A SPY, a fighter pilot, a chocolate historian and a medical inventor — Roald Dahl was many things besides the world's No.1 storyteller.

Don't be surprised if you see Violet Beauregarde, Fantastic Mr Fox, or Matilda walking down the street today as the world celebrates Roald Dahl day, in honor of the author's birth.

We asked County Press staff what their favourite Roald Dahl book is — is it the same as yours? Tell us in the comment section below.

Emily Pearce, chief reporter said: "I love how anarchic Fantastic Mr Fox is, and I remember making my own version of George's Marvellous Medicine as a kid — raiding all the cupboards to see what I could find and chucking it all in. My favourite is The Twits though, it's the sheer deviousness of their madcap revenge schemes that cracks me up. Mr Twit's efforts to convince Mrs Twit she has the shrinks is surely the best ploy ever."

Isle of Wight County Press:

We also think Emily reminds us a little bit of the Grand High Witch...

Lori Little, senior reporter, said: "My favourite is Matilda as we all need a bit of magic and mischief in our lives."

Rachael Rosewell, deputy editor, said: "I love Danny Champion of the World. It's a story of a single dad and his boy living in a caravan and catching (poaching) pheasants. It has lots of great characters and you can imagine it taking place on the Island. It was one of my son’s favourite bedtime stories when he was young."

Dave Newble, senior reporter, said: "The first book I read from cover to cover, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, when I was seven, going on eight at Cage Green Primary School in Tonbridge, Kent.

"Our teacher, Miss Ling, was a fan and as I liked it so much, she loaned me her copy of Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator — happy days."

Bill Bradshaw, features editor, said: "It has to be Charlie and Chocolate Factory. It was published when I was still at school and what better combination for schoolkids...chocolate and great characters. And with my name — Bill — I had to live with Willy Wonka for goodness sake. Brilliant."

Megan Baynes, reporter, said: "I loved Boy, which he wrote about his childhood. Although perhaps I should have listened when he said 'A person is a fool to become a writer'."

Kate Cranwell, features writer, said: "My favourite is George's Marvellous Medicine. I'll never forget reading it to my kids and them giggling within the first two paragraphs with the description of George's 'grizzly old grunion of a grandma' having 'a small puckered-up mouth like a dog’s bottom'."

Imogen Tew, reporter, said: "My favourite Dahl book is Matilda and I always wanted to believe that if you concentrated hard enough and became clever enough, you could make things move with your mind."

UPDATED 9AM

Wordery has said that more than one in ten Brits rate Roald Dahl as their favourite author of all time, and he is most popular with women and those aged between 16 and 24.

Matilda is the most searched for book in the UK, reaching 350,000 searches per year, compared to those in the USA who prefer The Witches.

Barry Magennis, from Wordery, said:“It’s no wonder that Roald Dahl is so popular among book lovers, his characters create a sense of intrigue from the start and his magical tales leave many of us hooked."