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Posted by Booktrust on 13/10/11

Booktust celebrated Roald Dahl Day by polling staff about their favourite Dahl fiction. In this Booktrust blog post, Nikesh Shukla tallies the votes and shares some staff opinions about the winners.

To mark 13 September being Roald Dahl Day, Booktrust staff was polled on their favourite pieces of Dahl fiction.

The top results are as follows:

1) Matilda
2) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
3) The Twits

Here's what some staff opinions about each book:

Matilda

Caroline: It has to be Matilda! An amazing inspirational story about the power of books and education!

Alice: Matilda – the heroine of the childhood bookworm. I always wanted to live in Miss Honey’s cottage.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Marian: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory because it so perfectly satisfies every child's fantasy of being inside a chocolate factory, with unforgettably grotesque children, weird adults, confections galore and adventure, all within a smooth casing of a secure and loving family.

Carl: As a kid it appealed to my entrepreneurial side - what a great way to increase sales of chocolate, brilliant marketing ploy (all that free marketing), but also great imagination into a world where secret Umperlumpers work in the factory!  Humour, sadness, imagination, excitement, anticipation!  Brilliant!  And above all - a book which is as much relevant to the next generation.  Last week there was boat race at Nottingham Uni and one of the boats was little people dressed as Umperlumpers and all the kids loved it!!  It still resonates over 40 odd years after he wrote it!!!!

The Twits

Trudi: The Twits – first read to the class (I was probably about 7) by a teacher who obviously revelled in the tricks being played and would have us rolling around on the floor in hysterics.

Laura (W): The Twits – because my dad had, (and still does have), a great, big beard and sometimes I’d see food in it, just like Mr. Twit.