’t matter who you are or what you look like as long as somebody loves you.” Theme “A boring parent is no fun at all. What a child wants and deserves is a parent who is sparky!”

Conclusion Roald Dahl’s books made a difference in my life because they teach me lessons that can help in real life. In Danny the Champion of the World the lesson is be fun. In Matilda it’s believe in yourself. In The Witches it’s you can make a difference. It’s great that Roald Dahl is able to put such great lessons in such fun-to-read books.

Bibliography Dahl, Roald. Boy. Jonathan Cape, 1984. Print. Dahl, Roald. Danny the Champion of the World. New York, NY: Penguin Group, 1975. Print. Dahl, Roald. The Witches. New York, NY: Penguin Group, 1983. Print. Liukkonen, Petri. "Roald Dahl." Authors Calendar. 2008. Web. 12 Jan. 2010. <http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/rdahl.htm>. Cover of The BFG. Web. 14 Jan. 2010. <http://sottai.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/roald-dahl-the-bfg.jpg>. "Roald Dahl." Fantastic Fiction. 13 Feb. 2010. Web. 17 Jan. 2010. <http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/d/roald-dahl/>. Primn III, E. Russell, ed. Favorite Children Authors. Excelsior, MN: Tradition Books, 2003. Print.