PickyKidPix helped me organize my children’s books a few years ago. We made a special sticker designation for our collection of Roald Dahl books. She loved Dahl when she was in third grade and she read nearly exclusively from his books for that entire year. 
Grasshopper and Sensei also read quite a few Roald Dahl books, also in third grade. Her class wasn’t as ravenous about Roald Dahl as PickyKidPix’s but every kid I met seems to love The BFG and Matilda.
My son probably read the fewest Roald Dahl books in third grade but only because he was on a mission to read every word that Rick Riordan ever wrote. Still, we went through this collection and filled in with some books that I hadn’t read with his sisters.
Roald Dahl just seems to be a part of a happy childhood! His books are perfect read alouds in the classroom or at bedtime.
In celebration of Roald Dahl day today — his birthday — I polled my eighth grade daughter and her friends about their favorite Roald Dahl books. Here’s what they said:
PickyKidPix: Matilda because she’s funny.
Griffin: The BFG because it had fun characters that I could relate to.
Jojo: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory because I loved how the only kid I liked survived.
Yunah: The Witches because it was so funny.
Anna: James and the Giant Peach because his caretakers were really mean.
As for me, my favorite Roald Dahl book is Danny the Champion of the World. I loved, as a child, how Danny and his father outsmarted the evil rich neighbor next door. Danny’s plan of how to poach pheasants is sheer genius. It wasn’t until I read this book with my kids that I noticed how The BFG is snuck into this book. I love when two books collide!
Which Roald Dahl books are your favorites?
Roald Dahl Giveaway
I discovered that I have a two extra copies of The Missing Golden Ticket and other Spendiferous Secrets and The BFG so I am giving them away. Please enter the Rafflecopter below to win. Two winners!
p.s. Here are some more Roald Dahl posts from my archives:
Roald Dahl Day is Today, September 13th
Top 10 Roald Dahl Books for Roald Dahl Day
Happy Roald Dahl Day and Our Favorite Books
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I agree with you about Dahl being part of a happy childhood. I was a HUGE Roald Dahl fan as a child. I had a copy of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory that I read so much it fell apart! As an adult, I love the subversive humor!
Hi Amy,
Dahl is funny and I love how even his evil characters are not too scary!
My whole family loves Roald Dahl. My favorite when I was a kid was Matilda, because I could relate to loving books. I recently read James and the Giant Peach to my 3 and 5 year olds and they LOVED it. (Though I wouldn’t recommend reading The Magic Finger to a sensitive preschooler. My kids were a little disturbed by the death/graves/hunting.) I’ll have to wait until they’re a little older for some of them, but they make great read-alouds, so I hope to eventually get through them all.
Hi Michelle,
I haven’t read The Magic Finger … that one is new to me but thanks for the warning. My middle child only read a few pages of The Witches in 3rd grade because it scared her. One of her friends, now in 8th grade, said The Witches was her favorite book and was surprised my daughter couldn’t read it. I guess it can be personal how one reacts. We are so blithe about The BGF’s compatriots eating kids in the beginning of the book.
Loved his books!! My favorite was BFG!
Hi Katelen,
We love The BFG too!
As a chocoholic, my favorite must be Charlie and the Chocolate factory.
Hi Leslie,
Yes, that chocolate river is the stuff of dreams!
My favorite has always been Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Hi Merry,
That’s such a good one!
My favorite is Matilda, but they’re all classics!
Hi Kathy,
Matilda is a crowd favorite!!
James and the Giant Peach. No reason, just have always loved it.
Hi Nancy,
I have always loved James and the Giant Peach too! I also love peaches so that’s an additional draw! 🙂
My daughter is really into Roald Dahl right now so we’d love to win! She just finished Matilda and read it so fast!
Hi Ann,
The Roald Dahl stage is such a great one but my kids stopped reading him after 3rd grade which is a shame! So we never made it through all of his books though that’s a tall feat! Maybe your daughter will!
I have a soft spot for Matilda – she’s such a strong, good character.
Hi Wehaf,
Me too!
We’ve just started reading the Roald Dahl books and seeing your big pile here makes me realise that there are so many that we still have to read 🙂
Hopping over from the Kid Lit Blog Hop.
Hi Catherine,
I have that same feeling when I read all the comments to this post because I have not heard of some of Dahl’s books!
I LOVED Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and read it at least once a year during my childhood!
Hi Trish,
I remember reading it for the first time as a child; it was magical!
Way too hard because you have Matilda and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory! I love them both.
Hi Crystal,
It is hard to choose just one Dahl book! 😉
Thanks for hosting the RD giveaway! we are big fans of all his books!
Hi Reshama,
His books are a 3rd grade rite of passage in our house!
James and the Giant Peach is my favorite one of his books, followed by Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the Twits.
Hi Anne,
Great picks, all of them!
I love James and the Giant Peach and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It is really hard to choose because he has so many awesome books.
Hi Sandra,
Two great picks though!
Great Giveaway Mia! I’ll share on Twitter! 🙂
Thank you so much Renee!
I don’t have one but Matilda sounds really nice
Hi Vera,
Matilda is a favorite of all the kids I know when I ask them what their favorite Roald Dahl book is.
It’s a toss-up between Matilda and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Thanks for this giveaway!
Hi Connie,
Hard to choose between that pair! Thanks so much for entering!