Favourite Roald Dahl books
5. The Twits - Fantastic Mr Fox and The Giraffe and The Pelly and Me are probably better books, but The Twits is unashamedly silly and playful, with The Twits' pranks on each other hilarious. Nasty adults getting their comeuppance is a recurring theme in Dahl's literature, although not by children in this instance but by the animals to whom The Twits are so cruel (not unlike The Magic Finger). Highlight: the prank on Mrs Twit that leads her to think she is shrinking
4. The BFG - The first Dahl book I ever read for myself, Dahl's wonderfully inventive creation of words is at its most irreverent. The space and time it inhabits - in our dreams, under streetlights in the dead of night, the periphery of our consciousness, in the fog and mist - simultaneously unsettled and intrigued me as a child. Highlight: when Sophie first meets the BFG
3. The Witches - genuinely scary. Dahl's enduring trust and belief in children's ability to understand and deal with life's sober and dark side is raw: being orphaned, premature death, unloving parents, loss of innocence. As terrifiying as the Grand High Witch is, the cigar-smoking Grandmother, another in Dahl's long line of strong female characters, is resolute and gutsy. It's a rollercoaster ride with a heartbreaking epilogue. Highlight: the boy's transformation into a mouse; and the epilogue
2. Matilda - a strong, brave, admirable, intelligent and kind girl, Matilda is the ideal role model for little girls. Miss Trunchbull provides for Dahl's typical establishment bully figure but for sheer nastiness is probably only trumped by the Grand High Witch in all of Dahl's literature. Highlight: the reveal about Miss Honey and Miss Trunchbull's true relationship
1. Danny The Champion of The World - since becoming a father this has shot up this list. Captures the essence of wanting to provide, protect and defend your child(ren) but also the nostalgia for one's more selfish, pre-parenthood times. Dahl's sympathies for the working classes are plain to see as he lays bare his dislike for ostentatious wealth and influence. Highlight: when Danny bravely investigates his father's absence and rescues him