The BFG by Roald Dahl

The BFG is, of course, such a famous book.  I won't go into all the plot details, inventive and amazing words or the very special relationship between this brave little girl and her gentle giant friend. Read here for some ideas to use with a class.  Next item on my school shopping list is the audio book read by David Walliams.

Instead I just thought I might quote a couple of my favourite passages :

"The butler, an imposing personage named Mr Tibbs, was in supreme command of all the palace servants and he did the best he could in the short time available.  A man does not rise to become the Queen's butler unless he is gifted with extraordinary cunning, sophistication, sagacity, discretion and a host of other talents that neither you nor I possess."

"Sophie, still wearing only her nightie, was reclining comfortably in a crevice of the BFG's right ear. She was actually in the outer rim of the ear, near the top, where the edge of the ear folds over, and this fold-over bit made a sort of roof for her and gave her wonderful protection against the rushing wind. What is more, she was lying on skin that was soft and warm and almost velvety. Nobody, she told herself, had ever travelled in greater comfort."

"Then out he came!
Twenty-four feet tall, wearing his back cloak with the grace of a nobleman, still carrying his long trumpet in one hand, he strode magnificently across the Palace lawn toward the window .. he stopped and made a graceful bow ... 'Your Majester ... I is your humbug servant."

I re-read The BFG today in preparation for seeing the new movie. I do hope it has the same magic (and marvelous words) that make the book so special for every generation.

Rino Alaimo's The boy who loved the moon

"Many years ago, one night in June, the lights of the city went out, one by one, until only a single light illuminated the sky."

This is the light of the moon.  The moon captures the heart of a  lonely boy. He longs to show the moon his love.  He collects a beautiful rose, a deep sea pearl and the diamond eye of a dragon.  Each gift is rejected although not too harshly.  What gift can the boy give the moon?

It seems odd to mention this but today with our Kindergarten classes we read Happy Birthday Moon by Frank Asch.  This is a much simpler book but it is also contains an deeply felt expression of love for the moon.

One of my annual joys is to attend Little Big Shots - a festival of children's short films.  Last year I saw this little film and I was entranced.  Then I discovered this special book made by the film maker. If you are looking for a text and film to explore with a senior class take a look at The Boy who loved the moon.  You could then look at this review which compares the book and the film.

One reviewer likened this book to The Giving Tree.  With a younger class you might also look at Papa Please get the moon for me, Sarah's Heavy Heart and Laura's Star.

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

“They say he was born with his eyes open. Some of the mice pulled away from Despereaux in disgust, and others, thrill seekers, reached out to touch him with a whisker or a paw.”

Why is this sentence so memorable, why is it so powerful? I think two words are the strength of this section – thrill and whisker. All the writing in the Tale of Despereaux gives the sensation of words as jewels, sparkling on the page.

Here is another lovely example:

“The mouse father put Despereaux down on a bed made of blanket scraps. The April sun, weak but determined, shone through a castle window and from there squeezed itself through a small hole in the wall and placed one golden finger on the little mouse.”

And now we have the movie. I have such mixed feelings when a loved children’s book is made into a movie. I fear that the lovely words might be lost. I have not yet seen the movie of Despereaux by Kate Di Camillo because I wanted to re-read this beautifully written tale of heroism, mice, rats, princesses and soup. I was not disappointed by the book.

I have loved the writing of Kate DiCamillo for years since reading Because of Winn Dixie and The Tiger Rising. Both of these books are certainly in my top twenty all-time favourites list. The Tale of Despereaux is such a different genre from these two, but it is equally powerful and important.

My other fear about children’s books made into movies it that parents and children will not know there ever was a book in the first place. Many people do not know Dick King Smith wrote a simple little tale called The Sheep Pig but they have seen the movie Babe. Talking to some mums recently I discovered they were not aware Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg along with The Polar Express are also marvelous books.

Yet despite these fears I also avidly seek movies from books. Recently I saw I was a Rat by Phillip Pullman listed in a television guide and in Google videos I discovered a movie of The Christmas Miracle of Jonathon Toomey (see previous blog entry) which looks fabulous and another of Westlandia by Paul Fleischman.

One of my favourite cultural experiences in recent years is attending Little Big Shots, the film festival for children. It only runs for a few days but there are so many amazing films including many based on children’s books.

I will leave these blog musings with another quote from The Tale of Despereaux as an example of the fine language.

(The king bent over) to look more closely at Despereaux, one ear, two tears, three enormous king-sized tears fell with an audible plop onto Despereaux’s head and rolled down his back, washing away the white of the flour and revealing his own brown fur. ‘Sir. Most Very Honored Head Person, sir.’ said Despereaux as he wiped the kings tears out of his own, ‘She’s in the dungeon.’. 

If you are looking for other mouse or rat heroes you might try Poppy by Avi and all the great sequels and Time stops for no mouse by Michael Hoeye and the sequels these, like Despereaux, are books I would love to get into the hands of all children.

Time stops for no mouse