Books : The BFG

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Rating:

- Big Friendly Giant Went over Big
I bought this for my son, and he greatly enjoyed it. His teacher had read it aloud at school, and he wanted
his own book. I'm glad it was shipped right away, since my son had kept asking me when he'd get it. The seller shipped promptly, and the book was in excellent condition.

Rating:

- Another great read from Roald Dahl
I have been a great fan of Roald Dahl's books since I was a young child. I would go into the library quite often and read any of his books that I could get my hands on. His books are enjoyable for all age levels. I am a college student, and I still enjoy sitting down and reading them. The BFG was always one of my favorites. It has great humor, and endearing characters. I highly recommend it.

Rating:

- The BFG
The BFG by Roald Dahl

Reviewed by
(age 9) Stockbridge central School 4th Grade (5 stars. )

Imagine that you were snatched out of your bed by a giant! Well that happened to Sophie. She was trying to sleep but she couldn't. She went out of her room and was looking out of the window because there was a very bright light on her pillow. She saw the scariest thing: it was a skinny man with a black cape. Sophie tried to scream but it didn't come out. Then she was in the giants hands being carried away!
I love this book because the BFG The Big Friendly Giant) talks really funny. He said words like "snozzcumbers" and "whizzpoppers". (I won't tell you what they are.) The book was really exciting. There are 9 other man eating giants and Sophie and the BFG have to stop them before they strike again! If you want to know if they succeed read the book!

Rating:

- Not All Giants are the Same
Imagine being taken away by someone or something, which is 100 times bigger than you are. Imagine flying over continents in amazing speeds in the ear of a giant, and save the world from human-eating giants. In The BFG, by Roald Dalh, this is what happens to Sophie, an orphan living in England, who is kidnapped by a giant in the middle of the night and taken away to a far away place.

Her only fault is to be awake and be watching the giant when he is peeking into the bedrooms of others' houses. She is terrified and thinks she will be a meal to this giant. However, she finds out that his name is The BFG: The Big Friendly Giant, who does not eat human beings. He is unlike the other giants who are bigger, who travel to different countries and eat children and adults for dinner. Once Sophie makes friends with the friendly giant, she decides to stop the carnivorous giants from eating more people in the world with the help of the BFG in a very clever way - through dreams that the BFG collects!

Although the BFG is a giant, he is not like the others: he is unique. He does not eat people. He is a Big Friendly Giant. After reading this book we cannot say all giants are dangerous or bad. There is always one that is unique, and one that saves the day. This is a great book to teach about different people in the world. We cannot generalize about people, for example, "Turkish people are lazy." One is apt to find an exception to the rule. It requires courage and an open mind to discover the unique.

The BFG is a fun book to read. The author, Roald Dahl, uses made up words to show that the BFG is not properly schooled because he does not know how to speak "proper" English. So, instead of saying, "Cross your fingers," he says, "Cross your figglers." These words force the reader to figure out what he really means. The way the giant talks is also funny and grammatically wrong: "I is hungry." "Am I right or left?" "Bonecrunching Giant only gobbles human beans from Turkey."

I love The BFG. It has been nice to get lost in the world of a giant and identify with him. Not a lot of books talk about being a vegetarian. Although it is about giants, I like the idea that he is not killing people or animals to eat. It is a very lighthearted book. Reading about where the BFG and his companions live took me to an imaginary land. How he collects dreams and stores them in glass containers was a delight to read.

Every adult should read this book to escape the silliness and stress of the real world. I especially recommend it to people who love playing with languages and making up their own words. I love the made up words, such as "phizzwizard" for a great dream or "trogglehumper" for a nightmare. His everyday sayings are also changed into strange BFG-language very creatively: "Oh, save our solos!" for "Save our souls."

On the other hand, it might be a hard book to read for students who learn English as a second language because they may not have the foundation of the English vocabulary to figure out what these made-up words may mean. This would be a great book to read to children. If kids get confused, they can always ask the adult who is reading it for clarification so the fun does not get spoiled.

Rating:

- A Great Classic, Review by YM, age 12
The BFG is a classic by Roald Dahl, who I think is one of the best authors I have read books by. It begins with a girl named Sophie being kidnapped by a giant from a home for orphans in England. Naturally, she is frightened of him at first, but as she gets to know the Big Friendly Giant (BFG), she hatches a plot to help him get rid of his nasty neighbours.

I particularly like this book, because unlike many other books with children overcoming problems, instead of adults helping the child, Sophie actually helps the queen of England get rid of a problem. This has great action, but it could also be a comedy because of the funny scenes, which is why I like it so much (I love funny books). I would recommend this book to anybody, child or adult, who likes funny books with some action.

- Y.M.P.

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