The+BFG



Dahl, R. (1982). //The BFG//. New York, NY: Scholastic, Inc.

Plot:  One night, Sophie is unable to sleep in her bed at the orphanage. The curtains in the dormitory room are not completely shut and the light is coming right in on her bed. As she runs to the window to close the blinds she notices an unusual sight out her window. Across the street there is a giant man blowing a trumpet looking instrument into the window of the children who live across the street of her orphanage. The giant’s enormous ears are able to hear Sophie and she is snatched right out of the orphanage window. Miles and miles the giant runs with Sophie captured, finally slowing down in a strange desert looking land with blue rocks. The giant brings Sophie into his rock cave and she is convinced that he is going to eat her for supper. As she and the giant begin speaking, Sophie discovers that the giant, named the Big Friendly Giant (BFG for short) does not eat humans, but there are many giants in his land who do.

 The BFG fills her in on the other giants with names like “Bonecrusher” and “Childchewer” because of the manner in which they eat humans. Sophie discovers that not only does the BFG not eat humans, he actually helps them by blowing pleasant dreams into their rooms while they sleep. Over the next day Sophie sees firsthand the terribleness of the human eating giants, she is taken to the land where the BFG catches dreams, and she learns all the interesting words the BFG, who was not privy to a formal education, has invented for himself. As the next night falls and the other giants boast of their upcoming adventure to eat little orphans in England Sophie develops a plan to stop them. It is up to she and the BFG to prevent the giants from ever eating another human.

 Sophie decides that the only person who could possibly help with this big of a problem is the Queen of England. With the help of the BFG, Sophie develops a plan involving the BFG mixing up a special dream for the Queen. This dream, or nightmare rather, contains all the horrors of the giants eating children out of orphanages. When the Queen wakes from this nightmare she will see Sophie sitting on her windowsill, just as she had at the end of her dream. It is then that she will realize that the nightmare is true and she will believe Sophie and she will meet the BFG without thinking him a terrible giant. Sophie’s plan works and the Queen sends out the Army and the Air Force to capture the giants. Being led by the BFG, they took nine helicopters off the map to giant country. Once there, they tied up the sleeping giants and brought them back to a giant hole in London, where they could never escape and never eat another human being. An enormous house and tiny cottage were built next to Windsor castle for the BFG and Sophie to live happily ever after.

Personal Reflection: This is a fascinating fantasy novel. I remember reading it at a young age and feeling that I had never read anything quite like it. Rereading it as an adult, I still feel the same. The interaction between the slightly know it all young Sophie and the older, simple minded BFG is very sweet and often hilarious; they are so different and yet both somewhat of outcasts in their own worlds. Sophie’s knowledge of fact and fiction is constantly being called into question by her new friend. Roald Dahl has a gift with creating words that are easily understood by the reader, yet hilarious to read and attempt to pronounce. I was completely captivated by the description of the dreams in the jars and Sophie and the BFG’s plan to mix up a special dream in their attempt to stop the giants from killing any more humans. The silliness of the book is continued throughout this plan.

Genre: Fantasy

Reading Level: Ages 8 – 12

Subjects/Themes: Orphans

Awards:  1985 German Youth Literature Prize  IL Abraham Lincoln High School Book Award  Illinois Bluestem Book Award ML

Film Information: <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;"> Animated film released in 1985.

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Reviews: <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">//The New York Times// (1983, January). <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">//The Telegraph's// "The 25 Best Children's Books" (2010, November 18). <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">//Booklist// Best Books of the '80s <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">//Booklist// Editors' Choice <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">//Booklist// (1996, March 1). <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">//Horn Book Magazine// (2010, February/March).

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Character List: <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Sophie: She is an orphan living in an orphanage in England. She befriends the BFG and wants to stop the other giants from eating innocent people.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">The Big Friendly Giant (BFG): The BFG is a giant who lives in a land of other giants. He captures dreams and blows them into children’s windows at night. He does not eat humans like other giants. The BFG had no formal education and often makes up his own words.

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Annotation: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Once Sophie realizes that the giant who kidnapped her is not planning on having her for supper, she grows to like his sweet ways and odd words. But when she sees that not all giants are as kind to humans as the Big Friendly Giant she realizes they must do something to save the innocent people being dined on by the other giants.