Product Description

This is the well-loved story of a big friendly giant who spirits a child out of bed to the land of the child-eating giants. This edition has a great new cover by Quentin Blake as well as a whole new exciting end section about Roald Dahl and his world.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #118215 in Books
• Published on: 2007-09-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Amazon.com Review
Evidently not even Roald Dahl could resist the acronym craze of the early eighties. BFG? Bellowing ferret-faced golfer? Backstabbing fairy godmother? Oh, oh ... Big Friendly Giant! This BFG doesn't seem all that F at first as he creeps down a London street, snatches little Sophie out of her bed, and bounds away with her to giant land. And he's not really all that B when compared with his evil, carnivorous brethren, who bully him for being such an oddball runt. After all, he eats only disgusting snozzcumbers, and while the other Gs are snacking on little boys and girls, he's blowing happy dreams in through their windows. What kind of way is that for a G to behave?

The BFG is one of Dahl's most lovable character creations. Whether galloping off with Sophie nestled into the soft skin of his ear to capture dreams as though they were exotic butterflies; speaking his delightful, jumbled, squib-fangled patois; or whizzpopping for the Queen, he leaves an indelible impression of bigheartedness. (Ages 9 to 12)

Review
Dahl's elemental fix on kids' consciousness gets this off to a surefire shivery start, with orphan Sophie, awake st the witching hour, snatched from her bed by a giant hand and carried off to a land of giants clear off the last page of the atlas. But Sophie's kidnapper is really friendly (hence BFG for Big Friendly Giant) and does not eat humans as she had feared, but occupies himself gathering and dispensing dreams. He also expresses himself in a mixed-up, cutesy manner that is simply tiresome. Nearby, however, are nine still-bigger giants who do eat humans ("I is a nice and jumbly giant" but "human beans is like strawbunkles and cream to those giants," says the BFG) - and it's to protect the world from them that Sophie and the BFG hatch a scheme: He will mix a dream from his collection and send it to the Queen of England to apprise her of the threat; then, when she awakens, Sophie will be on her windowsill, and the BFG waiting in the garden, to convince her that the dream is true. And so it is that we find Sophie and the BFG breakfasting with Her Majesty . . . and the BFG violating all decorum, even to letting fly a glumptious whizzpopper (kids would call it a fart). Nevertheless the Queen is impressed and sends off her military men, who, under the BFG's direction, rope the sleeping giants and haul them back by helicopter to be imprisoned in a giant pit. This is all told in Dahl's higgledy-piggledy home-made manner, which is rarely disarming here despite the pandering. And it's hard to find the bumble-tongued BFG endearing. (Kirkus Reviews)

Review
"Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake are uncanny in their understanding of what children like to read and see. Sophie, an eight-year-old orphan, is kidnapped by the BFG (Big Friendly Giant) and taken to Giantland, where [her] alliance with the BFG and the queen of England results in the capture of the nine evil giants. Children will enjoy this book." --The New York Times Book Review

Customer Reviews

Delightful! CAUTION: not for the little ones (too scary)
Hard to believe I missed this delightful book as a child. I adored Dahl, and read much of him, but I'd never heard of this until my wife brought it home one day. You and/or your child will also enjoy this funny and touching adventure about a kindly giant.

However, I would caution you that the book is about people-eating giants who snatch children from their beds in the night. They are beastly things who eat little children and have horrifying names. It's scary stuff! Perhaps not best to read aloud to little ones!

Awesome Book
I have always loved Roald Dahl's amazing stories, and this one was just as good as his others. I love the typical Dahlian nonsensical words that aren't fully nonsensical (my favorites being `babblement' and `catasterous disastrophe'). The book is written in a very child-friendly way, but can be enjoyed by all ages. Another particular part I liked was the theory about age, that humans are technically only half their given age, since half of our lives are pretty much slept away. It makes perfect sense to me! I highly enjoyed the insertion of Jack and the Beanstalk into the story, and really the whole societal structure of the giants. I'm pretty sure this is the first book we've read in this class that I've actually enjoyed the ending and thought it all turned out very well. I love how Dahl ties it all up with the BFG actually being the one telling the story, taking on the name of Roald Dahl from Dahl's Chickens (Charles Dickens). Adorable real-world tie-in. I suppose the only complain I have is that Sophie was somewhat a 2-D character, although this would allow a child reading the book to identify with her more.

complete classical nonsense
This has Dahl written all over, it is makes you want to laugh at the sheer nonsense of it gasp at the huge outrageousness of and cry at how Sophie finds a home at last with her friend the BFG

one of Dahl's best