Roald Dahl RAF pilots blamed the gremlins for all the problems with the aircraft. While at the British Embassy in Washington, Dahl sent a copy to the First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt who read it to her grandchildren, and the book was commissioned by Walt Disney for a film that was never made. Dahl went on to create some of the best-loved children's stories of the 20th century, such as "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", "Matilda", "James and the Giant Peach", "The Witches", "Fantastic Mr Fox", "The BFG", "The Twits" and "George's Marvellous Medicine". Dahl also had a successful parallel career as the
Roald Dahl as "one of the greatest storytellers for children of the 20th century". His awards for contribution to literature include the 1983 World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement, and the British Book Awards' Children's Author of the Year in 1990. In 2008, "The Times" placed Dahl 16th on its list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945". Dahl's short stories are known for their unexpected endings, and his children's books for their unsentimental, macabre, often darkly comic mood, featuring villainous adult enemies of the child characters. His books champion the kindhearted, and feature an underlying warm sentiment. Dahl's works for