Celebrating Roald Dahl Day

Today, Tuesday 13^th September 2022, is Roald Dahl Day, an annual and global celebration of the famous children’s author, his stories and characters.

Born 13^th September 1916 in Llandaff – Wales, Roald Dahl went on to write many classic books selling more than 250 million copies worldwide. Loved by many children, some of Dahl’s famous books include Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, The BFG and The Witches.

For schools around the world, it’s a razztwizzler occasion to acknowledge how influential Dahl’s books are in helping to encourage young children to start reading.

So, what are you doing for Roald Dahl Day?

Dress Up

The characters created by Roald Dahl come in all shapes and sizes. Whether you are wanting to go all out or put together a quick 10-minute costume, there are lots of options to create a splendiferous costume for Roald Dahl Day.

Incorporate Lesson Plans

If you are looking to incorporate Roald Dahl Day into your lesson plans, here are some interesting teacher ideas which include resources, books, short stories and facts sheets.

Top 5 Books

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory:

First published in 1964, the story features the adventures of young Charlie Bucket inside the chocolate factory owned by Willy Wonka. The story was originally inspired by Dahl’s experience of chocolate companies during his schooldays. Companies such as Cadburys, would often send test packages to the schoolchildren in exchange for their opinions on the new products.

Famous Quote: “Everything in this room is eatable, even I am eatable! But that is called cannibalism and is in fact frowned upon in most societies. Yeah, Enjoy!” – Willy Wonka

Matilda:

Originally published in 1988, Matilda won the Children’s Book Award and was the last to be published before his death in 1990. The story is about a smart nine-year-old girl with telekinesis powers, who uses her genius to take revenge on her abusive parents, and later fight back against the tyrannical principal of her school.

Famous Quote: “My school is a model of discipline! Use the rod, beat the child, that’s my motto.” – Miss Trunchbull

James and the Giant Peach:

One of Dahl’s most popular children’s books written in 1961, the plot centres around a young orphan boy who enters a gigantic, magical peach, and has a surreal cross-world adventure with seven magically-altered garden bugs he meets.

Famous Quote: “Roll up, roll up! SEE THE GIANT PEACH! The eighth wonder of the World!” – Aunt Sponge

The BFG:

The Big Friendly Giant was first published 1982 and was dedicated to Dahl’s late daughter, who died of measles at the age of seven. The story is about a friendly giant known as The BFG who collects and gives good dreams to children, and an orphan named Sophie. Together, The BFG and Sophie, with help from the Queen of England, help rid the word of the child-eating giants.

Famous Quote: “The matter with human beans,” the BFG said, “is that they is absolutely refusing to believe in anything unless they is actually seeing it right in front of their own schnozzles.” – The BFG

The Witches:

Published in 1983 and later turned into a film in 1990, The Witches is about a young boy and his grandmother in a world where child-hating societies of witches secretly exist. The Witches are ruled by the extremely vicious and powerful Grand High Witch, who arrives in England to organise her plan to turn all children into mice.

Famous Quote: “A witch never gets caught. Don’t forget that she has magic in her fingers and devilry dancing in her blood.”

Make Frobscottle

Frobscrottle is the BFG’s favourite fizzy green-coloured drink with bubbles that go down instead of up, causing Whizzpoppers!

Watch the recipe below to see how you can make your own lickswishy (and whizzpopper-free!) Frobscrottle within the classroom below.

What is your favourite Roald Dahl book? Did your pupils dress up as their favourite character or make Frobscrottle in the class today? Either way, Dahl’s magnificent and marvellous legacy will continue to be enjoyed by millions of children (and adults!) around the world for many years to come.