13th September Roald Dahl (1916 - 1990) Else Minarik (1920)

Another day to remember classics in children's literature and then revisit them afresh. As each new lot of children come to school and enjoy my library I get to share Roald Dahl and Else Minarik anew and revel in the children's pleasure, being just that they discover that they can read Little Bear all by themselves, or that they come to tell me that they found a 'rude' word in the Dahl book that they are reading or that 'did you know Mr Twit is disgusting!'

Roald Dahl is so well known that the 13th September has become known as Roald Dahl Day and schools organise activities to celebrate his birth.

Dahl was born to Norwegian parents in England and was educated there. Minarik was born in Denmark to Danish parents and migrated to the USA when she was four. They both chose to write books that children would read. Minarik saw a gap in the market for books that children inGrade 1 could read for themselves and so wrote the Little Bear series which are made even more special because they are illustrated by Maurice Sendak. Roald Dahl chose to write books that children would love because of their irreverence and anti-adult stance. He too, has been fortunate in that many of his books have been illustrated by Quentin Blake, also someone not to be missed in the world of children's books. Both pairs, writers and illustrators have become classics!