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tsamanthamc_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
starburns's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
bookworm_baggins's review against another edition
5.0
Read aloud to Emma and Will. Despite there being very few illustrations, Will especially loved this book and kept asking to keep reading. It was a fun and silly read, with some exciting moments at the end. Very different than the movie, but very well written.
poppyflaxman's review
4.0
I downloaded this from audible in a 2 for 1 sale as I couldn't find anything else I was interested in and it was read by David Tennant. I was surprised by quite how much I enjoyed it?! It was very different from the film adaptation that we all know and love but it was glorious in its own right. A fun, classic children's adventure story. I loved it
mullinstreetzoo's review against another edition
5.0
The book is brilliant, but David Tennant reading it? Flawless.
traditionson's review against another edition
4.0
A fun and very cool adventure of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. It focuses on the prowess of the car who also manages to get them into danger whilst saving them at the same time. Chocolates, sweets, ship chases, explosions and kidnapping. All the items for a good book.
motherbooker's review
4.0
I don't know what Roald Dahl and co. thought of the original Chitty Chitty Bang Bang story but they certainly went out of their way to strip it to the bare bones for the film version. I mean, I get the original would never have made a full feature-length film but there really isn't a lot of the book that made it to the film. You've got the ritual car, obviously, and the inventor father and his two children. After that, it seems as though all bets were off. The Wikipedia page for the film describes it as being "loosely based" on the Ian Fleming book. Now that's what I call stretching a definition.
The original book by the James Bond writer is a short but charming story about a family who inherits a magical automobile. After an unexpected windfall, Caractacus Pott uses the money to buy a second-hand car. The family fall in love with the car instantly and give it a name. The name is based on the noises it makes when it starts. As the family start making use of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, they realise that it possesses magical properties. When they are stuck in a traffic jam, a button appears and the car takes flight. When they are about to be swept away by the tide, it turns into a hovercraft. No matter what the Pott family go through, the car has something up its sleeve to solve their problems. Which means running across a group of gangsters should be absolutely no problem, right?
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is a wonderful adventure story. Yes, it might be dated in certain respects but it doesn't feel out-of-date. The characters talk in a very old-fashioned British manner and there are several quirky throwbacks to times gone by. Yet the sense of adventure and fun is something that never grows old. What child wouldn't be excited by the prospect of a flying car? Aren't all children kind of obsessed with cars? I remember the cars of my childhood fondly and can remember what it felt like to sit in them surrounded by my family. We already imagine that our cars have a personality and can understand us. Fleming takes that familiar feeling and runs with it. He taps into something in all of us and the results speak for themselves.
Though it differs so greatly from his Bond novels, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang feels so like an Ian Fleming book. Not only is there his obvious love of cars but the use of gadgets and secret hideouts. This takes everything he loved in his spy thrillers and transposes them for children's fiction. And then there's Fleming's real love of food. You see it in the Bond novels and you see it here. That man was clearly always hungry. I get that. It makes me feel closer to him. I guess, there is also a sense that Fleming is not entirely comfortable writing for this audience but it mostly works. There is something a bit stilted and simplistic about it. There are moments when it feels as though Fleming is talking down to his reader. Still, you can't deny how fun this book is. And, as Fleming himself tells us, "never say "no" to adventures."
The original book by the James Bond writer is a short but charming story about a family who inherits a magical automobile. After an unexpected windfall, Caractacus Pott uses the money to buy a second-hand car. The family fall in love with the car instantly and give it a name. The name is based on the noises it makes when it starts. As the family start making use of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, they realise that it possesses magical properties. When they are stuck in a traffic jam, a button appears and the car takes flight. When they are about to be swept away by the tide, it turns into a hovercraft. No matter what the Pott family go through, the car has something up its sleeve to solve their problems. Which means running across a group of gangsters should be absolutely no problem, right?
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is a wonderful adventure story. Yes, it might be dated in certain respects but it doesn't feel out-of-date. The characters talk in a very old-fashioned British manner and there are several quirky throwbacks to times gone by. Yet the sense of adventure and fun is something that never grows old. What child wouldn't be excited by the prospect of a flying car? Aren't all children kind of obsessed with cars? I remember the cars of my childhood fondly and can remember what it felt like to sit in them surrounded by my family. We already imagine that our cars have a personality and can understand us. Fleming takes that familiar feeling and runs with it. He taps into something in all of us and the results speak for themselves.
Though it differs so greatly from his Bond novels, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang feels so like an Ian Fleming book. Not only is there his obvious love of cars but the use of gadgets and secret hideouts. This takes everything he loved in his spy thrillers and transposes them for children's fiction. And then there's Fleming's real love of food. You see it in the Bond novels and you see it here. That man was clearly always hungry. I get that. It makes me feel closer to him. I guess, there is also a sense that Fleming is not entirely comfortable writing for this audience but it mostly works. There is something a bit stilted and simplistic about it. There are moments when it feels as though Fleming is talking down to his reader. Still, you can't deny how fun this book is. And, as Fleming himself tells us, "never say "no" to adventures."