MMGM: BFG

Today's Marvelous Middle Grade Monday pick:

BFG, by Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake

BFG

Written by Roald Dahl
Illustrated by Quentin Blake
Jonathan Cape, Penguin Random House, 1982
Ages 4-12, Lexile 720L
224 pp, 38000 words


Themes:
Fantasy, Friendships, Assumptions


Opening:
Sophie couldn't sleep.
A brilliant moonbeam was slanting through the gap in the curtains. It was shining right on to her pillow.
The other children in the dormitory had been asleep for hours.
Sophie closed her eyes and lay quite still. She tried very hard to doze off.
It was no good. The moon beam was like a silver blade slicing through the room on to her face.
The house was absolutely silent. No voices came up from downstairs. There were no footsteps on the floor above either.
The window behind the curtain was wide open, but nobody was walking on the pavement outside. No cars went by on the street. Not the tiniest sound could be heard anywhere. Sophie had never known such a silence.
Perhaps, Sophie told herself, this was what they called the witching hour.

Thoughts:
It may be sacrilegious, but I am not as big a Roald Dahl fan as perhaps I should be. I fell in love with James and the Giant Peach in sixth grade. Honestly, it was decades before I found out it was an excerpt. By the time I read the novel, I had already imagined my own story around the incident and couldn't reconcile the two. I didn't grow up with Gene Wilder's Willy Wonka so that particular book had no pull on me. To me, Danny and his father were the worst kind of heroes.

But BFG was the book which opened the magical door. Suddenly I could hear the music in Dahl's words and gulp in the delightful silliness page after page. The text is so lyrically perfect. The humor, both subtle and absolute. The characters are the kind you want to cuddle and keep in your pocket.

So if you haven't read this book, find a copy and blow off work for the afternoon.
If you 've read it before, dust off your favorite edition and read it again.
Either way, it's whoopsy whiffling.


Bonus: 
1. Scholastic posted a sweet little interview with the author on writing, and Viva Veltoro did a fabulous interview with Dahl's daughter, Lucy, specifically about the BFG. Stephanie of Mommy Musings gives her take on the group interview.

2.  Lucy's opinion of the movie and mine seem to sync. You can read my book-to-movie comparison on the Summer Drive-In feature from last Friday.

3. For other gentle giants, try Betsy Gould Hearne's South Star series, Ted Hughes's The Iron Man (AKA The Iron Giant), The Twin Giants, by Dick King-Smith, or The Giant Smugglers, by Matt Solomon and Chris Pauls.

South Star,
by Betsy Gould Hearne
Cover by Trina Schart Hyman

The Giant Smugglers,
by Matt Solomon and Chris Pauls
Cover by Matt Griffin

Twin Giants,
by Dick King-Smith
Cover by Mini Grey

The Iron Man,
By Ted Hughes
Cover by Andrew Davidson

4. Below are some links to explore other Dahl-ing reviews by fellow MMGM participants.

BFG
Brooke on Somewhere in the Middle
Mike from Middle Grade Mafioso
Jenni Enzor
Michelle Mason

Matilda
Cait of The Hopeful Heroine
Michael on Middle Grade Mafioso


5. Roald Dahl was a master of wordplay. The OED added six new words to the dictionary last year in his honor. Increase your own vocabulary with the Dahl Dictionary at Wonderful Dahl. Or buy your own Oxford Roald Dahl Dictionary from Oxford University Press.

Check out all the recommended titles for Marvelous Middle Grade Monday for July 3, 2017 available on Shannon Messenger's Ramblings of a Wannabe Scribe.

Feel free to leave your MG recommendations in the comments. Thanks!

Now Playing: BFG

Perfect Picture Book Friday will return in September.
Until then,

Welcome to the Bookish Ambition 

Summer Drive-In

The Circle Drive-In from my childhood. Still open and now with double features on two screens!

Now Playing: BFG
Written by Roald Dahl
Illustrated by Quentin Blake
Jonathan Cape, Penguin Random House, 1982
Ages 4-12, Lexile 720L

BFG Disney, 2016

My favorite edition of BFG,
by Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake

 

Highlights from the book? 

• Roald Dahl's inimitable writing style
• whiz bang vocabulary
• Quentin Blake's timeless, expressive illustrations
• Nicholas Nickleby by Dahl's Chickens
• The dream chapter

Highlights from the movie?

• Mark Rylance's performance
• worthy special effects by Weta Workshop
• John William's score
• a corgi enjoying the effects of Frobscottle (according to my son)

Opening:

Sophie couldn't sleep.
A brilliant moonbeam was slanting through the gap in the curtains. It was shining right on to her pillow.

Movie Trailer:


Overall, I thought this was a fun and faithful adaptation of the book, while still making the most of the medium of film. The effects blended pretty seamlessly, though I was a bit disappointed by the giants. I respect the changes the scriptwriters made, for drama, pathos, and action. I could love this as much as the book, I think. My children certainly do. And though I have always insisted my children read the novel before watching the movie adaptation, I highly recommend this version as an introduction for the reluctant reader.

Reminisce with intermission commercials

from Captain Bijou on You Tube.

Visit Our Snackbar!

What would the drive-in be like without the snack bar?

Popcorn is one of my favorite foods, but we ALWAYS bring a small cooler with Oreo cookies and milk. It just wouldn't be summer without them.

If you're craving something a bit more portable, try the fabulous Oreo cookies and cream muddy buddy Chex Mix (aka puppy chow) courtesy Mommy on Demand.



Nostalgic for a drive-in movie? There are over 5,000 drive-in theaters across the U.S. mapped for you on Cinema Treasures.

Buy your own blue tooth Drive-in speakers from Detroit Diecast

Have you seen any screen adaptations of The BFG? What's your opinion?
Have you reviewed the book? Please leave the link in the comments below. Thanks!

Check out the Marvelous Middle Grade Monday review coming July 3, 2017.
Coming Soon: Ballet Shoes.

Illustration Sensation, Quentin Blake

Q is for Quentin Blake*

Sir Quentin Blake has been an illustrator for over sixty years. His art appears in magazines, books, galleries, and on postage stamps and hospital walls. In 1999, he became the first Children's Laureate. He was knighted by the Prince of Wales in 2013. He has received numerous awards including the Bologna Ragazzi prize, the Hans Christian Andersen Award, the Kate Greenaway Medal, and the Eleanor Farjeon Award.

He is perhaps best known for his illustrations of Roald Dahl characters.

Willy Wonka, Charlie, and Grandpa

Matilda

The Big Friendly Giant

A Near Thing for
Captain Najork, by Russell Hoban

Walker Books recently re-released three of Russell Hoban's classic books with the original Quentin Blake illustrations. ">Quentin Blake works loosely with pen and ink. 

To keep each illustration fresh, he works on a light box. The sketch shines through the paper, but not enough to copy it exactly. In this way, each drawing takes on new life of its own. He endeavors to create characters which are defined enough to tell a story, but not so defined that they interfere with the concept formed in the reader's imagination. Of artistic talent, he says, “Don’t worry about being a great artist … just draw until you find your style” 


I remember him best for his comic, Waldo Widdershin, which he produced for Cricket Magazine in the early 1980's.

More recently, Quentin Blake established the House of Illustration, the world's first non-profit dedicated to illustration as an art form. His work can be seen in various gallery shows, including Quentin Blake, Larger than Life, which showcases his mural work.

From the exhibition, Large As Life, at Hall Place & Gardens

You can read more about him in his books, Laureate's Progress, Beyond the Page, Words and Pictures, or see his work in over 300 books.

*Follow the A to Z Challenge.

Fresh Talent, Katie Kath

Welcome to the Saturday illustrator spotlight on Bookish Ambition.

Courtesy Katie Kath

Two weeks ago, I featured illustrator, Kelly McMorris, whom I found while schmoozing with the online kidlit community.

In my research, I discovered she had been chosen for the SIS. It seemed only fitting to feature the other recipient of the 2013 summer scholarship, Katie Kath right before the LA conference.

Katie Kath's Mia

Katie is no less deserving of our attention here. Her style is playful and, well, fresh. Her simplicity doesn't seem forced. That is no small feat.

Katie is multi-dimensional, but I think her children's art shines brightest. She interjects emotion and energy into her drawings with minimal line. Her palette is very limited.

Perusal of her blog reveals she struggles with developing style and direction, just like many of us, but what impresses (and inspires) me when I scan her portfolio is the timelessness of her art. When I look at her cavorting kids, I see Marylin Hafner or Quentin Blake. The simple realism is honest, like Aliki with a touch of Jan Ormerod and a dash of Erik Blegvad.

Sketchbook page courtesy Katie Kath

Y'know, this is one of the best parts of my week. I love, love, love finding new artists and exploring their work. I encounter scores of people each month. The hardest part is deciding who to feature next. I try to post a mix of ages, backgrounds, and countries of origin. I can be inspired by style, color palette, technique, creativity, or backstory. I love an underdog. There are just so many artists who inspire me! What about you? Who inspires you? What grabs your attention when you sift through a sea of images?