Top Ten Roald Dahl Children's Stories

James is an orphan. His parents were killed by a rampaging rhinoceros outside London Zoo (a scenario we can all relate to).

Since then, James has lived with his horrible aunts, Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker. The nasty old women make James do all the hard work around the house. They treat him like a slave and make his life an absolute misery. What's more, they never allow him to go beyond the garden fence.

One day, however, something magical occurs to James and he is whisked away from his humdrum life and propelled into an amazing adventure beyond his wildest dreams.

This is another story which is very much reminiscent of a fairy tale. The orphan, who is badly treated by extended family members, has echoes of Cinderella to it.

However, as always, Dahl adds his own unique spin to things. Roald Dahl's distinctively grotesque characters and gruesome situations are extremely appealing to children...and adults alike.

Charlie's family is very poor. In fact, all four grandparents live in one bed in the middle of the room.

Charlie is fascinated by the local chocolate factory and its mysterious owner, Willy Wonka. One day Wonka announces that he will open the doors of his factory to five lucky children: the finders of five golden tickets.

Although Charlie's family cannot afford to buy lots of chocolate, a stroke of good fortune puts Charlie in possession of a golden ticket. He and his grandpa, Joe, embark on the trip of a lifetime around the most amazing chocolate factory in the world.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is one of Dahl's most well-known and best loved books. It is essentially a rags to riches story, which has evergreen appeal. It combines the wonderfully fanciful aspects of Dahl's writing with a realism all readers can relate to.

Sophie lives in an orphanage. It is a horrible place and she's miserable there. But one day, she is scooped up by a giant and taken to the 'giant world'. Unbeknownst to Sophie, this giant does not want to eat her. He is a friendly giant.

However, the other giants are not so amiable and spend their evenings snatching children from their beds and eating them.

Soon, the world of the humans collides with the world of the giants, and it is up to Sophie and the B.F.G. to stop the giants' malicious ways.

This is a wonderfully funny story, which has all the elements of gruesomeness that are expected from a Roald Dahl book.

Oddly, most children far from being scared of these elements of the story revel in them. Again, Dahl uses a protagonist who is an orphan (he seems to favour characters who are loners). Likewise, the B.F.G is a loner, he is very different from his fellow giants. It's a wonderful literary device to have these two, who are ostensibly so different, form such a strong bond of friendship.

Matilda is a child genius, but her parents couldn't care less. Her father is too busy selling dubious used cars, and her mother is too busy playing bingo. In fact, the Wormwoods despise the intellectual ambitions of their daughter.

When Matilda starts school, she is confronted with the horrendous headteacher, Miss. Trunchbull, who torments all the children, and even the teachers, particularly Matilda's teacher, Miss. Honey.

However, Matilda soon realises that she can use the power of her mind to achieve more than she ever imagined. So, she sets about punishing the horrible adults in her life.

This is a wonderful book, which has remained a firm favourite. Dahl puts his vivid imagination to great use in Matilda.

This is also one of the most successfully adapted of Roald Dahl's books: the fabulously funny film version directed by, and starring Danny DeVito, with a very memorable performance from Pam Ferris as the domineering Miss. Trunchbull.

What would you do if you learned that witches were everywhere? Of course, there are the tell-tale signs: witches are bald, so they are forced to wear wigs that itch incessantly. They must wear gloves to cover their hideous hands, and, to them, all children smell like dogs' droppings.

Witches live in every country across the world. Most fearsome of all is the Grand High Witch, who is the leader of the world's witches. The witches plan to eliminate every single child by turning them all into mice.

One young boy and his grandmother must stop them.

The Witches is a fantastically funny book, which seems to be more scary for adults than the children it was intended for. Undoubtedly, on the surface, it seems an inappropriate subject for children's consumption.

However, it is not really any worse than the Grimm's fairy tales. The truth is that children love these types of stories and The Witches is one of the most well-written and well-loved children's books ever. And it will probably remain so!

The above list is, of course, subjective. These are my top ten Roald Dahl children's books, and, incidentally, my favorites haven't altered much since my childhood. But what about your favorites? Did I miss a Roald Dahl classic you love, or would you rate the books I have mentioned differently?