When I walked into the classroom on the first day of third grade, I knew only one thing about myself–I do not like to read. During daily silent reading time, I would hold my anthology in my hand, lackadaisically stare at each page and methodically turn the page in minute intervals. I would then sit silently in my seat, unknowingly missing out on all of wondrous tales that could have danced behind my eyes.
I maintained my sense of non-reading myself by exclaiming daily to all my friends, family and teachers that I do not like to read. My third grade teacher, Mrs. Henry, set out to alter my rigid, all-knowing stance on the matter and with cunning ingenuity and a whole lot of Roald Dahl, I met The BFG. She read to me at first, tying a knot in the story at just the point where I would ache for more. It wasn’t long before I started to sneak time away in each day to read just a few more pages.
From some of the fondest moments of my childhood, The BFG still sits on my shelf, still gets picked up from time to time and I pride myself on having made a life long friend in the Big Friendly Giant.
A young, imaginative Sophie is given the privilege of meeting the 24-foot tall, BFG of Giant County. Fearing becoming the lunch of giants like the human eating, Bloodbottler and Fleshlumpeater, Sophie is alone in Giant County. With tenuous approach and other mysterious creatures around all corners, Sophie befriends the giant with eccentric capabilities of sound and smell.
Patiently wading his way through Sophie’s interrogations, the BFG introduces Sophie to Dream Country where unknown treasures and trials await the newfound team. A classic story of the importance of imagination and finding trust in the most unlikely of places, the BFG (Mark Rylance) and Sophie (Ruby Barnhill) are set to take the screen by storm in the summer of 2016–brought to you from London and your imagination by none other than Disney and Steven Spielberg.