What FUN! An imaginative and fanciful adventure story for BOTH children and adults. I’m sorry to say that I never read this book as a child. I wish I had because it was delightful! Awarded four stars on Goodreads.
NOTE: I “watched” the story rather than “read” Roald Dahl’s book, working through Actor-Director Taika Waititi’s (JOJO RABBIT) 10-part video series on YouTube, a Videolink fundraiser for a very worthwhile charity, PARTNERS IN HEALTH. The series consists of Waititi, along with a group of well-known actors and celebrities, sharing the reading task — all of them breathing life into Dahl’s characters and humor. Watching is a GREAT family experience, especially during the pandemic!
At the start, James is a lonely and friendless child living an isolated life with distant relatives who are not very kind to him. But, with the help of some magic beans, he soon begins the adventure of a lifetime, meeting a group of unusually large creatures — all of whom have unique gifts to offer each other. It’s a suspenseful story of their travels together that everyone will love, with an ending that satisfies all.
Among the actors participating: Meryl Streep, Benedict Cumberbatch, Olivia Wilde, Mindy Kaling, Ben Schwartz, Governor Andrew Cuomo, the Duchess of Cornwall, Lupita Nyong’o, Ryan Reynolds, Cate Blanchett, Cara Delevingne, and Eddie Redmayne. There are many others.
More about the author, Roald Dahl.
More about Taika Waititi.
An NPR story about Waititi’s 10-part read-aloud series.
Toby A. Smith 