Roald Dahl was considered by many to be the best storyteller of all time. Today, Dahl has sold over 250 million copies of his books, becoming one of the bestselling children's author. His captivating stories had been read by millions of children around the world, myself included. Dahl's writing is known for the exciting tales of young children in a fantastical yet harsh world. Many of his stories mix experiences of his own life elements of fiction.

Roald Dahl was born in 1916 in Llandaff, South Wales to Norwegian parents. At a young age, he spent summers in Norway, riding his bike, exploring, and getting into all kinds of trouble. Dahl grew up with his mother and 3 sisters, and despite this was able to attend a private boarding school for many years. Dahl did not like school, reflecting on his time at Repton as “days of horror.” After school, Dahl had the opportunity to attend Oxford or Cambridge University but turned it down saying, "No, thank you. I want to go straight from school to work for a company that will send me to wonderful faraway places like Africa or China." This is exactly what he did.

After finishing school, Roald Dahl joined the Shell Oil Company which took him to Tanzania, Africa. In 1939 he joined the Royal Air Forces training squadron in Nairobi, Kenya. He then served as a fighter pilot in the Mediterranean. Unfortunately, he suffered serious head injuries in a plane crash near Alexandria, Egypt. After recovery Dahl continued fighting until he moved to Washington D.C. as an assistant air attache and spy for the British government.

While staying in Washington D.C., author C.S Forester encouraged him to write about his experiences as a fighter pilot in WW2. Supposedly, his piece was so good that it was published to the Saturday Evening Post without revisions. When reflecting about his first experiences as a writer, Dahl said “But becoming a writer was pure fluke. Without being asked to, I doubt if I'd ever have thought of it." Dahl continued writing, and his stories appeared in multiple magazines.

In 1943, Roald Dahl wrote his first children's novel, The Gremlins, for Walt Disney. This book was about little creatures, Gremlins, who lived on fighter jets and were responsible for plane crashes. Dahl took experiences from his own life, such as his experience in a fighter jet crash, and added fantastical aspects. Over the next 10 years, Dahl continued writing, however, he primarily wrote short stories for adults. Unfortunately, Dahl's adult short stories are often overlooked by his future success, however, his adult fiction was also popular. These stories were known for sudden plot twists, odd details, and strange topics, all 51 of Dahl's short stories can be found in Collected Stories. Dahl won 3 Edgar Allan Poe awards for his adult short stories, however, Roald Dahl’s success as an author did not stop there.

In 1953, Roald Dahl married famous actress Patricia Neal. Together they had 5 kids, and once the children were old enough, Roald Dahl began telling them goodnight stories. This was the inspiration for much of his writing. Roald Dahl wrote his first successful novel, James and the Giant Peach, for his children. Roald Dahl continued writing children's novels, gaining huge success due to books such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, the Big Friendly Giant, and many more. Roald Dahl said that one of the reasons for his success as a children's author was having invented stories night after night for his children.  

When asked about his success as a children's author, Roald Dahl said that he knew what children wanted. Dahl's stories are known for being fast-paced, fantastical, surprising twists and including noble children characters. One of the reasons Dahl's books are so successful is due to the engaging way he writes, keeping children listening and reading. Dahl said that another key to his success was because he joined children against adults. His stories often contain sweet, innocent and brave children who fight against malevolent adults. However, this has stirred controversy, as Dahl’s novels tend to inflict cruel revenge on mean adults. Dahl disagrees and in Trust Your Children: Voices Against Censorship in Children's Literature said that "because they (adults) are not quite as aware as I am that children are different from adults. Children are much more vulgar than grownups. They have a coarser sense of humor. They are basically more cruel." Dahl says that the primary reason for his success as an author was because he knew what children wanted, even if that was controversial at times.
Roald Dahl’s success as a storyteller didn't end with writing. After the publication of many of his novels, Roald Dahl wrote the script for film adaptions. James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, Fantastic Mr. Fox, and the Big Friendly Giant were some of Roald Dahl's novels that have been filmed. In addition to this success, Roald Dahl's story Charlie and the Chocolate Factory inspired a candy line with all sorts of imaginative candy.
In 1984 Roald Dahl published his autobiography Boy: Tales of Childhood. Unfortunately, 6 years later on November 12th, Roald Dahl died of blood disease. Roald Dahl's last words were, “You know, I'm not frightened. It's just that I will miss you all so much.” Many consider Roald Dahl the best storyteller of all time, as his work forever changed children's literature. Roald Dahl will always be admired, known for his work as a fighter pilot, spy, short story author, film writer, and extraordinary work as a children's author.