Roald Dahl was a British author of popular children's literature and short stories, a poet, screenwriter and a wartime fighter ace. His books have sold more than 300 million copies worldwide. Dahl has been called "one of the greatest storytellers for children of the 20th century".
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a 1964 children's novel by British author Roald Dahl. The story features the adventures of young Charlie Bucket inside the chocolate factory of eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka.
The BFG is a 1982 children's novel by British author Roald Dahl. It is an expansion of a short story from Dahl's 1975 novel Danny, the Champion of the World. The book is dedicated to Dahl's late daughter, Olivia, who died of measles encephalitis at the age of seven in 1962.
Matilda is a 1988 children's novel by British author Roald Dahl. It was published by Jonathan Cape. The story features Matilda Wormwood, a precocious child with an uncaring mother and father, and her time in school run by the tyrannical headmistress Miss Trunchbull.
The Gruffalo is a British children's picture book by author Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler. It tells the story of a mouse taking a walk in the woods and deceiving different predators, including the Gruffalo. The Gruffalo was first published in 1999 in the United Kingdom by Macmillan Children's Books. It is about 700 words long and is written in rhyming couplets featuring repetitive verse. It is an example of a trickster story and was inspired by a Chinese folk tale called "The Fox that Borrows the Terror of a Tiger". The Gruffalo has sold over 13.5 million copies and has won several prizes for children's literature including the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize.
Julia Catherine Donaldson is an English writer and playwright, and the 2011–2013 Children's Laureate. She is best known for her popular rhyming stories for children, especially those illustrated by Axel Scheffler, which include The Gruffalo, Room on the Broom and Stick Man. She originally wrote songs for children's television but has concentrated on writing books since the words of one of her songs, "A Squash and a Squeeze", were made into a children's book in 1993. Of her 184 published works, 64 are widely available in bookshops. The remaining 120 are intended for school use and include her Songbirds phonic reading scheme, which is part of the Oxford University Press's Oxford Reading Tree.
Axel Scheffler is a German illustrator and animator based in London. He is best known for his cartoon-like pictures for children's books, in particular The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo's Child, written by Julia Donaldson. He has also authored/illustrated the Pip and Posy series of books for children.
Roald Dahl's The BFG, or simply The BFG, is a 1989 British animated fantasy adventure made-for-television film directed by Brian Cosgrove from a screenplay by John Hambley, based on the 1982 novel The BFG by Roald Dahl.
Philip Ardagh is an English children's author, primarily known for the Eddie Dickens series of books. He has written more than 100 books including adult fiction and children's non-fiction.
James Robertson is a Scottish writer who grew up in Bridge of Allan, Stirlingshire. He is the author of several short story and poetry collections, and has published seven novels: The Fanatic, Joseph Knight, The Testament of Gideon Mack, And the Land Lay Still, The Professor of Truth, and To Be Continued… and News of the Dead. The Testament of Gideon Mack was long-listed for the 2006 Man Booker Prize.
Oliver Brendan Jeffers is an Australian-born Northern Irish artist, illustrator and writer. He went to the integrated secondary school Hazelwood College, then graduated from the University of Ulster in 2001. He relocated back to Northern Ireland in the early 2020s after a spell living and working in Brooklyn.
The Gruffalo is a 2009 short computer-animated television film based on the 1999 picture book written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler.
Russell Ayto is an English illustrator of children's books including many picture books.
The Gruffalo's Child is a 2011 short computer animated television film based on the 2004 picture book of the same name written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler. A sequel to The Gruffalo, the film was shown on Christmas Day 2011 in the United Kingdom, exactly two years after the debut of the first film.
Magic Light Pictures is an English London-based independent production company, which produces films and manages the children's brand The Gruffalo.
Andy Mulligan is an English writer best known for young adult fiction. His work is strongly influenced by his experiences working as a volunteer in Calcutta, India, and as an English and drama teacher in Brazil, Vietnam, the Philippines, and the UK. He has been married to UK television presenter Anne Robinson since their elopement in 2015.
Room on the Broom is a 2012 short stop motion computer animated television film based on the picture book written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler. The film was nominated for the Best Animated Short Film at the 2014 Academy Awards. It also won the British Academy Children's Award for Animation in 2013.
Roald Dahl (1916–1990) was a British author and scriptwriter, and "the most popular writer of children's books since Enid Blyton", according to Philip Howard, the literary editor of The Times. He was raised by his Norwegian mother, who took him on annual trips to Norway, where she told him the stories of trolls and witches present in the dark Scandinavian fables. Dahl was influenced by the stories, and returned to many of the themes in his children's books. His mother also nurtured a passion in the young Dahl for reading and literature.
Zog is a 2010 children's picture book by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler, about a young accident-prone dragon, named Zog, who wants to be the best student in dragon school.
Michael Peter Rose OBE is a British film producer and co-founder of Magic Light Pictures, a London-based independent film production company. In 2023 Rose was awarded the OBE for services to animation.
