Chitty Chitty Bang Bang 1: Flies Again

4.50 out of 5 (1 ratings)

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Format:: Hardback
Pages:: 224
Publisher:: Pan Macmillan
Publication Date:: 07 October 2011
Category:: Fantasy & magical realism
ISBN:: 9780230757738

Description

When the Tooting family find a vast abandoned engine and fit it to their camper van, they have no idea of the adventure that lies ahead. The engine used to belong to an extraordinary flying car -- and it wants to be back on the road again ...fast! The Tootings can haul on the steering wheel and pull the handbrake as hard as they like, but their camper van now has a mind of her own. It's not long before they're hurtling along on a turbocharged chase as Chitty tracks down her long-lost bodywork. But there are sinister forces at work too. When it comes to a car as special as Chitty, everybody wants a piece of her ...

Reader Reviews

Showing 1-2 out of 2 reviews.

I really enjoy Frank Cottrell Boyce's books, and this did not disappoint. It's very funny. This one is written for a slightly younger reader -- perhaps 4th grade and up. The Tooting family has a change of fortune when the father loses his job, so they decide to travel the world. To do so, they buy an old camper and the dad and son Jem work for months fixing it up. Once they start on their journey, things get weird. The car seems to have a mind of its own, and miraculously it even flies without their knowing it could. It flies them to the top of the Eiffel Tower, where they are almost arrested until the dad says something romantic about his wife and the whole of Paris instantly melts (including the police). They also visit the Sphinx in Egypt and Madagascar. Ultimately, it's a great romp.

4.50 out of 5

ChristianR
Reason for Reading: I love Fleming's original Chitty Chitty Bang Bang book and have read it several times. as a kid and as read-alouds to my own kids. It's always been a favourite. I've never been much of a fan of the movie, though, probably because of the drastic changes to plot. I don't usually read these kind of sequels to classic books but this was commissioned by the Fleming estate and Fleming did only write the one book, so I decided to try this and see if it recaptured the magic of the original.It certainly did! I was particularly amused throughout the book.Mr. Boyce has done a very good job of maintaining the voice and atmosphere of the original while making the story completely his own. This story takes place in modern times and involves the putting back together of the original Chitty car, which all starts with the Tootings family finding the engine and installing it in their Camping Van. At this point, Chitty is able to take over the van and drives (or flies) the van all over the world (namely 'Paris, Cairo and below the ocean.) The book is also very British, with spellings, word usage, slangs and humour. A delightful little story which has a bit of a slow beginning but gets better and better until the wonderful ending, which leaves us expecting a sequel.

out of 5

ElizaJane