Roald Dahl Fact Pack

YoungWriters
Publishing children’s poetry for over two decades
Awesome
author
Roald Dahl’s
PhizzWhizzing
Fact Pack
Roald Dahl is the world’s most recognisable children’s storyteller, with
over 21 books for children - including picture books, novels and poetry.
On the 13th September every year Roald Dahl’s
birthday is celebrated all over the world.
This year we have created a fun and educational fact
pack all about Roald Dahl for you to enjoy.
Included in this pack:
Biography – Roald Dahl’s life
List of Roald Dahl’s children’s stories
and poetry books
Facts, quizzes and games
Competition – Phizz-Whizzing Words
Workshop – how to write a short story
Please feel free to photocopy this pack or download it from www.youngwriters.co.uk
Roald Dahl
(1916-1990)
Roald Dahl was born in Wales on 13th September 1916 to
Norwegian parents. His father died when Dahl was 3 years
old and he was raised by his mother in England. He had a
fairly unhappy time at St. Peter’s Prep School where you
could get beaten for small mistakes like leaving a football
sock on the floor, burning the prefect’s toast at teatime or
for forgetting to change into house-shoes at six o’clock.
After leaving school he worked
for the Shell Oil Company based
in Africa until the outbreak of
World War II, when he signed
up with the Royal Air Force.
Unfortunately he was injured in
action and eventually returned
home as an invalid. He was
then sent to Washington DC
to work as an attaché where,
almost by accident, he started
his writing career. When he was
interviewed for an article about
his time in action he offered
to write about his experiences.
His piece was published in the
Saturday Evening Post, who
signed him up to write more
articles.
How many have
you read?
‘If you are going to get anywhere in
life you have to read a lot of books.’
Roald Dahl
In 1943 he wrote his first
children’s book, The Gremlins,
which was originally intended
to be made into an animated
film by Walt Disney. The film
was not made and instead Dahl
turned to writing adult fiction,
not writing another children’s
story until the 1960s.
By this time he was a father
himself and had started making
up stories to entertain his own
children Olivia, Tessa, Theo,
Ophelia and Lucy. He went on
to write 21 children’s books
including Charlie and The
Chocolate Factory, The BFG,
Matilda, and The Witches, all of
which have been made into films.
Roald Dahl died in November
1990. The Times called him
‘one of the most widely read
and influential writers of our
generation’.
Children’s stories
The Gremlins (1943), James and the Giant Peach (1961), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964), The Magic Finger (1966),
Fantastic Mr Fox (1970), Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator (1972), Danny, the Champion of the World (1975), The Enormous
Crocodile (1978), The Twits (1980), George’s Marvellous Medicine (1981), The BFG (1982), The Witches (1983), Boy (1984), The
Giraffe and the Pelly and Me (1985), Matilda (1988), Esio Trot (1990), The Vicar of Nibbleswicke (1991), The Minpins (1991)
Children’s poetry
Revolting Rhymes (10 June 1982), Dirty Beasts (25 October 1984), Rhyme Stew (21 September 1989)
Top facts
How many do you know?
He loved chocolate,
but not chocolate
cake or chocolate
ice cream.
He was born on
13th September
1916 in Llandaff,
Cardiff.
He did not start
writing for
children until he
had his own.
He died
on 23rd
November
1990.
He based the
grandmother
in ‘The Three
Witches’ on his
own mother.
He wrote all of
his children’s
stories in a small
hut at the bottom
of his garden.
He wrote 21 books for children including picture books, novels
and poetry collections - and
over 50 stories for adults, most
famously collected as Tales of
the Unexpected.
He had two
steel hips and
six operations
on his spine.
He was a
fighter pilot
during World
War II.
James and the
Giant Peach was
nearly called
James and the
Giant Cherry!
He wrote the
screenplays for Chitty
Chitty Bang Bang and
the Bond movie You
Only Live Twice.
He always wrote
in pencil on
yellow paper.
He used to
announce that
meals were ready
by shouting,
‘Nosebags on!’
or ‘Grub’s up!’
He didn’t like
going to the
cinema or theatre
because his legs
were so long that
he found the seats
uncomfortable.
Match-ups
Match the quotes with the correct Roald Dahl
book. How many do you know?
A
B
C
D
E
F
I am the maker of music, the
dreamer of dreams’.
1
Don’t gobblefunk around with your
words’.
2
I’d rather be fried alive and eaten by
Mexicans’.
‘I’m right and you’re wrong, I’m big
and you’re small, and there’s nothing
you can do about it.’
How could I marry anyone who does
that sort of thing for fun’.
Boggis, Bunce and Bean, one fat, one
short, one lean’.
Fantastic Mr
Fox
James and The
Giant Peach
3
Revolting
Rhymes
4
Charlie and
The Chocolate
Factory
5
The BFG
6
Matilda
Roald Dahl Quiz
Can your pupils answer these questions about Roald Dahl and his
books? Using this fact pack see how much your pupils know (pupils
may need access to a computer or library for a few of the questions!).
When and where
1
was Roald Dahl born?
What are the names
of the wicked farmers
in Fantastic Mr Fox?
During World War II
what job did Roald
Dahl do?
How tall was Roald
Dahl?
3
What is the last name of 5
Charlie in Charlie and
The Chocolate Factory?
What was the name
of the house in which
Roald Dahl lived?
6
What did Roald Dahl use7
to write with and what
did he write on?
Who illustrated
most of Roald Dahl’s
books?
8
What is the name of
Matilda’s teacher’s toy
doll?
9
In what year did
Roald Dahl die?
10
What job did Roald
Dahl have after he
left school?
11
How many children
did he have?
12
What animals
joined James in his
Giant Peach?
13
What was Roald
Dahl’s first book?
14
How many children’s 15
books did Roald Dahl
write?
4
2
Answers to the activities can be found on the Teacher sheet.
‘Gobblefunk’
Wordsearch
As Roald Dahl was writing The BFG he started to brainstorm a new vocabulary
for the story. He created a 238-word language that he named ‘Gobblefunk’!
Can you find the 12 Gobblefunk words below in the wordsearch?
L A F F M S C N B G D I G S
G Z Z R W Q H M Q U V X N O
R E F F
I U Q S E L P M I W
U Z P B B I
Z Z F
I
Z Z L C
M Z K O V F Z H E A N B K P
P
I
R P L F K N U I
R O C M
L H E H T L D Y F L F T U U
E W L A P Y O F Z O B T B C
W Z G N L J W C V Z J L H E
I
Z G G G U P M S O E E S L
N I U E B M J G W D Y W U Z
K H R R U P Y C S K O A L Z
E P F J Q S Z A F Z S R F I
C R O N K Y Z
I
P D H T C F
Fizzlecump
Fruggler
Bophanger
Grumplewink
Squiffly-jumpsy
Cronky
Bizzfizz
Phizz-Whizz
Bottle Wart
Wimplesquiffer
Crodscollop
Flushbuckling
Roald Dahl Workshop
The key to writing like Roald Dahl is to think outside of the box, and to not be afraid to write a story that is
completely unique and imaginative! This workshop will help you write a short story that would make Roald proud!
Main
character
Firstly, come up
with your main
character so
they’re ready to
take centre stage
in your story - just
like Roald Dahl
created Matilda,
James, Charlie
and all the others.
Create a factfile
about your new
character to help
you get to know
them a little better.
Don’t forget, as the writer, it is your job to help the reader
visualise the character in their heads as they read.
How Roald Dahl’s factfile may have looked for the
main character in Matilda:
Name
Matilda Wormwood
Age
4-6
Appearance
A very young, small girl. More to
her than meets the eye!
Personality
Exceptionally intelligent, loves
reading, amazing at sums. Brave
and mischievous.
Family
Two silly parents who either pay
no attention to Matilda, or are
mean to her. They adore her
brother Michael. Mr Wormwood
is a crook mechanic and Mrs
Wormwood plays bingo. They
all love watching TV and hate
reading.
Special
Characteristics
Supernatural powers!
Setting
Think about an imaginative setting for your story.
Remember that your story will only be around 250
words, so try to keep to just one setting. Next, write a
short description of this place to help you when you
come to writing your story. Think about what your
setting might look, taste, sound, feel and smell like.
Example of how Roald Dahl may have described the
main setting for James and the Giant Peach:
Setting: Inside a humungous peach.
It looks orange and massive and bulging. The peach is so
large, it catches the eyes of all the neighbours. It is shiny
and round.
It tastes like a peach! It is squashy and sweet in my
mouth. I’d like to eat more! There’s peach juice dripping
in my mouth. Yum!
When you jump up and down on the peach, it makes a
squelching noise like walking in sticky mud.
The peach feels soft and warm on the outside, and a
little furry too. Inside, the peach feels soft and squishy,
like stroking an octopus or sticking a hand in a bowl of
jelly. It is damp and murky.
I can smell a fresh, sweet aroma that tingles my nostrils.
Supporting characters
Roald Dahl is also famous for the unique supporting
characters in his stories. (Remember the large talking
insects in James and the Giant Peach and
the big, friendly giant from
The BFG!)
So next, create a couple of fantastic supporting
characters, remember, they can be anything or
anyone! Write a very short description of your
imaginative new creations whilst they are doing
their favourite activity.
Example of how Roald Dahl may have written a
description of the Ooompa-Loompas from Charlie and
the Chocolate Factory doing their favourite activity:
They are tiny, odd-looking people with long golden hair,
all in a big group. They are hand-painting pictures onto
each individual blue sweet that’s part of a new range of
sweets. They are singing, as they love to do whilst they
work. They are working as a team, helping each other,
as the sweets move along a conveyor belt deep in the
belly of the chocolate factory. A snack of cacao beans,
yum! Their favourite food. Oh - they’ve just spotted a
naughty child who has been misbehaving in the factory;
time to teach them a lesson ...
Plot
Now it’s time to think about your plot. How does
the main character you have created interact in
your imaginative setting with your new secondary
characters ... and what happens?
Remember to think about your beginning, middle
and end - and every good story has a conflict (a
problem to be solved!) and then a resolution.
Let’s get started!
It’s time to start writing your story, using
all the ingredients you’ve just prepared.
Here are some extra ideas to spice up your story:
Roald Dahl loved to play with words in
imaginative ways, even making up some of his
own! Remember the vegetable from The BFG
called the snozzcumber, the animals called
crumpscoddles and the chocolate bar called
Wonka’s Whipple-Scrumptious Fudgemallow
Delight! Perhaps you could come up with your
own cool words to use in your story!
Mr Dahl also loved having a baddy in his stories,
some real nasty pieces of work! Remember Miss
Trunchbull, Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker and
who could forget those nightmare-inducing
witches! Maybe your story will also have a
villain ready to receive their comeuppance!
Good luck storytellers!
In Roald Dahl’s The Witches, a broad outline of the
story could look like this:
Beginning: A boy lives with his grandma after his
parents are killed.
Middle: After being warned about witches, the boy
stumbles upon their annual meeting. He learns they
plot to kill all of England’s children. He is captured
and turned into a mouse.
End: The boy manages to turn the witches’ plans
against them, and turn them all into mice instead.
The conflict: The witches’ evil plans!
The resolution: Stopping the plans and ridding the
world of evil witches.
‘Meanings is not important,’ said the BFG. ‘I cannot be
right all the time. Quite often I is left instead of right.’
Roald Dahl, The BFG
PhizzWhizzing
Words
On the 13th September we celebrate the birthday of the world’s no.1 storyteller, Roald Dahl.
To celebrate this special day we want you to create your very own poem or short story (in 250
words) inspired by Roald Dahl. Selected writers will have their work published and also be in with
a chance of winning a Golden Family Ticket to The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre!
Write your poem or story here (go onto another sheet if required)
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‘Phizz-Whizzing Words’ Entry Form
I would like to submit my work for Phizz-Whizzing Words.
Name
Surname
Age
Address
Postcode
Email
Send your entry to: ‘Phizz-Whizzing Words’, Young Writers, Remus House, Coltsfoot Drive, Peterborough PE2 9BF
Tel: 01733 890066 I 01733 898110 Fax: 01733 313524 Email: info@youngwriters.co.uk Web: www.youngwriters.co.uk
YoungWriters
Closing Date: 30th September 2016
Answers to activities
Quiz answers
1. 13th September 1916, in Llandaff, Cardiff
2. Boggis, Bunce and Bean
3. 6 feet, 6 inches
Wordsearch
L A F F M S C N B G D I G S
G Z Z R W Q H M Q U V X N O
R E F F
I U Q S E L P M I W
4. Fighter pilot
U Z P B B I
5.Bucket
M Z K O V F Z H E A N B K P
6. Gipsy House
P
7. A Pencil on Yellow paper
L H E H T L D Y F L F T U U
8. Quentin Blake
9. Lizzie Doll
10.1990
11.Shell Oil Company based in Africa
12.Five
13.Grasshopper, Centipede, Ladybug, Earth worm,
Spider and Glow worm
14.The Gremlins
15.21
Match-ups
A=4
B=5
C=2
D=6
E=3
F=1
I
Z Z F
I
R P L F K N U I
Z Z L C
R O C M
E W L A P Y O F Z O B T B C
W Z G N L J W C V Z J L H E
I
Z G G G U P M S O E E S L
N I U E B M J G W D Y W U Z
K H R R U P Y C S K O A L Z
E P F J Q S Z A F Z S R F I
C R O N K Y Z
I
P D H T C F