Roald Dahl’s, Danny, the Champion of the World, has long been one of my favorite books. Our son, Danny, was born before Mr. Dahl published this wonderful story, but having a son named Danny made my connection to it all the more powerful. Click here to read the post I wrote last year about some of those personal connections.

Today is Roald Dahl’s birhday. He would have been 97 years old, and he would have written many more book treasures had we not lost him so young. He died in 1990 of the same blood condition that took my Dad, at the very same age, a few years later.

Mr. Dahl left us with a wonderful repertoire of stories for children young and old. I loved reading his books to my own children, and again to my students. He had a passion for helping children to become readers, and I know from my own experiences in the classroom, what a powerful “teacher” he was through his work. From his official web site:

Roald Dahl was a great believer in the importance of reading. “I have a passion for teaching kids to become readers,” he once said, “to become comfortable with a book, not daunted. Books shouldn’t be daunting, they should be funny, exciting and wonderful; and learning to be a reader gives a terrific advantage.”

So today I celebrate a wonderful and, in his own word, “sparky” author. Happy birthday, Mr. Dahl!