The BFG

by Roald Dahl

The Bfg

Follow the links below to find free resources and book unit samples.

 

Book Information

Publication Date: 1982


Reading Level: Lexile Measure 720L, Scholastic Guided Reading Level U


Interest Level: Grades 3 - 8


Major Awards: 2012 - Rank 88 by School Library Journal in the best all-time children's novels in a survey 2007 - Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children by U.S. National Education Association


Number of Pages: 208 pages


Approximate Word Count: 68,320 words


Audible Book Length: 4 hrs and 25 mins


Book Themes: Injustice, Morality and Ethics, appearance, Language and Comminication, Friendship, Cunning and Cleaverness, The Supernatural, Weakness


Genre: fantasy fiction


Setting: Fantasy London, Fantasy Giant Country


Important Quote: Two rights don't equal a left. -- 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 all to themselves.


First Line: Sophie couldn't sleep.


Point of View: third person point of view - The reader knows both Sophie's and the BFG's feelings throughout the novel.

 

Free Resources from Gay Miller @ Book Units Teacher


Printable Bump Games for Literary Devices, Character Traits, and Symbols and Objects


Interactive Google Slides Version of the Bump Games for Literary Devices, Character Traits, and Symbols and Objects


Get your free book unit sample here.


Vocabulary List

aback
adaptability
adopted
aghast
ancestor
anguish
appalled
atrocious
bewildered
boggle
brooch
bungle
bunkum
bustle
caliph
cardigan
cashmere
casual
ceaseless
charitable
coarse
colic
collared
composure
confer
congregation
contagious
contemptuously
contented
contraption
contrivance
convulsion
cranny
crevice
crockery
cunning
cutlery
decisive
desolate
dexterity
diabolical
digest
dignified
discretion
disdainful
dollop
ecstasy
exasperated
famished
fiasco
flail
forlorn
frankfurter
frankincense
frantic
froth

gale
gape
ghastly
gilded
girth
goggle
grave
grim
grotesque
grudgingly
guzzle
heave
hoist
humbug
hurtle
hustle
hymns
hysterical
imitation
imposing
impressed
inevitably
ingenuity
insane
instincts
intently
interrupt
jiffy
keel over
knotty
laborious
lavatory
lofty
lollop
loom
lope
manger
menace
miffed
milling
mince
mobilize
modest
muddle
myrrh
nettled
nook
oblong
parable
pell-mell
penitentiary
petrify
pinpoint
porcelain
presume
prospect

punctuate
ravenous
refugees
regal
repulsive
reverberate
sacrilegious
sagacity
sage
satisfied
scrunching
sentiment
sidle
skulk
slouching
smother
snitching
solemnly
sophistication
sovereign
sprawl
squelch
stagger
standard
starch
streak
sultan
sweltering
sympathize
tattered
telegram
tender
testy
thrash
throttle
tinge
torpedo
totter
truant
truss
urn
utter
vengeance
versatility
vie
vigorously
villain
waistcoat
wallop
winch
winsome
worshiped
wretch
writhe
yodel

 

Discussion Questions

What is the witching hour? How does the witching hour create a mood in the story?

  • What is Sophie's first impression of the BFG? How do her feelings about the BFG change over time? Describe how Sophie and the BFG's friendship grows and develops.


  • Select 2 character traits for Sophie and another two traits ofthe BFG. List proof from text of these traits.


  • What are some of the made-up words the BFG uses? What do each of these words mean? How does adding made-up words enhance the story?


  • What is the setting of the novel? How does the setting affect the story? Be sure to include how the Queen played a role in the story.


  • Describe a dream you would like to have if you could select any dream from the BFG's jars. Describe what the dream would look like when you picked up the jar and looked at it.


  • Create a T-chart. On one side list character traits of the BFG. On the other side list characteristics of the other giants. Write a paragraph comparing and contrasting the giants.


  • Make a list of ways you would change the story if you were colaborating with Roald Dahl. Select one of these ways and discuss it in detail. Why would your idea be better than the idea Roald Dahl had?



    • Links to Resources and Teaching Ideas

    Visit Roald Dahl's Offical Website for many great resouces including character information, audio excerpts of the book, lesson plans and tests.

    The BFG

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