Sophie did not even believe in giants, but on a fitful night of sleep at the orphanage she was snatched right out of the window in her nightie. Luck have it her way that she was taken by the Big Friendly Giant and not by any other of the man-eating giants that snatch little girls and boys from their beds, especially not the Childchewer.
The B.F.G. takes Sophie to giant country for fear of being discovered by others, but when Sophie hears of all the other giants and how gruesome, nasty and mean they are, she convinces the B.F.G. to help put an end to the giants' evil ways. Who would have thought that a giant would ever have breaky with the Queen of England or that dreams have to be captured in a net like butterflies?
224 pages 978-0142410387 Ages 9-12
Submitted by M. R.R.
******************
The BFG is no ordinary bone-crunching giant. He is far too nice and jumbly. It's lucky for Sophie that he is. Had she been carried off in the middle of the night by the Bloodbottler, or any of the other giants—rather than the BFG—she would have soon become breakfast. When Sophie hears that the giants are flush-bunking off to England to swollomp a few nice little chiddlers, she decides she must stop them once and for all. And the BFG is going to help her!---from the publisher
*****************
When Sophie is woken by a silver moonbeam shining through a crack in the curtains, and, against the rules of the orphanage in which she lives, she gets out of bed to close the curtain she has no idea that her life is about to take her on the most amazing adventure and be changed forever.
For as she peeks out she sees a most amazing sight... coming up the other side of the street was something black. Something tall and black. Something very tall and very black and very thin.
It is nearly 40 years since I first picked up this book by Roald Dahl, creator of classic characters like Willy Wonka and Miss Truncbull and as I read the first few pages, I could hear myself sharing the story with my students. All these years on and countless students have met the iconic big, friendly giant as it has been my go-to book in so many situations. Share the passage of his description, get the children to identify the keywords and then interpret these in drawing and discuss why each child's work is different even though they started with the same information. Drop coloured dye onto paper towelling, write your dream on it, put it in a jar and open it on the last day of school to see if you still have the same dreams....
Using his gift for language that remains with us and his irreverence for adults, Dahl delights children with his tales and it is time now for the next generation to become fans, just as those who have met him previously have done.
Recommended by: Barbara Braxton, Teacher Librarian, New South Wales AUSTRALIA
See more of her recommendations:
500 Hats https://500hats.edublogs.org/
The Bottom Shelf https://thebottomshelf.edublogs.org/
Storybook Cushions https:// bit.ly/storybook_cushions
