Fatherly, one of my favorite parenting sites, recently reprinted an article I did for Brightly, all about the reasons why my daughter adores The BFG more than any other Roald Dahl creation. (It makes for a nice tie-in with the new Steven Spielberg movie too.)
Here’s an excerpt:
The BFG completely explodes how children think about being lonely. He’s a mythical creature, he’s literally larger-than-life, and yet, much like every child in the world, he feels different, he’s bullied, he feels like he doesn’t have any friends. That’s a powerful idea for a children’s fantasy novel. The idea that even the creatures that used to terrorize mankind in fairy tales — the same kind of “bad guys” that chased Jack down the beanstalk — could feel just as awkward, friendless, and lonely as we do.
You can read the full article HERE.