BBC7

Roald Dahl is one of the most popular children's writers of all time.

Some adults think he isn't suitable for young kids, which just shows you what they know.

Born in Wales, his family were Norwegian - his name is pronounced 'roo - aal'. As a boy, Roald wrote a diary. But he kept it hidden from his sisters in a conker tree in the garden and would climb up it every day to write his latest entry.

When he was 15 his English teacher wrote in his end-of-term report that Roald seemed "incapable of marshalling his thoughts on paper"!

Dahl was a fighter pilot in World War II. A newspaper asked him to write about his experiences flying. He wrote his first story A Piece of Cake about being shot down in action.

He wrote books for adults but he ran out of ideas. He had been making up bedtime stories for his children and decided to write down one of them, James and the Giant Peach.

Then he started on a book called Charlie's Chocolate Boy which became the much loved Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and another of Roald Dahl's books Matilda, have been made into huge Hollywood films.

Roald Dahl was famous for writing his books in a grotty little shed at the bottom of his garden.

In later life his passions included growing orchids, preparing conkers for competitions, reading about chocolate and buying paintings. His grand-daughter Sophie was model for the little girl in The BFG. She's a big girl now, and now she's a supermodel!

His other books include:

• Fantastic Mr Fox
• Revolting Rhymes
• The Magic Finger
• Matilda