WHAT PARENTS NEED TO KNOW from Common Sense Media

Parents need to know that Roald Dahl's The BFG is a delightful fantasy about a girl named Sophie who makes friends with a Big Friendly Giant. It's full of vivid characters and hilariously creative language. The BFG uses an abundance of invented words and inverted idioms ("Am I right or am I left?" "Hopscotchy," "Delumptious," "Whizzpopping") that could be challenging for young independent readers to decipher, but the book makes a great read-aloud. There are some scary and suspenseful moments for little Sophie, and readers learn that the bigger giants eat children, but there's no graphic violence. Alcohol is mentioned a couple of times, but none is consumed "onscreen." One small warning for parents of impressionable children, though: Sophie and the BFG debate the delights and offenses of burping vs. farting, and a couple of scenes when the BFG passes gas are among the funniest in the book. The book does include lots of humor, as well as a brave hero and heroine, and wonderful, unlikely friendships. The BFG was made into an animated film (1989) and a live action/CGI movie (2016) directed by Steven Spielberg.