More Roald Dahl Facts

Here are some more interesting facts about Roald Dahl, the amazing author of many fantastic children's books. This information about Roald Dahl has been taken from numerous sources and I hope you will find it both interesting and helpful. Roald Dahl is often studied in schools as the subject of an author project or biography. Here is all of the Roald Dahl information you are ever going to need!

These Roald Dahl facts are in no particular order. They contain information about his books, his background, his approach to writing and his interests.

  • Roald Dahl wrote his books in garden shed with his feet resting on a suitcase, a blanket draped over his legs and a board on his lap which he used to lean on when writing.
  • On his desk Roald Dahl kept many objects, including: a sliver ball (made from chocolate wrappers), a carved grasshopper and a model of a fighter plane.
  • Rolad Dahl's father was called Harald Dahl and he used to enjoy walks in the country.
  • Roald Dahl's father was Norwegian, but worked in Wales as a shipbroker.
  • Roald Dahl was born on 13th September, 1916 in Llandaff, Cardiff.
  • As a boy, Roald Dahl loved to collect bird's eggs.
  • Roald Dahl went to boarding school when he was 9 years old.
  • Roald Dahl was really tall and he was excellent at sports.
  • He was not very good at English!
  • Cadbury's used to send chocolate bars to be tested by the pupils at Roald Dahl's school.
  • Roald Dahl accepted a job with the Shell Oil Company, and in 1938 he was sent to the east coast of Africa.
  • Rolad Dahl joined the Royal Airforce in 1939. He trained to be a pilot and gained the nickname Lofty.
  • He crashed his plane over Egypt in 1940 and nearly died.
  • In 1941 Roald Dahl was sent to Washing DC in the United States as a diplomat.
  • Rolad Dahl was recruited as a spy.
  • In 1943 Roald Dahl wrote his first children's story, The Gremlins. Somehow Walt Disney got hold of the tale and Dahl was sent to Hollywood. Disney published the story, but no movie of it was made.
  • At the end of the war Dahl returned to England. He made a living by buying antiques and paintings for clients in USA.
  • In the 1940s, Roald Dahl wrote horror stories.
  • Roald Dahl married the famous Hollywood actress, Patricia Neal. They rented an appartment in New York.
  • Theo Dahl (Roald Dahl's son) was injured in 1960 aged just four months. His pram was hit by a taxi. He made a full recovery.
  • Roald Dahl used to take a long time to finish writing his books.
  • Dahl's daughter Olivia died at age seven after catching measles.
  • Sophie Dahl, Rolad Dahl's granddaughter is a famous model and author.
  • Rolad Dahl died on 23rd November 1990, aged seventy four. He always considered November to be an unlucky month for him.
  • Roald Dahl formed a brillinat partnership with the illustrator Quentin Blake. Blake drew the pictures for several classic Dahl children's books: The Enormous Corocodile, The Twits, George's Marvellous Medicine and the BFG.
  • Roald Dahl wrote his books in pencil - he sharpened six before he started his writing day.
  • He used to write on a yellow pad of paper.
  • Roald Dahl was over 2 metres tall.
  • Roald Dahl his is diaries so well that they've never been found.
  • One of Rolad Dahl's favourite sweets were wine gums.
  • Roald Dahl has his own snooker table. He loved to play sports.
  • His house was called Gipsy House.
  • Roald Dahl strated to write a third story about Charlie Bucket, but he only managed to write the beginning.
  • Roald Dahl hated cats, but he loved almost all other animals.
  • Roald Dahl loved the smell of bacon frying in a pan.
  • He hated beards and never grew one.
  • It took Roald Dahl about a year to write each of his books for children. He didn't like to rush.

Interesting Jacqueline Wilson Facts

Here are some facts about Jacqueline Wilson, the very talented and popular author of some of the best children's books published in the last twenty years. Along with Roald Dahl, Jacqueline Wilson is probably the most borrowed author in school libraries all over the world.


  • Jacqueline Wilson always wanted to be a writer. As a child she loved to read and always made up imaginary worlds and games.

  • One Jacqueline's favourite teachers was Mr Townsend - a gentle, kind, funny and artistic man. He helped his pupils to write their own stories.

  • Jacqueline Wilson was Christmas card monitor in her school.

  • Sometimes here childhood was happy, and sometimes it wasn't.

  • She loved lots of books when she was a child, including: Black Beauty, What Katy Did, The Flower Fairies and Nancy and Plum.

  • When she was seven she used to spend all her pocket money on notebooks and filled them with her writing.

  • When she left school, Jacqueline Wilson worked on teen magazines such as Jackie, Red Letter and Annabel.

  • Jacqueline Wilson married Millar, her husband, when she was 19.

  • She worked part-time in a bookshop.

  • Her first book for children was called Nobody's Perfect.

  • When she started to write books for Transworld publishers, she teamed up with the illustrator, Nick Sharratt.

  • When Jacqueline Wilson is writing her books, she swims every morning , then has breakfast and then she reads the letters from her fans and readers.

  • Jacqueline Wilson tries to respond in person to every letter she receives.

  • She usually writes upstairs at her desk, but sometimes she writes her children's books at the kitchen table and sometimes in an armchair.

  • She says that children interest her more than adults, and that's why she writes for children.

  • Jacqueline Wilson has one daughter, Emma.

  • She is a big fan of the rock group Queen.

  • Of all of her books, she says she likes Double Act the best.

  • Jacqueline wilson has written lots and lots of books. Here are just some of them: The Story of Tracy Beaker, Video Rose, The Suitcase Kid, Cliffhanger, The Bed and Breakfast Star, Double Act, Twin Trouble, Mr Cool, Bad Girls, Girls in Love, Buried Alive, The Illustrated Mum, Girls Out Late and The Dare Game.

  • She loves writing because she can lose herself in an imaginary world.

I hope you find these Jacqueline Wilson facts interesting, and helpful if you are using them as part of an author project or to help you with your homework. Watch out for more facts about Jacqueline Wilson in the next few weeks.