The BFG

Another Dahl story of a small, overlooked child outfoxing monstrous adults — same Gobblefunk wit, same satisfying revenge arc, slightly darker school setting.

If you loved The BFG and are looking for what to read next by Roald Dahl, Matilda is the natural pick. Like Sophie, Matilda is a quiet, bookish child who finds herself unexpectedly powerful when paired with a kind adult ally — Miss Honey mirrors the BFG's gentle warmth, while the villainous Miss Trunchbull fills the role of the terrifying giant with gleeful menace. Dahl's signature blend of dark humour, inventive language, and the underdog triumph is fully on display. Readers aged 8–12 who were drawn to Sophie's courage in Giant Country will find the same emotional satisfaction here, with the added pleasure of telekinetic revenge. A perfect next step for any young reader who just finished The BFG and wants more Dahl magic.

Dahl's other signature tale of a gentle, poor outsider entering a bizarre adult's impossible world — rich in invented language and dark comic stakes.

Searching for books like The BFG by Roald Dahl? Charlie and the Chocolate Factory delivers the same core formula: a sweet-natured, disadvantaged child is invited into an extraordinary adult's hidden world full of nonsense logic and lurking danger. Where Sophie navigates Giant Country and the BFG's dream-blowing workshop, Charlie Bucket tours Willy Wonka's factory — equally impossible, equally governed by its own peculiar rules. Dahl's invented vocabulary is all over both books, and the contrast between the humble hero and the grotesque supporting cast (here, the other children) gives the story its moral spine. Perfect for readers aged 8–12 who responded to The BFG's sense of wonder and want another Dahl adventure before branching out to other authors.

A lonely child discovers a mysterious, otherworldly being in a crumbling outbuilding — quiet, tender, and built on the same outsider friendship that powers The BFG.

Readers who want books like The BFG will find a close emotional twin in Skellig. Just as Sophie stumbles across the BFG hiding in a dark alley, young Michael discovers a strange, fragile creature — part man, part something else entirely — sheltering in the garage of his new home. Both stories hinge on a child forming an unlikely, protective bond with an outcast being the adult world would never understand. Almond's prose is quieter and more lyrical than Dahl's, with less wordplay but the same undercurrent of genuine peril and genuine tenderness. Set in contemporary England and aimed at the same 8–12 readership, Skellig is ideal for children who loved the friendship at the heart of The BFG and are ready for a slightly more introspective reading experience.

A child crosses into a secret world of impossible beings and must prevent their destruction — shares The BFG's sense of hidden wonder and high-stakes adventure in a fantastical England.

If you liked The BFG and are looking for what to read after it, Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell is a strong next step. Like Sophie's journey into Giant Country, this novel takes a young protagonist across a threshold into a hidden world teeming with extraordinary creatures — griffins, sea-serpents, and stranger things — that the ordinary world has forgotten. Both books are rooted in the idea that the world is far larger and stranger than adults admit, and that children are uniquely placed to see and protect what is marvellous in it. Rundell's language is inventive and warm without being imitative of Dahl, and the stakes — the extinction of all magical life — give the adventure genuine weight. A perfect pick for middle-grade readers aged 9–13 who responded to The BFG's blend of wonder, danger, and loyalty.

A lonely child forms a cross-world friendship with someone no adult can see — the same emotional core as The BFG, wrapped in classic English fantasy and quiet magic.

Looking for books similar to The BFG? Tom's Midnight Garden is one of the great British children's novels and shares The BFG's most important ingredient: a child who is isolated, overlooked, or lonely finding deep friendship in an impossible place that exists outside the adult world's rules. Tom sneaks out each night into a garden that shouldn't exist, meeting a girl from another time — an encounter as improbable and tender as Sophie's friendship with a dream-blowing giant. Philippa Pearce writes with the same respect for a child's interior life that Dahl brings to Sophie, and the English setting gives both books a similar atmospheric quality. Best suited to readers aged 9–12 who loved the quieter, more emotional moments in The BFG and want a classic that rewards careful reading.

An outsider who looks different from everyone else wins over the world through kindness — shares The BFG's core theme of the misfit finding belonging, with more emotional realism.

The BFG works partly because its giant hero is a gentle misfit in a world of violent, conformist giants — and Sophie is equally an outsider, the orphan girl no one would miss. Wonder by R. J. Palacio occupies the same emotional territory for readers who want books like The BFG but set firmly in the real world. Auggie Pullman starts middle school with a facial difference that makes him an object of fear and cruelty, and the novel traces his slow, hard-won path toward belonging — the same arc the BFG traces from exile to honorary member of the Queen's household. Palacio's tone is warmer and less grotesque than Dahl's, making this an ideal recommendation for readers aged 9–13 who connected with The BFG's message about kindness and difference but prefer stories grounded in everyday life.