This past summer we decided to start up a family book club. My boys were excited about sharing their favorite books with us, my husband thought it was a good way to get them to read some non-fiction and I was happy for a chance to work on critical reading skills over the school break. Plus, we agreed that discussions would take place at the local frozen yogurt shop, so that kept everyone motivated.
My 7 year old chose The BFG by Roald Dahl as our first book.
It's the story of a little girl who spies a giant out her window and is then carried off by him to Giant Country. Lucky for her, she is taken by the BFG (Big Friendly Giant), the one giant who spends his nights blowing good dreams into the minds children instead of gobbling them up. Unlike his brothers, the BFG would rather eat disgusting snozzcumbers than tasty human beans. Sophie and the BFG hatch a plan to team up with the Queen of England and stop those nasty, hungry, giants once and for all.
I read and loved this book as a child, and my kids love it now, but I have to admit that I found reading it as an adult a bit tedious. The book is rather light on story and heavy on puns and silliness. The BFG loves to drink "frobscottle" where the bubbles go down and you can only imagine where that end up... (yep-- fart jokes, or, as they're known in Giant Country, "whizzpoppers").
It did, however, make for a good family book club discussion. We discussed why the author used so many funny words, how Sophie & the BFG were friends, the ethics of eating living things and whether the other giants were fairly or unfairly punished. The BFG might have been a silly book, but it engaged my family in discussing some fairly mature ideas.