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Jul 26, 2007

Lynn rated it:

What a surprise to find just how different the movie is from the book! This is very much Ian Flemming, focused on the car and the adventure. There is no 'Truly Scrumptious'; there is no weird castle with singing toys and a king who hates kids. There IS a wonderful magical car, and exact descriptions of what it does. There IS a great adventure with a trip to France and a scary thief. A great book for boys, and it stands the test of time.

This was Ian Flemming's last book before he died More...

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Feb 11, 2012

Penny rated it:

The new follow-up to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang by Frank Cottrell Boyce, sent me back to original to see how they compare. I was struck by the brevity – the original Chitty is 114 pages in length, written in three long chapters. The original British version was actually published in three volumes. The U.S. version also had plenty of ink illustrations, something that would be welcome in more novels for readers in grades 3 to 6. Roald Dahl’s books also had a fair amount of random illustrations in More...

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Nov 01, 2011

Bobscopatz rated it:

Our kids LOVE this movie. I appreciate it as well, but the Disneyfication of it turns out is really appalling in comparison to the original novel. I'm not saying that someone SHOULD make a movie that is more true to the book, but I do think that it would end up being a better movie overall. Especially since it would lack the execrable song "You're my little Schmoopy Face" (or whatever that title is.

At any rate, this book is a fast read. It's about the level for a 7-year-o More...

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Aug 20, 2011

Dan rated it:

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is an odd combination of age appropriateness. The short length, coherent chapter arcs that exist as short stories in their own right, and simple plot are perfect for younger children. Fleming does a good deal of stage whispering that is also something more common in younger children's narratives. Yet he introduces several elements of "mortal danger!!" that small children may find frightening, especially in the final chapters, that reads like a simple Nancy Dr More...

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Dec 16, 2009

Colin rated it:

Another classic I treasured, and another Disney adaptation I loathed. The movie is similar to the book in that there is a car with the given name of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. In fairness though, this is a very short story, with only three chapters (each fairly long chapter being one act), and would have been very difficult to do as a movie. But still, this is vastly more entertaining, inventive and scary than the movie. And I still want a toot-sweet to this day.

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Aug 14, 2010

Maggie rated it:

This book was my first experience with loving a book, then being horribly disappointed in the movie. I read this book before it was a movie - something like 4th grade, and I loved it! Fun, adventure, mystery, and good writing (to my 9 or 10 year old mind, anyway!) Then I remember being excited that they were making a movie of it - and imagine my disappointment when it was a ~musical~ starring Dick van Dyke! It wasn't anything ~like~ the book, and they not only changed the plot, they changed More...

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Feb 03, 2009

K rated it:

Had never seen the movie, so did not know what this book was actually about (in my mind, I confused it with Bedknobs and Broomsticks, which I also haven't seen).

It turns out to be about a family's adventures with their magical, sentient car, which they name Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, after the sound she makes starting up. Ian Fleming tells this slight, jolly story with many capital letters for emphasis. As you might expect from the creator of James Bond, there were some explosions, enc More...

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Feb 07, 2011

Charity rated it:

Audio book on CD - lovely! The voice actor is spectacular and I enjoyed the story immensely. The film is loosely based on this light-hearted book. (No child napper, no widowed Mr. Potts - their mother is alive and well! - and no Grandpa Potts either, no mysterious childless land with a spoiled king.) The book does have some spooky scenes, bad guys and a kid-napping scene that I chose to skip for my 5 year old daughter. She enjoyed the first half, and doesn't seem to realize the story continues a More...

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Apr 06, 2009

Jack rated it:

Read this to my son (6); my daughter (4) lost interest pretty quickly. Like the movie, and like other books by Fleming, there is a magical car that can fly and do other remarkable things. Not much else is similar to the movie, but lots that recall the Bond books: a secret hideout in a cave, an international gang of mobsters, and a girl named Pus--no, just kidding on the last bit. It's been years since I read Casino Royale, but I remember the writing to be similarly clunky (lots of adverbs, lots More...

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Jan 12, 2008

oriana marked it as to-read

Holy crap this movie was so much better than I remembered it. And even more insane is that it's based on a book by Ian Flemming???

This... this I gotta see.

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Aug 26, 2011

Jen rated it:

I must be one of the few of my generation that has never seen this, and my expectations going into the book were fairly low. I thought it would be a cutsie kids' book and that's all. I found that I was listening to the audiobook by myself in the car, looking forward to the next time I had to run errands or something so I could listen to it again!

It's a kids' book for sure, but it's just a delightful and engaging and innocent story. The actor who read it (can't remember his name--from More...

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Jan 10, 2011

Lisa rated it:

I enjoyed this book. The writing style was fun and clever. At just over 100 pages this is a quick read. The book has virtually nothing in common with the movie musical. It was interesting to see how much had been changed,

The book is definitely plot driven with lots of adventure. I did miss the fleshing out of the characters. Although they are totally different, it is hard not to compare the book and the movie, especially since the movie is so well known. I must say that the film More...

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Apr 29, 2009

Jileen rated it:

What a fun book! I've only seen the movie once and the book was really nothing like it except that there is an amazing magical car in both. My older boys (6 and 4) loved the story. If you can get past the run-on sentences (which were a bit much when you are trying to read out loud)it was really great! There is even a secret recipe at the end for Monsieur Bon Bon's fudge. I would have never guessed that we would have enjoyed this book so much. And a side note, the author is the same man who More...

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Feb 02, 2012

Jenn rated it:

I remember being pretty into this movie as a kid, so when I came across the book whilst doing some library reading, decided to give it a go. As for many, the whole "Ian Fleming" + kid's book equation left me curious and curiosity tinged with a hint of nostalgia is a pretty good motivator. And I found the book delightful. No surprise that it bears very little resemblance to the movie (which I don't entirely remember, but the Internet backs me up on this), although I'm now sufficiently More...

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Sep 27, 2008

Raja99 rated it:

Why I read this book: We got the movie on DVD recently.

This is a book I'd tried to read off and on since childhood, but I'd never "gotten traction" with it. I'd always been fond of the movie, though, and we recently picked that up on DVD. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the first half again (our kid fell asleep after that, so we stopped) and figured I should give the book another try. I still had trouble getting traction, but it was pretty much the only book I allowed myself on More...

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Feb 09, 2012

David rated it:

This is the classic tale by the creator of James Bond,Ian Flemming.Most of us probably remember the movie.The book does not tell that story.

This is the story of the Potts family and their magical car, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and the first adventure they had together.There is naturally the fabulous car, thrills, suspense, a gang of gangsters (not to be confused with a mob of mobsters),some laughs.There is even a fudge recipe included.

This would be a great book to read wit More...

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Jul 24, 2010

Karey rated it:

Sure, Dick Van Dyke isn't singing but aside from his delightful presence and the lack of music it's truly difficult to find fault with this book. A complete family unit, daring [flying over the sea!:] and dangerous[kidnappers!:]adventure and a car with a mind of it's own this was a delightful read. There's even a recipe for fudge! The print I read was full of black ink drawings lending to it's very period very countryside feel. Definitely will get added to my 'must read' list for kids.

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Jun 12, 2011

Simon rated it:

This book was really fun. I laughed and wished myself away into the world of these characters and took part in the adventure.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was even before Herbie, I love her character and the way she cares for the humans who love her. I think the idea of giving inanimate objects, human qualities, we can easily be smitten with them.

The whole adventure, with traveling, and money, bombs and criminals. Kidnapping and Candy. This story has everything a kid dreams ab

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Dec 22, 2008

Lesley rated it:

I picked up this book at a library display the other day, my curiosity piqued because I saw it was by Ian Fleming of James Bond fame! I guess I was the only person left on earth who did not know this....
I had never seen the movie as a kid, so I didn't know what to expect; I was delighted by this little book! What a cute little story written in a fun style. This would be a great one to read aloud.
Apparently the film version is INCREDIBLY different than the book.

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Mar 08, 2009

Anna rated it:

My family listened to this on the road trip to St Louis and loved it. The story is perfect for a car full of boys, with lots of details about inventions and the features of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, not to mention the discovery of a stash of guns and bombs. The man who reads the book does a nice job of reading in a way that is really entertaining to kids. It's perfect long car ride material.

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Mar 23, 2011

Hannah rated it:

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was a great children's story. It's a fantastic book for younger readers; the language is simple, the plot is fun and interesting, and the length is good for a student just taking on chapter books.

Despite its simplicity, I'd recommend Chitty Chitty Bang Bang to anyone, since it was such a cute read. Especially fun for long car trips where you yell out CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG every time the car is mentioned.

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Jun 26, 2011

Hassinger rated it:

The word that comes to mind when describing Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is "silly". The story is not elaborate enough to be magical, the plot is not developed enough to be an adventure, and a great deal of realism is sacrificed for the sake of writing very simply. Just because this is a children's book doesn't mean it couldn't have been more realistically and elaborately written. Overall, it was just a very silly story.

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Jun 24, 2011

Nathaniel rated it:

Eh. Entertaining for kids. Better than the awful (but strangely nostalgic) movie version. Ironically, a lot more interesting to read than most of Fleming's spy novels, if only because the most tedious part of the Bond books - the constant inside-baseball references to secret agent procedure - are absent. Proves that Fleming is actually a decent writer when he wants to be, and just needs to get over himself.

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Apr 13, 2008

Sarah rated it:

Ian Fleming is best known for James Bond who appeared in twelve novels and nine short stories and spawned a movie franchise but he also wrote a children's novel called Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: The Magical Car (1964). The novel was later adapted into a film (1968) staring Dick Van Dyke.

Except for the car, the book is a very different story from the film. The car in both the book and film can fly and seems to be alive. Fans of the film though might be disappointed by the simplicity of More...

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Aug 11, 2011

Earline rated it:

When I realized that Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was written by Ian Fleming and the screenplay was adapted by Roald Dahl, I just had to check it out. It has been a while since I've seen the film.. but from what I remember it's only very loosely based on the book.

Overall a fun quick read that will get that darn "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" song stuck in your head for weeks!

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Apr 22, 2010

Megan rated it:

I found this book lying around my parents house and was surprised to see that it was written by Ian Fleming who penned all the James Bonds books. This book is nothing like the movie, but still cute read. It has more adventure, good vs criminals and a little dark. While reading it I thought I was reading Roald Dahl! Cute little book, worth reading!

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Feb 05, 2009

Denette rated it:

This book is just as fun as the movie. It is no surprise that this book is written by Ian Fleming, best known for his James Bond 007 novels. When you think about his character Q and all the funny inventions he creats for Bond, it makes so much sense that he created a childrens book with a flying car! Wonderful!!

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Aug 27, 2009

Ted rated it:

I was actually surprised that this book was written by Ian Fleming. Much better than the Dick Van Dyke movie made from it, very loosely made form it. Well I guess that goes with the rest of the movies made form his books. The resemblance between Ian Fleming's James Bond and the movie version is passing at best.

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Apr 04, 2010

William rated it:

I had never read this before and I haven't ever read anything by Fleming and I found this surprisingly fun. I thought Fleming's little asides to explain vocabulary and other things amusing without ever feeling too pedantic. The story and art were both great and I would recommend this book for kids.

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Feb 18, 2009

Ingrid rated it:

I remembered reading this book as a child and it was fun to read it again as an adult. Who wouldn't want to go for a drive in such a wonderful car as Chitty , Chitty Bang Bang? The family had some wonderful adventures. This would be a great book for younger students who like adventure and fantasy.

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