
“Roald Dahl sometimes shared a tonal kinship with Ogden Nash, and he could demonstrate a verbal inventiveness nearly Seussian…[His] stories work better in audio than in print.”...
“Roald Dahl sometimes shared a tonal kinship with Ogden Nash, and he could demonstrate a verbal inventiveness nearly Seussian…[His] stories work better in audio than in print.”...
Available Formats-
- OverDrive Listen
- OverDrive MP3 Audiobook
Levels-
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ATOS™:
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Lexile®:720
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Interest Level:
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Text Difficulty:3
Languages:-
Edition-
- Unabridged
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Available:0
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Library copies:1
Description-
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“Roald Dahl sometimes shared a tonal kinship with Ogden Nash, and he could demonstrate a verbal inventiveness nearly Seussian…[His] stories work better in audio than in print.” –The New York Times
Captured by a giant!
The BFG is no ordinary bone-crunching giant. He is far too nice and jumbly. It's lucky for Sophie that he is. Had she been carried off in the middle of the night by the Bloodbottler, or any of the other giants—rather than the BFG—she would have soon become breakfast. When Sophie hears that the giants are flush-bunking off to England to swollomp a few nice little chiddlers, she decides she must stop them once and for all. And the BFG is going to help her!Soon to be a Steven Spielberg film!
Excerpts-
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From the cover
The Witching Hour
Sophie couldn't sleep.
A brilliant moonbeam was slanting through a 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 moonbeam was like a silver blade slicing through the room onto 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, she told herself, this was what they called the witching hour.
The witching hour, somebody had once whispered to her, was a special moment in the middle of the night when every child and every grown-up was in a deep deep sleep, and all the dark things came out from hiding and had the world to themselves.
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The moonbeam was brighter than ever on Sophie's pillow. She decided to get out of bed and close the gap in the curtains.
You got punished if you were caught out of bed after lights-out. Even if you said you had to go to the lavatory, that was not accepted as an excuse and they punished you just the same. But there was no one about now, Sophie was sure of that.
She reached out for her glasses that lay on the chair beside her bed. They had steel rims and very thick lenses, and she could hardly see a thing without them. She put them on, then she slipped out of bed and tiptoed over to the window.
When she reached the curtains, Sophie hesitated. She longed to duck underneath them and lean out of the window to see what the world looked like now that the witching hour was at hand.
She listened again. Everywhere it was deathly still.
The longing to look out became so strong she couldn't resist it. Quickly, she ducked under the curtains and leaned out of the window.
In the silvery moonlight, the village street she knew so well seemed completely different. The houses looked bent and crooked, like houses in a fairy tale. Everything was pale and ghostly and milky-white.
Across the road, she could see Mrs Rance's shop, where you bought buttons and wool and bits of elastic. It didn't look real. There was something dim and misty about that too.
Sophie allowed her eye to travel further and further down the street.
Suddenly she froze. There was something coming up the street on the opposite side.
It was something black . . .
Something tall and black . . .
Something very tall and very black and very thin.
Who?
It wasn't a human. It couldn't be. It was four times as tall as the tallest human. It was so tall its head was higher than the upstairs windows of the houses. Sophie opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out. Her throat, like her whole body, was frozen with fright.
This was the witching hour all right.
The tall black figure was coming her way. It was keeping very close to the houses across the street, hiding in the shadowy places where there was no moonlight.
On and on it came, nearer and nearer. But it was moving in spurts. It would stop, then it would move on, then it would stop again.
...
About the Author-
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Roald Dahl (1916-1990) was born in Wales of Norwegian parents. He spent his childhood in England and, at age eighteen, went to work for the Shell Oil Company in Africa. When World War II broke out, he joined the Royal Air Force and became a fighter pilot. At the age of twenty-six he moved to Washington, D.C., and it was there he began to write. His first short story, which recounted his adventures in the war, was bought by The Saturday Evening Post, and so began a long and illustrious career.
After establishing himself as a writer for adults, Roald Dahl began writing children’s stories in 1960 while living in England with his family. His first stories were written as entertainment for his own children, to whom many of his books are dedicated.
Roald Dahl is now considered one of the most beloved storytellers of our time. Although he passed away in 1990, his popularity continues to increase as his fantastic novels, including James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, The BFG, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, delight an ever-growing legion of fans.
Learn more about Roald Dahl on the official Roald Dahl Web site: www.roalddahl.com
Reviews-
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Versatile British actor David Walliams pulls out all the stops from his vocal repertoire to create a romping narration of this children's classic. There's no voice too big or too small for him, whether it's giving the Big Friendly Giant a deep, rumbling Cockney accent or endowing the queen of England with a prim and proper tone. Helping him along are well-placed sound effects sprinkled throughout--from the loud roars of evil giants to the soft tinkling of glass. The sounds enhance the wacky adventure, which only Roald Dahl could dream up. The four-plus hours whiz by with whimsy and inspired fun. Whether you're a child or a child at heart, you'll have a wopsy, splendiferous time. E.E. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine
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In a perfect combination of plot and narration, Natasha Richardson has created a splendid rendition of a true children's classic. Dahl's ability to twist words into a clever and creative new language is fascinating to children, and an enjoyable challenge to adults. The gruesome descriptions of the horrid giants and the subtle allusions to other stories will entertain children young and old. Richardson's narration adds the final perfect touch--her voices are marvelous, investing Sophie with the innocence and longing of a lonely but proper little girl, creating a lovable if sometimes irascible giant, and even finding the exact tones for the imperious yet understanding queen. Even the narrator is absolutely right--objective yet compassionate! With voices full of emotion, indignation, and humor, Richardson builds and maintains the story, bringing it to its charming end. A true gem! W.L.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine
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November 1, 2013
Gr 3-6-Dahl's classic story about the Big Friendly Giant and heroine Sophie, first published in 1982, comes to life in this audiobook read by David Williams. The BFG is not in the business of gobbling up "human beans," but instead spends his days eating the foul-tasting snozzcumbers and drinking frobscottle. He spends his nights spreading good dreams to children. One night after Sophie sees the BFG spreading good dreams, he takes her back to Giant Country because she witnessed him at work. Sophie learns that there are bone-crunching, 50-foot tall giants who feast on "little chiddlers" from around the world. The two pair up to stop the Bloodbottler, Meatdripper, and other giants from traveling the world at night. They devise a plan to recruit the Queen of England to help stop the terrifying giants. The story is magically narrated by Williams who gives each character depth and personality. Sound effects and music enhance the telling. Children will want to listen to the story again and again.-Jessica Gilcreast, McDonough Elementary School, Manchester, NH
Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Title Information+
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Publisher
Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group -
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OverDrive MP3 Audiobook
Burn to CD:PermittedTransfer to device:PermittedTransfer to Apple® device:PermittedPublic performance:Not permittedFile-sharing:Not permittedPeer-to-peer usage:Not permittedAll copies of this title, including those transferred to portable devices and other media, must be deleted/destroyed at the end of the lending period.