What do Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and James Bond have in Common?

Growing up, I watched the musical movie version of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang starring Dick Van Dyke.  Who can really resist such a charming story about a technological car told through high energy music and dance numbers?  I

f you are one of those people scratching your head at this moment thinking "Huh?  Well I never saw this film,"  then click here and watch for yourself one of my personal favorite songs "Toot Sweet" complete with an entire factory of dancing candy makers.  From the very start this movie is fun and very family friendly, and the humor of Dick Van Dyke is truly irresistible.

However, I am not here to tell you all about this great movie, but about the book of the same name.

Having already shared my love for the movie, one can imagine the surprise and delight that I had realizing that there was a book.  Who knew?

Well come to find out this book is by the same author who created James Bond.  Though the story takes some time to pick up, I can see the resemblance to James Bond though I have not actually read it myself (though what good American has not seen it or at least heard of James Bond?).

This book is about a family, the Potts, where the father invents a delicious candy that toots.  Because of this invention, the family finally has enough to buy a car.

But they do not settle for an ordinary car; the car they choose to buy is a former race-car who suffered an accident.  Never fear though, Caractacus Potts is able to fix her.

The real adventure begins when the family decides to try out their new car.  I admit, the first half of the book is really not that exciting; I kept comparing it to the movie wondering where was the energetic dance numbers and was wondering if the entire book would be about a family with a car going to the beach.

But it is not!

The second half picks up speed with the excitement and thrill of James Bond--secret caves, a giant explosion, and a robbery among other thrillers.  All the adventures are possible because Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, the name the Potts family decide for their car, is a magical car; she is not just a car in this book, she is a character.

One thing that I really liked is that the book and the movie are completely different (except for the magical car, Caractacus Potts and the children Jeremy and Jemima).

I was able to enjoy both the movie and the book without constantly comparing one to the other.  Usually when I watch the movie after the book, I grind my teeth at all the inaccuracies of the movie; when I watch the movie first, I later realize how much better the book is.

But with this, they were so completely different that I could enjoy both.  So if you are in the mood for an adventure like James Bond, I would recommend this 1960s book.