The BFG (1982)

I read this book every year to the third grade classes in my library story time. They start out thinking its stupid, but Dahl sucks them all in. Probably one of my favorite Dahl books of all time. The snozzcumbers and whizzpoppers and all the other crazy language makes it the best book to read aloud. ( )

Roald was a master of Imagination, and anyone should be able to understand why his works have been adapted by other iconic creatives including, but not limited to: Zemeckis, Spielberg, and Burton.

Outside of most of the silver screen adaptations, I have never been a die-hard fan of his oeuvre, generally, or him as a person, specifically— but I do appreciate the creativity and imagination he put into his work.

As for The BFG, I liked it well-enough. The plot may be overly-silly and whimsical, but where this one truly shines is being read aloud to your children at bedtime. The voices and language used are just so much fun out loud.

If you ever get the chance to read this to someone— take it. ( )

4.5 stars. Classic, sweet, endearing tale. ( )

Mooi geschreven boek met goede verhaallijn over de reus die kinderen juist helpt in plaats van op te eten. Het is een mooi fantasie boek want aansluit op dromen en fantasie beelden van kinderen. Gedetailleerd en beeldend geschreven, ook de taal van de GVR zorgt voor sterkere verhaallijn.

Voorlezen is door de taal van de GVR wel lastig. ( )

This was one of my favorite books when I was little, and it was a delight to read it again. There's just something about the combination of words like scrumdidlyuptious, swashboggling, and thingalingaling with Quentin Blake's illustration that lets me know I'm in for fun.

Sophie is a bright little girl doing her best after being kidnapped by a friendly giant. She's not quite as enterprising as the titular character of [b:Matilda|39988|Matilda|Roald Dahl|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388793265s/39988.jpg|1015554], doing more reacting than instigating and getting a bit lost in the fourth act when the adults take over, but she still manages to save the day at the last minute. And it's lovely to have a girl main character with thick glasses--not something I appreciated while I was eight and un-bespectacled, but something that I do like now.

I'd completely forgotten the crazy way the BFG speaks, and I have a feeling that with trying to sound my way through the words (or, let's be honest, skipping them after the first syllable) would have either been very fun or very frustrating--maybe more fun if a parent was reading these nonsense words out loud.

I found it amusing that Dahl seems to have had quite a beef with math teachers--two of them are the victims of children's good dreams, being taught a lesson of their own. One of the most devastating moments of second grade was when my teacher refused to keep reading Matilda because the first chapter was told from the perspective of a teacher imagining the delightfully horrid ways they would describe their real feelings about their beastlier students. It gave me a smile to see that attitude showing up again.

All in all, a charming little book, imaginative and fairy-tale-like as always, and with Dahl's characteristic darkness interwoven with the fun, proving that he understands how children can handle stories that aren't all sunshine and roses. BFG's as grumpy as Gandalf while Sophie is a model child, and they play off each other perfectly.

Quote Roundup

49) "What I say and what I mean is two different things," the BFG announced rather grandly.
Dahl might very well say this about a lot of his work! One of the best parts of his writing is having his adults speak more pompously and circumlocutiously (hee hee!) than the children in a way that young readers can still tell isn't quite getting across the meaning.

53) "Words," he said, "is oh such a twitch-tickling problem to me all my life. So you must simply be patient and stop squibbling. As I am telling you before, I know exactly what words I am wanting to say, but somehow or other they is always getting squiff-squiddled around."
A problem that any language learner, but especially the children reading this book, can relate to. ( )