The BFG (short for The Big Friendly Giant) is a 1982 children's novel by British author Roald Dahl. It is an expansion of a short story from Dahl's 1975 novel Danny, the Champion of the World. The book is dedicated to Dahl's past daughter, Olivia, who had died of measles encephalitis at the age of seven in 1962.[1]
An animated adaptation was released in 1989 with David Jason providing the voice of the BFG and Amanda Root as the voice of Sophie. It has also been adapted as a theatre performance.[2] A theatrical Disney live-action adaptation directed by Steven Spielberg was released in 2016.
As of 2009, the novel has sold 37 million copies, with more than 1 million copies sold around the world every year.[3] In 2003, The BFG was listed at number 56 in The Big Read, a BBC survey of the British public.[4] In 2012, the novel was ranked number 88 among all-time best children's novels in a survey published by School Library Journal, a US monthly.[5] In 2012, the BFG and Sophie appeared on Royal Mail commemorative postage stamps.[6]
