The BFG by Roald Dahl

I had heard of this story many times as two of my children have read it and many other of Dahl's works. But it wasn't until recently that I decided to read it myself. This decision was spurred after doing a classroom observation for my schoolwork. I have to have 80 hours of observation before I can begin my student teaching. The class was a 2nd/3rd grade classroom of about 10 students. It is the teacher's first year at this school, though she has at least two years prior experience in teaching. The class was about halfway through the book on the day of my observation, and the teacher did such a delightful job of reading. I particularly enjoyed the voice she gave to the BFG (Big Friendly Giant) and the way she so accurately mispronounced the words as written.

The book is a quick read and a delightful, fanciful story of a little girl who is carried away by the BFG after she spies him blowing through a trumpet in the middle of the night. Although the BFG is friendly, thus the name, he actually isn't very big for a giant and is not typical of giants in many other ways as well. The young girl witnesses the existence of more typical giants and is warned by the BFG about what will happen to her if the other giants were to find her. She is horrified when she learns that giants eat people and devises a plan to save the human race from the giants, with the help of the BFG.

It is a rather silly book, but fun to read and full of confusing words that sort of make sense. If you have children in the 7-10 age range, this is a recommended read for them and you.