Category: Media

The BFG

Sections: Information | Description | Reviews | Awards | Articles | Criticism and Analysis | Fun Stuff | Teacher Ideas | Covers | Penguin Readers, Afrikaans, Bulgarian, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Dutch, Estonian, French, German, Greek, Italian, Korean, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Russian, Scots, Serbian, Slovakian, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese, and Welsh Covers

Information

Information on identifying editions is from Richard Walker’s “Roald Dahl – A Guide to Collecting His First Editions”.

Important note: From 2022 onwards, Puffin has edited selected Dahl books to remove sensitive language and insert new sentences not written by Dahl. If you would prefer to read the original text, ensure you get a copy published before 2022 or one of the “Classic Collection” published by Penguin.

Description

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!

Reviews

Awards

  • Federation of Children’s Book Groups Award (UK 1982)
  • Deutsche Jugendliteraturpreis (Germany 1984)
  • International Board on Books for Young People awards for Norwegian and German translations (1986)
  • Good Book Guide “Best Books of the Past 20 Years” (UK 1997)

Articles

Criticism and Analysis

Fun Stuff

The BFG Quiz
The BFG Trivia Quiz
My Visit to Gipsy House
Me with the real-life BFG from my visit to Gipsy House

Merchandise

Teacher Ideas

Covers

Penguin Readers Covers

Penguin Readers is an ELT graded reader series for learners of English as a foreign language. Simplified story texts are combined with beautiful original illustrations for students aged 7 and above.

Afrikaans Covers – Die Groot Sagmoedige Reu

Bulgarian Covers – ГДВ

Catalan Covers – El gran amic gegant

Croatian Covers – BFG – Blagi Fantastični Gorostas

Czech Covers – obrDobr

Dutch Covers – De GVR

Estonian Covers – Suur Sõbralik Hiiglane

French Covers – Le Bon Gros Géant

German Covers – Sophiechen und der Riese

Greek Covers – Ο ΜΦΓ-Ο ΜΕΓΑΛΟΣ ΦΙΛΙΚΟΣ ΓΙΓΑΝΤΑΣ

Italian Covers – Il Grande Gigante Gentile

Korean Covers – 내 친구 꼬마 거인

Lithuanian Covers – DGM

Norwegian Covers – Stor Vennlig Kjempe

Russian Covers – БДВ, или Большой и Добрый Великан

Scots Covers – The Guid Freendly Giant

Serbian Covers – VDDŽ

Slovakian Covers – Kamoš obor

Slovenian Covers – VDV – Veliki dobrodušni velikan

Spanish Covers – El Gran Gigante Bonachón

Swedish Covers – Stora Vänliga Jätten

Turkish Covers – Koca Sevimli Dev

Ukrainian Covers – ВДВ, або Великий Дружній Велетень

Vietnamese Covers – Sophie và tên khổng lồ

Welsh Covers – Yr Cmm

My Year

Sections: Information | Description | Teacher Ideas | Covers

Information

Information on identifying editions is from Richard Walker’s “Roald Dahl – A Guide to Collecting His First Editions”.

  • First editions:
    • Jonathan Cape, 1993, UK.
      • Illustrated by: Quentin Blake
      • To identify: Used a number line and published with a dust jacket priced at £8.99.
    • Viking, 1993, USA.
      • Illustrated by: Quentin Blake
      • To identify: Used a number line and published with a dust jacket priced at $14.99.
  • Note: The text in this book was originally printed in The Dahl Diary 1992 published by Puffin Books.
  • Audio Books:

Description

My Year contains some of Roald Dahl’s most remarkable writing and is based on a diary he wrote during the final year of his life. In a month-by-month journey, he reflects on the past and present from many perspectives. Reminiscences of his childhood and adolescence are combined with tips on how to rid your lawn of moles or produce a first-class conker. All of this is woven into Roald Dahl’s observations of the changing seasons. Sure to delight kids and adults equally, My Year features evocative watercolours by Quentin Blake.

Teacher Ideas

Covers

The Great Mouse Plot

Sections: Information | Covers | Czech Covers

Information

  • Published by:
    • Penguin, 1996, U.S.A.
  • Trivia:
    • Reached the number 1 spot following its release on World Book Day on March 3, 2016, according to Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market.

Covers

Czech Covers – Velké myší spiknutí

Going Solo

Sections: Information | Description | Reviews | Fun Stuff | Teacher Ideas | Covers | Bulgarian, Catalan, Czech, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Norwegian, Persian, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Thai, and Turkish Covers

Information

Information on identifying editions is from Richard Walker’s “Roald Dahl – A Guide to Collecting His First Editions”.

  • First editions:
    • Jonathan Cape, 1986, UK.
      • To identify: Used a standard single statement (‘First published’ followed by the date with later printings stated underneath) and published with a jacket priced at £7.95.
    • Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1986, USA.
      • To identify: Used a First Edition statement and published with a jacket priced at $14.95.
  • Connections:
    • Over to You is a collection of short stories about pilots and flying, much of which is autobiographical and similar to the stories in this book
    • “Katina” tells a story set in the Greek campaign that Dahl describes in this book

Important note: From 2022 onwards, Puffin has edited selected Dahl books to remove sensitive language and insert new sentences not written by Dahl. If you would prefer to read the original text, ensure you get a copy published before 2022 or one of the “Classic Collection” published by Penguin.

Description

In Going Solo, the world’s favourite storyteller, Roald Dahl, tells of life as a fighter pilot in Africa.

‘They did not think for one moment that they would find anything but a burnt-out fuselage and a charred skeleton, and they were astounded when they came upon my still-breathing body lying in the sand nearby.’

In 1938 Roald Dahl was fresh out of school and bound for his first job in Africa, hoping to find adventure far from home. However, he got far more excitement than he bargained for when the outbreak of the Second World War led him to join the RAF. His account of his experiences in Africa, crashing a plane in the Western Desert, rescue and recovery from his horrific injuries in Alexandria, flying a Hurricane as Greece fell to the Germans, and many other daring deeds, recreates a world as bizarre and unnerving as any he wrote about in his fiction.

Reviews

  • “Young Man, Old Empire, Bad War” by Gahan Wilson from the October 12, 1986 issue of New York Times – New York, USA
  • “More pleasure in Dahl’s accounts from life than from his fables” by Ralph Elliott from the February 14, 1987 issue of The Canberra Times – Canberra, Australia (read online)
  • Student Review by Melanie Burd

Fun Stuff

Sotheby’s Dahl Auction 1997

Teacher Ideas

Covers

Bulgarian Covers – Момчето пораства: приключения в Африка

Catalan Covers – Sol pel món

Czech Covers – Sólový let

Dutch Covers – Solo: 1938-1941

French Covers – Escadrille 80

German Covers – Im Alleingang

Greek Covers – Σόλο πορεία

Italian Covers – In solitario. Diario di volo

Norwegian Covers – På Egne Vinger

Persian Covers – سفر تک نفره

Russian Covers – Полеты в одиночку

Serbian Covers – Samostalni let

Spanish Covers – Volando solo

Thai Covers

Turkish Covers – Tek Başına

Boy and Going Solo

Sections: Information | Description | Fun Stuff | Covers | Dutch and German Covers

Information

Information on identifying editions is from Richard Walker’s “Roald Dahl – A Guide to Collecting His First Editions”.

  • First editions:
    • Jonathan Cape, 1992, UK.
      • To identify: Standard practice statement (‘First published’ followed by the date with no later printings listed underneath), with jacket priced £12.99

Description

Roald Dahl’s personal stories together in one edition!

Where did Roald Dahl get all of his wonderful ideas for stories? From his own life, of course! Boy includes tales of sweetshops and chocolate, mean old ladies, and the Great Mouse Plot. And then Going Solo tells of how, when he grew up, Roald Dahl left England for Africa and later went flying with the Royal Air Force.

Fun Stuff

Boy - Tales of Childhood Trivia Quiz
Boy – Tales of Childhood Trivia Quiz

Sotheby’s Dahl Auction 1997

Covers

Dutch Covers – Autobiografie – Boy en Solo

German Covers – Boy / Im Alleingang

Boy – Tales of Childhood

Sections: Information | Description | Reviews | Awards | Criticism and Analysis | Fun Stuff | Teacher Ideas | Covers | Bulgarian, Catalan, Czech, Estonian, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, and Vietnamese Covers

Information

Information on identifying editions is from Richard Walker’s “Roald Dahl – A Guide to Collecting His First Editions”.

  • First editions:
    • Jonathan Cape, 1984, UK.
      • To identify: Standard practice statement (‘First published’ followed by the date with no later printings listed underneath), with jacket priced £6.50
    • Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1984, USA.
      • To identify: Standard practice statement ( ‘First Edition’ with date or ‘First American Edition’ with date, no later dates or printing statements), with jacket priced $10.95
    • Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1984, USA.
      • To identify: With slip case, not priced, signed by author & illustrator. Limitation page with number out of 200 copies.
  • Connections:

Important note: From 2022 onwards, Puffin has edited selected Dahl books to remove sensitive language and insert new sentences not written by Dahl. If you would prefer to read the original text, ensure you get a copy published before 2022 or one of the “Classic Collection” published by Penguin.

Description

Where did Roald Dahl get all of his wonderful ideas for stories?

From his own life, of course! As full of excitement and the unexpected as his world-famous, best-selling books, Roald Dahl’s tales of his own childhood are completely fascinating and fiendishly funny. Did you know that Roald Dahl nearly lost his nose in a car accident? Or that he was once a chocolate candy tester for Cadbury’s? Have you heard about his involvement in the Great Mouse Plot of 1924? If not, you don’t yet know all there is to know about Roald Dahl. Sure to captivate and delight you, the boyhood antics of this master storyteller are not to be missed!

Reviews

Awards

  • Boston Globe-Horn Books Book Award for Excellence in Children’s Literature (USA 1985)

Criticism and Analysis

Fun Stuff

Boy - Tales of Childhood Trivia Quiz
Boy – Tales of Childhood Trivia Quiz

Sotheby’s Dahl Auction 1997

Teacher Ideas

  • Boy – “Goat’s Tobacco” Activities
    • Includes a number of story analysis exercises pertaining to the “Goat’s Tobacco” incident
  • Boy – Book Review & Activity
    • Fun activity to help improve students’ ability to write with descriptive details that allow the reader to visualize in their head.
  • Boy – The Great Mouse Plot
    • Six brand new lesson plans for teaching Roald Dahl's Boy: Tales of Childhood create by YPO to explore Literacy and PSHE objectives, whilst exploring themes such as descriptions, colourful characters and information gathering.
  • Boy – Unit Lesson Plan
    • Includes unit of instruction for 20 lessons, 5 lesson plans, condensed first lesson, autobiographical scaffold, and comparative question
  • Boy – Vague Pronouns
    • Students read and analyze a mentor text (an excerpt from the book), write their own narrative vignette, and analyze their use of pronouns in their vignette.
  • Quick Student Workbooks
    • Designed to get students thinking critically about the text they read and provide a guided study format to facilitate in improved learning and retention

Covers

Bulgarian Covers – Момче

Catalan Covers – El nen

Czech Covers – Kluk

Estonian Covers – Poiss. Lapsepõlvelood

French Covers – Moi, Boy

German Covers – Boy – Schönes und Schrekliches aus meiner Kinderzeit

Japanese Covers – 少年

Korean Covers

Norwegian Covers – Gutt

Russian Covers – Мальчик

Serbian Covers – Dečak: Priče o detinjstvu

Spanish Covers – Boy – Relatos de infancia

Vietnamese Covers – Những ngày xưa yêu dấu