The BFG by Roald Dahl

Title: The BFG
Author: Roald Dahl
Illustrator: Quinton Blake
ISBN: 0-590-97500-5
208 pages
Scholastic, Inc. 1982 edition

One of my favorites when I was a kid (I believe I was in 4th or 5th grade when I read it) "The BFG" is a classic kids' book by one of the giants in the field; Mr. Roald Dahl. Fast paced and nicely illustrated, it is a book that I have foisted on my younger siblings in hopes that the might enjoy it as well.

Description:

"The BFG" tells the story of a young girl named Sophie who is snatched from her bedroom one night by a mysterious giant. Sophie is taken off to giant land which, as the name suggests, is inhabited by many a foul and frightening giant. Luck would have it that Sophie has been kidnapped by the only nice giant in all of giant land (the Big Friendly Giant or BFG) and she soon learns that every night the giants make their way to England and snatch a few young English children on each of their visits. The BFG is the only friendly giant of the lot and is a sort of dream-catcher; he bottles up good dreams that he hears with his overgrown ears and blows them into the bedrooms of children with his trumpet. Sophie and the BFG quickly become friends and Sophie decides to end the plundering of the nasty giants with the help of the BFG, of course.

Review:

A really fun book, Dahl's collaboration with the illustrator Blake is reminiscent of the work of Dr. Seuss, where the images and the story itself become inseparable in the minds of the reader's looking back fondly on the stories. "The BFG" is filled with lots of fun inventions and with just the right mix of scary and silly. The BFG himself eats lots of funny-named items like the disgusting snozzcumber and the names of the various giants follow in the same vein (Gizzardgulper and Meatdripper being two of my favorites). The story is very sweet and one gets a real treat in the growing relationship between Sophie and her giant friend. The chapter in which the BFG explains his huge and very special ears (and what he uses them for) is one that I remembered from when I was a child and upon re-reading was just as awe-inspiring as I remember it. While "The BFG" might, depending on the reading level of the individual 'tween', be a little on the young side for the 'tween' age group, it is nonetheless a great book that has a magical quality about it that every kid should experience.