Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

We've discovered a new, fun activity that everyone in our family seems to love as much as our old, comfortable and much sought after major movie nights: major book nights (in case you're wondering, the addition of the modifier "major" to any of our activities simply refers to the presence of popcorn).

We've been reading Ian Fleming's Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as a family for a week or so now and last night we only had a few chapters left so we gathered every spare blanket, pillow and sleeping bag we could find, made a cozy nest in our living room and popped popcorn. We all settled in for an evening of adventure consisting of flying cars, gangsters and two brave children. And, to add to the ambiance of the evening, just as we all covered up and settled in we heard a loud crack of thunder and a storm made its way into Milwaukee throughout much of our major book night.


The book, if you haven't read it, is wonderful, and really lends itself to being read aloud. Both big kids thought it was a really exciting (and scary!) book and didn't really want it to end. Madeleine was disappointed, after it ended, to discover that Ian Fleming only wrote the one children's book (but, as the creator of 007, he wrote lots of adult books).

I'd highly recommend the book as a family read aloud since there are aspects that appeal to both boys and girls and Fleming's words seem to be created for a suspenseful, exciting story to hear, as well as read.