Modern Fantasy

The BFG
Written By: Roald Dahl
Illustrated By: Quentin Blake

Summary:

The BFG is a story about a little girl, Sophie, who is stolen out of her room by a giant one night during the "witching hour." She sees him blowing something into the window of a kid down the street, and before she can hide in her own bed, he steals her and takes her to giant country where she learns that he is actually the Big Friendly Giant who steals the bad dreams of children and gets rid of them, replacing them with good dreams. He is not the only giant, however, and the other giants and large nasty giants who eat children. Sophie and the BFG come up with a plan to get rid of the child-eating giants, a plan that involves allowing the Queen dream about these giants. With her help and the help of other key figures, Sophie and the BFG take a group of helicopters, tie the other giants up in their sleep, and place them all in a giant pit, forcing them to eat snozzcumbers instead of children for the rest of their days.

Application:

This book is a great example of fantasy, but it has a wonderful message and theme of friendship that cannot be ignored. Sophie and the BFG become great friends in spite of their extreme opposites in the book; she started out terrified of him! This book opens the door to great discussion about how differences can be overcome and friendship can come out of those differences.