book review for james and the giant peach

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James and the giant peach, common sense media reviewers.

Lonely boy's magical adventure still satisfies.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

Like Roald Dahl's other great children's novels, J

Dahl was a master at creating these fantastical Di

There are some mean grownups in this book, but Jam

The demise of James' parents happens before the ac

On two occasions, Centipede calls other characters

Parents need to know that James and the Giant Peach creates a marvelous, fantastical world for young independent readers. Dahl's original cast of characters, magical and suspenseful situations, and his liberal addition of comic poetry also make this a terrific read-aloud book. However, Dahl's books are not…

Educational Value

Like Roald Dahl's other great children's novels, James and the Giant Peach is really meant to entertain and uplift, not necessarily to educate. Dahl did throw in a few fascinating facts about insects and animals (ladybugs eat garden pests, and so are considered farmer's helpers, for example), but young readers might not necessarily separate the true from the fantastic, such as the "cloudmen" who send rain and hail down to earth.

Positive Messages

Dahl was a master at creating these fantastical Dickensian situations, in which a poor, deserving but unloved child's life is magically transformed. The positive message here is primarily that, as the old man tells James, "marvelous things" can happen. It's also worth noting the way James overcomes his fear of the insects once he sees past their shocking size and appearance. You can't judge a book by its cover, in other words.

Positive Role Models

There are some mean grownups in this book, but James is an upstanding little boy: good, kind, clever, and resourceful. James and his insect pals also show how teamwork -- with everyone contributing his or her special talent -- can save the day.

Violence & Scariness

The demise of James' parents happens before the action in the novel begins, and that is probably the only event in the novel that could be upsetting to children. James' cruel aunts, Sponge and Spiker, beat him often, but that action is not shown. Later, the peach itself leaves some destruction in its wake, and sharks and the weather-making cloudmen threaten harm, but this is all within the realm of fantasy.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

On two occasions, Centipede calls other characters "asses."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that James and the Giant Peach creates a marvelous, fantastical world for young independent readers. Dahl's original cast of characters, magical and suspenseful situations, and his liberal addition of comic poetry also make this a terrific read-aloud book. However, Dahl's books are not always warm-and-fuzzy: James is orphaned on Page One, and he is treated cruelly by his selfish aunts. And, incidentally, his only true friends are giant insects. This is a charming, fast-paced fantasy for children who are ready to separate fact from fiction. If your kids enjoy the novel, also check out Tim Burton and Henry Selick's wonderful animated film adaptation , which came out in 1996.

Where to Read

Community reviews.

• Parents say (8)
• Kids say (18)

Based on 8 parent reviews

Not the best examples for kids

What's the story.

When young James Henry Trotter is orphaned, he must leave his pleasant home by the seaside and go to live with two cruel aunts, Sponge and Spiker, who treat him like a slave. One day, an old man appears, offering James a bag of crystals that he says will make marvelous things happen. The old man's magic causes a dead peach tree to grow a piece of fruit the size of a house, and that is the start of James' fantastic adventure.

Is It Any Good?

JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH is a delightful children's novel full of adventure and singular characters. As in many of the great Roald Dahl's works, the central character is a poor, deprived child, and seeing James Henry Trotter rise from his lowly state to become a leader with true friends is immensely satisfying. Dahl also weaves funny singsong poetry into his fantastical tale, which helps make the book wonderful to read aloud.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about how at first the insects inside the peach frighten James, but he quickly learns to see past their unusual looks and makes friends. Also, each of the insects has a particular talent. What is special about each one? Which one is your favorite?

James' aunts are very cruel to him. Kids' books often have villains who are mean to the main character. Why do you think that is? What does it do to the story?

Book Details

• Author : Roald Dahl
• Illustrator : Quentin Blake
• Genre : Fantasy
• Topics : Magic and Fantasy
• Book type : Fiction
• Publisher : Puffin Books
• Publication date : January 1, 1961
• Publisher's recommended age(s) : 9 - 12
• Number of pages : 146
• Last updated : July 12, 2017

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James and the Giant Peach

Roald dahl , quentin blake  ( illustrator ).

176 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1961

About the author

Ratings & Reviews

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Friends & Following

Community reviews.

“I'd rather be fried alive and eaten by Mexicans.”

Come right up close to me and I will show you something wonderful.

We are now about to visit the most marvelous places and see the most wonderful things!

«Until he was four years old, James Henry Trotter had a happy life. He lived peacefully with his mother and father in a beautiful house beside the sea. There were always plenty of other children for him to play with, and there was the sandy beach for him to run about on, and the ocean to paddle in. It was the perfect life for a small boy»

My daughter and I continue our journey in Roald Dahl 's world. You can't really go wrong with him.

«Fino all'età di quattro anni, James Henry Trotter ebbe una vita felice. Viveva tranquillo con sua madre e suo padre in una bella casa sul mare. C’erano sempre molti bambini con cui giocare e c’era la spiaggia di sabbia dove scorrazzare e l’oceano per andarci in canotto. La vita ideale, per un bambino»

Continua il viaggio familiare mio e di mia figlia nel mondo di Roald Dahl . Con lui si va sul sicuro.

“I’d rather be fried alive and eaten by a Mexican!”

Join Academy Award-winning filmmaker, Taika Waititi as he reads James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl, in full across 10 episodes, to raise money for @Partners In Health at: http://www.pih.org/giantpeach

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JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH

by Roald Dahl & illustrated by Lane Smith ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1996

This newly illustrated edition of an avowed children's favorite has all the makings of a classic match-up: Milne had Shepard, Carroll had Tenniel, and now Dahl has Smith. Yes, there is a movie tied in to all of this, but more importantly, author and illustrator were made for each other, and it's of little consequence that it took almost 35 years for them to meet. (Fiction. 6-12)

Pub Date: April 1, 1996

ISBN: 0-679-88090-9

Page Count: 126

Publisher: Knopf

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1996

CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY

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BOOK REVIEW

developed by Roald Dahl ; illustrated by Quentin Blake

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SEEN & HEARD

THE WILD ROBOT PROTECTS

From the wild robot series , vol. 3.

by Peter Brown ; illustrated by Peter Brown ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 26, 2023

Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant.

Robot Roz undertakes an unusual ocean journey to save her adopted island home in this third series entry.

When a poison tide flowing across the ocean threatens their island, Roz works with the resident creatures to ensure that they will have clean water, but the destruction of vegetation and crowding of habitats jeopardize everyone’s survival. Brown’s tale of environmental depredation and turmoil is by turns poignant, graceful, endearing, and inspiring, with his (mostly) gentle robot protagonist at its heart. Though Roz is different from the creatures she lives with or encounters—including her son, Brightbill the goose, and his new mate, Glimmerwing—she makes connections through her versatile communication abilities and her desire to understand and help others. When Roz accidentally discovers that the replacement body given to her by Dr. Molovo is waterproof, she sets out to seek help and discovers the human-engineered source of the toxic tide. Brown’s rich descriptions of undersea landscapes, entertaining conversations between Roz and wild creatures, and concise yet powerful explanations of the effect of the poison tide on the ecology of the island are superb. Simple, spare illustrations offer just enough glimpses of Roz and her surroundings to spark the imagination. The climactic confrontation pits oceangoing mammals, seabirds, fish, and even zooplankton against hardware and technology in a nicely choreographed battle. But it is Roz’s heroism and peacemaking that save the day.

Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023

ISBN: 9780316669412

Page Count: 288

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION

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CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS AND THE TERRIFYING RETURN OF TIPPY TINKLETROUSERS

From the captain underpants series , vol. 9.

by Dav Pilkey & illustrated by Dav Pilkey ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 28, 2012

Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel.

Sure signs that the creative wells are running dry at last, the Captain’s ninth, overstuffed outing both recycles a villain (see Book 4) and offers trendy anti-bullying wish fulfillment.

Not that there aren’t pranks and envelope-pushing quips aplenty. To start, in an alternate ending to the previous episode, Principal Krupp ends up in prison (“…a lot like being a student at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School, except that the prison had better funding”). There, he witnesses fellow inmate Tippy Tinkletrousers (aka Professor Poopypants) escape in a giant Robo-Suit (later reduced to time-traveling trousers). The villain sets off after George and Harold, who are in juvie (“not much different from our old school…except that they have library books here.”). Cut to five years previous, in a prequel to the whole series. George and Harold link up in kindergarten to reduce a quartet of vicious bullies to giggling insanity with a relentless series of pranks involving shaving cream, spiders, effeminate spoof text messages and friendship bracelets. Pilkey tucks both topical jokes and bathroom humor into the cartoon art, and ups the narrative’s lexical ante with terms like “pharmaceuticals” and “theatrical flair.” Unfortunately, the bullies’ sad fates force Krupp to resign, so he’s not around to save the Earth from being destroyed later on by Talking Toilets and other invaders…

Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2012

ISBN: 978-0-545-17534-0

Page Count: 304

Publisher: Scholastic

Review Posted Online: June 19, 2012

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2012

CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION

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James And The Giant Peach | Roald Dahl | Book Review

I like to start off my participation in every Dewey 24 Hour Readathon by reading a  Roald Dahl book. My first book for the April 2013 Readathon was  James And The Giant Peach . Of course, because I am lazy as heck, I’ve waited until September to review this whimsical, awesome book that was one of my childhood favorites. Also? Remember the movie? That was so awesome and I think I need to revisit it like right now and you know put my review off for even LONGER! Anyways, first things first, I totally read  James In The Giant Peach in under an hour because I am a bit of a super reader AND because it’s fast pacing and interesting and one of my favorites.

The plot of  James And The Giant Peach is one that I totally remember months after reading, heck even years after reading this for the first time. Basically James lives with the meanest aunts ever, because his parents died when he was very, very young. One day, he obtains some magical crystals, I think, and accidentally spills them on this peach tree. From there, a peach grows to be the biggest ever seen. His awful Aunts Spiker and Aunt Sponge decide to charge admission to people wanting to see the peach and let James see none of the profits. THEN James ends up crawling inside of the peach, meets some human sized bugs and is rolling off into the horizon to better days. And really, that’s the story, well plus his journey with the peach.

Obviously I loved James Henry Trotter. He’s a plucky orphan, what is not to love. I also LOLed at the mean aunts because I am an awful human being. There was one bug that I found super annoying, the centipede. He’s selfish and a total jerk. Ugh. I am just annoyed thinking about it. OHHHHHH and there are some seagulls in the adventure and of course they were my favorite part of the whole book, you’ll see when you read it or remember it.

James And The Giant Peach by Roald Dahl is a fun, short adventure about an orphan who overcomes terrible circumstances with the help of magic and some bugs that actually are not scary. If you’ve got a small child in your life, I highly recommend you read this one to them. Also! I am just going to put out there that my version did not have Quentin Blake illustrations which is a bit of a disappointment, I need to get an edition that has his illustrations. Seriously, Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake are a match made in heaven and it’s just weird reading a version that doesn’t have the Blake illustrations, even if the illustrations were perfectly nice in my version.

Disclosure: Purchased Copy.

Other reviews of James And The Giant Peach by Roald Dahl:

A Reader Of Fictions – “ he has imagination and humor like no other ”

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April is in her 30s and created Good Books And Good Wine. She works for a non-profit. April always has a book on hand. In her free time she can be found binge watching The Office with her husband and toddler, spending way too much time on Pinterest or exploring her neighborhood.

I can’t remember if I’ve ever read this book or only seen the movie… XD Either way, the story’s good!

I absolutely adore the work of Roald Dahl, so I was extremely excited when I saw your review today 😀 I’ve read The Witches more times than I can count, and while James and the Giant Peach isn’t one of my personal favourites, I never fail to marvel at Dahl’s seemingly endless creativity. As you mentioned, it’s nearly impossible to forget his novels months or even years after you’ve read them because Dahl’s concepts are alway so outlandish and ingenuously bizarre. I also appreciate that they’re a little darker than middle grade fiction traditionally tends to be. I like stories with a little bit of bite, and you never feel as though Dahl was ‘dumbing down’ his concepts simply because he was writing for a younger target audience, which I appreciate immensely.

This was a wonderful review, April, and you made me want to dust off all of my Dahl novels and re-read them immediately. I would pretend to be angry if I weren’t so excited and inspired 😛

I got all nervous for a sec that I had missed the Dewey readathon this year-I thought it was in October and I really want to participate in one as I’ve been blogging for almost 4 years without doing so. But then you shared that this was from April. I like your idea of starting with a Dahl book and may borrow that idea for my own experience.

I remember loving this book as a kid and reading it often. Most of the plot escapes me now though. Can’t believe it was ever a banned books.

Yeah, the Centipede! That guy’s such a jerk, but at least he knows he’s a jerk. Meanwhile this book left a permanent mark on me in that I find it very very difficult to kill spiders. I always think of James’s song about spiders and how helpful and good they are.

(Centipedes no. I killed a centipede the other day and I felt horror at its grossness but zero remorse.)

Hmmm, I did not like this one as much as an adult. SAD DAY. Probably I should have let it remain there. I always want to revisit, but sometimes I end up ruining books for myself. Like The Giver and Madaleine L’engle.

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Book Review: “James and the Giant Peach” by Roald Dahl

James and the giant peach by roald dahl.

Before there was a  claymation movie  under this title, there was this book. And a fine book it is, though perhaps darker than some of Dahl’s children’s stories.

As the story begins, James is in a fix that should feel familiar for anyone who has sympathized with Harry Potter’s plight. James is a happy little boy until his parents are killed in a truly outrageous accident (you have to read it to believe it). James is sent to live with his evil aunts, bony Aunt Spiker and tubby Aunt Sponge. This pair makes the Dursleys look like a good-natured family that only practices a little “tough love.” They are truly hideous. And for three years, they grind James down with beatings, forced labor, constant criticism, deprivation, loneliness, and despair, until he is a very sad little boy.

Then, lo and behold, a strange little man gives James a paper bag full of magic crystals which, the man says, James must stir into water and drink if he wants to have wonderful things happen to him. In his excitement, James trips and spills the crystals on the roots of a withered old peach tree. Overnight a peach the size of a house grows, and before you can say Peach Cobbler, the peach has broken loose, crushed the horrid Aunts to death, and carried James away on a magical journey.

Through sea and sky, James is swept by a combination of cleverness, courage, and fairy-tale gags. And on the good ship (or airship) Peach, he makes the acquaintance of a group of giant-sized, talking, clothes-wearing bugs-the Old-Green-Grasshopper, Miss Spider, Miss Ladybug, Miss Silkworm, the Earthworm, the Glowworm, and the ne’er-do-well Centipede, who is constantly worrying about his forty-two pairs of boots. Together they see how the weather is made, they escape from sharks, and they scare the daylights out of the good people of New York City.

Fans of the Dahl stories will be delighted by cameo appearances by the snozzwanger, the whangdoodle, and (my favorite) the vermicious Knid. And fans of a certain boy wizard will be slightly startled to learn the full name of our hero: James Henry Trotter.

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Book Review – James and the Giant Peach

By ochippie

Author: Roald Dahl

Since receiving a Roald Dahl box set of books as a gift, my family & I have been enjoying reading these classic novels together, and I have enjoyed revisiting stories I read & loved so many years ago.  Dahl wrote with such whimsy, combined with a darkness that’s always present, but with happy endings that make for fantastic fantasies.  Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Fantastic Mr. Fox are two we’ve read recently, and both are great stories made into good movies.  Here’s another in James and the Giant Peach , a book with a sad element, an adventure unlike any other, and ultimately a pleasant finish that captures the imaginations of adults & children alike.

James is a lonely little boy, a lad whose parents died in a tragic accident, and who now lives with his terribly unpleasant aunts on a hill above a village.  They treat him horribly, he never gets to play with anyone, and hasn’t left the hill is so very long.  What he needs is a little magic to help him out, and that’s just what he gets.  A strange man gives James mysterious crystals that, when spilled in the garden, create marvelous results.  A peach from the garden’s peach tree grows to an enormous size, and when James ventures into a tunnel in its side, he discovers that creatures are living inside the peach pit.  And what’s more, they are waiting on him to begin a journey, to leave the hill & to explore the world, all from within one giant peach.

What an incredibly entertaining story with more magic than you can imagine.  It starts off with the colossal peach, and that’s strange enough, but the creatures inside add an extra element of fantasy that carried the book through to the end.  And then there’s the journey itself, the strange things the group sees along the way, the trouble they get into & out of.  It’s a great book, one that’s fun to read, excellent to imagine, and always exciting.  And the happiness is offset by a bit of morbidity, what with the abusive aunts, the grumpy creatures, the chance of death while traversing the world in a giant fruit.  It’s a well-rounded story (no pun intended) if ever there was one, making for a fun read, but with a base of literary talent to support the preposterous plot.  Read James to your kids over the course of some evenings or to yourself in two or three sittings; you’ll have a great time either way.

My rating: ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Writer, Critic, Dad Columbus, Ohio, USA Denver Broncos, St. Louis Cardinals Colorado Avalanche, Duke Blue Devils

Book Review: James and the Giant Peach

James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

James Henry Trotter had a happy childhood until the age of four. His parents went to London on a shopping trip and were eaten by runaway rhinoceros from the zoo. James goes to live with his aunts, Sponge and Spiker, who are the most horrible aunts you could imagine. He endures three years of servitude and abuse from the hags. Then one day a small man in a green suit gives James a bag of magical crocodile tongues that would solve his problems. All he has to do was mix them with some water and some hair from his head, drink the brew and magical, unbelievable things will happen to him. On his way to the house James trips near the peach tree and all the tongue spill out on the ground. They slither into the ground and are gone. James is disappointed until the next day when a gigantic peach grows on the tree. Aunts Sponge and Spiker want to turn the house-sized peach into a money-making scheme. James discovers a tunnel in the peach that leads to the pit, where a motley crew of over-sized insects (who can speak English) are living. They become friends and decide to free the peach from the tree by breaking the stem. The peach rolls down the hill and into the sea where a magical, unbelievable adventure happens.

Roald Dahl (of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory fame) weaves a fun children’s yarn filled with very British humor. James is a typical children’s story hero, coming up with imaginative solutions to various problems he and the insects face. Without him the insects would be lost. We read this as a bedtime book for Jacob and Lucy and they laughed a lot. I’m pretty sure they won’t ask to read it again but it was very enjoyable once.

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Spaghetti Book Club - Book Reviews by Kids for Kids

James and the giant peach.

Written by Roald Dahl

Illustrated by Quinton Blake

Reviewed by Denver D. (age 11)

It's about a boy whose aunts are always mean to him and he always gets blamed for everything and he never does anything wrong. Then he meets this kind of mutant guy who gives James a bag of green things. He trips as he is running home, and the green things go into the ground and grow a big peach on the peach tree. The aunts saw the peach and they thought they would become rich by making a profit off of it. People came and came until nightfall and James was watching the people have all the fun until his aunts came and made him clean up the yard. He found a hole in the peach, and climbed up until he bumped into the core which seemed to be a door. He opened it and found humongous insects and James thought that they were going to eat him because they said they were hungry and thirsty. They became friends though, and went on an adventure. They ran into creatures like sharks and cloud-men. Then they saw New York City and everyone got his dream.

I liked this book a lot. I thought it had interesting characters. I really liked the part where the centipede and the earthworm argue with each other. It made me laugh a lot. It's kind of like the movie "James and the Giant Peach", but it had a way different ending. In the book, the aunts got killed by the peach, and in the movie they got eaten by a rhino. This book was exciting, and one of the better books that I have read.

I recommend this book a lot because it is a superb book. I think that fourth, fifth and all the upper grades could read it.

James and the Giant Peach

Ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

James Henry Trotter is a happy four-year-old boy—that is, until his parents take a trip to London, where an escaped rhinoceros eats them. In the aftermath of this tragedy, the newly orphaned James is forced to move in with his evil aunts, Aunt Spiker and Aunt Sponge . They’re cruel, selfish people. They put James to work and never let him play with anyone. He’s not allowed to leave their desolate garden at the top of a hill, so James becomes increasingly sad and lonely.

The novel picks up again three years later, and James is sadder and lonelier than ever. When he asks his aunts if they can take a trip to the seaside—where he lived with his parents—they threaten to punish him. Distraught, James runs to a secluded corner of the garden, where an old man in a green suit emerges from the laurel bushes. The old man offers James a bag full of magic green crystals and tells James that ingesting the crystals will make wonderful things happen. But before James can consume the crystals, he trips over the roots of his aunts’ barren peach tree, and the crystals, as though they’re alive, burrow into the ground.

Almost immediately, the peach tree produces its very first peach , and Aunt Spiker and Aunt Sponge dance around the tree with glee. But to their surprise, the peach keeps growing and only stops when it’s as big as a house. The women decide that this is a great money-making opportunity, so the next day, they charge admission to their garden so people can see the gigantic peach. James, meanwhile, spends the day locked in his room. After dark, his aunts send him outside to clean up after the crowds. But when James approaches the peach, he notices a hole in it and crawls inside.

Inside the peach’s pit, James enters a sitting room filled with garden bugs who are about his size. There’s an Old-Green-Grasshopper , a Centipede , a Spider , a Ladybug , an Earthworm , and a Silkworm . They greet James warmly and assure him they don’t want to eat him. James spends the night in the peach in a hammock woven by Miss Spider.

In the morning, the massive peach comes loose from the tree and tumbles down the hill, killing Aunt Spiker and Aunt Sponge in the process. When the peach rolls all the way to the sea and plunges into the water, the bugs all panic—they’re sure they’ll sink and there’s no food. James points out that the peach is floating and the peach itself can feed them for weeks. All seems well until 100 sharks arrive and begin to bite into the soft peach. James’s friends are convinced they’ll die, but James hatches a plan to lasso enough seagulls to lift the peach out of the water. He’ll use silk string spun by Miss Spider and the Silkworm, and the Earthworm will act as bait. His plan works, and after lassoing 502 seagulls with the silk thread, the peach is airborne. Everyone on the peach is thrilled, especially when Miss Spider checks the bottom of the peach and finds little damage to it. But on the water below, a ship’s Captain notices the peach in the sky and believes it’s a bomb. His sailors think he’s been drinking too much.

The Old-Green-Grasshopper plays music with his leg and his wing. James has never heard such music and is shocked to hear that the Old-Green-Grasshopper’s body is a sort of violin. As James and the bugs chat, James learns all sorts of things he’d never thought could be true. For instance, grasshoppers’ ears are on their bellies, and it’s not actually true that a ladybug’s spots correlate to her age. The Earthworm tells James about how earthworms swallow soil to help farmers, while Miss Spider laments that nobody likes spiders despite spiders’ good deeds. The Centipede, a self-professed “pest,” continues the concert by dancing and singing rude songs about Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker. As he dances, he falls off the edge of the peach, but James rescues him.

When night falls, the Old-Green-Grasshopper suggests that they stay on top of the peach to keep watch. Because the peach is a silent mode of travel (unlike a noisy airplane), the travelers see beings no one has never seen before: Cloud-Men , who make the weather. Though James and most of the bugs are afraid of the Cloud-Men, the Centipede isn’t. He insults the Cloud-Men and regrets it immediately—the Cloud-Men throw hailstones as big as cannonballs at the peach. The terrified seagulls carry the peach to safety, but not long after, James and his friends notice the Cloud-Men painting a rainbow up ahead. As the Cloud-Men lower the massive rainbow down by ropes, the peach crashes through it and gets caught up in the Cloud-Men’s ropes. Though James and the bugs manage to untangle their peach and fly away from danger, one Cloud-Man tosses a pot of paint onto the Centipede. As the paint dries, the Centipede becomes rigid. Suddenly, the Cloud-Men send a deluge of water down on the peach. It’s frightening, but it washes the paint off of the Centipede.

When the sun rises, they see that they’re above a big city—New York City. They’re thrilled and begin cutting seagulls loose so they can descend slowly. Down below, however, people are panicking, since they believe the round thing in the sky must be a bomb. When an airplane whooshes by just above the peach, it suddenly severs all the seagulls’ strings, sending the peach hurtling toward the city below. James, the bugs, and every New Yorker prepares for the end—but the peach gets skewered on the sharp point atop the Empire State Building. First Responders initially believe the peach must be an alien spaceship, especially when they catch sight of the Centipede and Miss Spider. But James explains what happened to the baffled officials and assures them they don’t need to be afraid. The mayor calls for a parade to celebrate James, the bugs, and the giant peach. During the parade, James gives a little girl permission to eat some of the peach. Within minutes, hundreds of children flood the street to get a bite of the peach. When they’re done, only the pit is left.

All of the bugs find jobs in New York City, where they become rich and successful. James, meanwhile, takes up residence in the peach pit, which the city installs in Central Park. Children visit him every day to play and listen to his story. After a while, James decides to write his story down. That story is the book the reader just finished.

• International edition
• Australia edition
• Europe edition

James and the Giant Peach review – a soft landing in the Big Apple

Northern Stage, Newcastle Mark Calvert’s charming revival robs Roald Dahl’s story of its dramatic climax but makes up for it with a swinging score and plenty of New York sass

I f you had to pick a single image to encapsulate the scope of Roald Dahl’s imagination, it might be that of an enormous peach inhabited by giant insects plunging from the sky and becoming impaled on the Empire State Building . Oddly, this is the one detail that David Wood – generally the most faithful of Dahl adaptors – chooses to omit; though his version first appeared in 2001, shortly after the 9/11 attacks, and therefore not the most auspicious time for a children’s show depicting scenes of panic on the streets of New York.

Mark Calvert’s revival maintains the tactful approach to James’s touchdown in America; though there’s no question that a soft landing in Central Park robs the story of its natural climax. But the production compensates by generating so much New York City sass you can practically smell the steam rising from the sidewalk. A great deal of this is down to the infectious swing generated by Jeremy Bradfield’s score, performed by a seriously hot ensemble of insect-musicians within a glitzy setting by Rhys Jarman that evokes the art deco splendour of Radio City Music Hall . Indeed, the peach is so huge it bursts through to the adjacent theatre, as Northern Stage has conjoined its two auditoriums to accommodate it.

Calvert’s production doesn’t entirely sidestep the morbid aspects of Dahl’s imagination – the remarkably dark episode in which James’s parents are mown down in the high street by an escaped rhinoceros is sinisterly evoked by a cluster of shoppers’ umbrellas. But for all its charm, the show invariably loses some momentum in the attempt to avert Peach-mageddon.

• Children's theatre
• Northern Stage

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James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

James and the Giant Peach is a much-loved children’s book written by the world-renowned Welsh author Roald Dahl. First published in the US in 1961 and the UK in 1967, the book’s rich imagery and amusing characters have made it a firm favourite of both children and parents for over 50 years.

When poor James Henry Trotter loses his parents in a horrible rhinoceros accident, he is forced to live with his two wicked aunts, Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker. After three years he becomes "the saddest and loneliest boy you could find". Then one day, a wizened old man in a dark-green suit gives James a bag of magic crystals that promise to reverse his misery forever. When James accidentally spills the crystals on his aunts' withered peach tree, he sets the adventure in motion. From the old tree a single peach grows, and grows, and grows some more, until finally James climbs inside the giant fruit and rolls away from his despicable aunts to a whole new life…

Roald Dahl wrote many excellent children’s books and James and the Giant Peach is up there amongst his very best. This brilliant and hugely popular story of James’s journey to New York alongside his insect friends is a joy for children to read and a delight for parents to read from. The book’s humour is always warm and the story is always engaging, providing a multitude of memorable moments.

When Dahl made up James and the Giant Peach as a bedtime story for his daughters Olivia and Tessa, little could he have know that half a century later millions of parents would have read exactly the same story to their own children. A book that fully deserves the accolade of children’s classic.

9/10 A firm favourite of both children and parents for over 50 years.

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Review by Floresiensis

79 positive reader review(s) for James and the Giant Peach

Roald Dahl biography

Jeff Kinney from Australia

Anonymus from India

It is a splendid book. One of my favorite books.

Anonymus from LOL really?

Love It!!!! :)

Noxolo Ndelane from South Africa

Best book ever.

James from UK

Love the book.

James and the giant peach from UK

When poor James loses his parent’s because of a rhinoceros accident, he is forced to live with his two horrible aunts, Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker. After three years he becomes “ the most saddest and loneliest boy” in the country. Then one day, James wanderers in the woods. He sees a wizened, old man in a funny dark green suit who sprung up from the bushes. He gives James a bag of magic crystals that promises to reverse his misery forever. When James accidentally spills the crystals on his two aunts, a withered peach tree strikes into motion . The adventure begins......

Olivia from UK

I loved James and the Giant Peach as it inspires me to be courageous, kind, generous and helpful! This book is amazing!

Diana from Germany

It's gucci!

Princess from London, England

I like it�'��'"�'�

Shwesa from Nepal

It ia an amazing book. I love the character of James.

Anon from UK

This book is so nice, I like it.

Campbell from Redding

It's amazing!!!

Kartik from India

A good book but hard word to understand for small children below 10 year

Namita from India

This book was amazing. It just made me little emotional at first but when James adventure started, it was superb!!!!

Abhi from India

Good book. Recommended to all.

Millie from England

it was the best book I ever read in my life because it is adventurous book to read and makes me happy and I would like to say thank you to Roald Dahl for writting many books that inspires a lot of people. May God bless all readers!

Moe Sheikh from Labanon

Love this story.

Basil from Sharjah

The book is interesting and funny. Roald Dahl is a great author. This book is good for young children.

Ali from Pakistan

This is a great book and it's filled with a lot of adventure.

Mbali from South Africa

This book is full of adventures and I really enjoyed reading it

Jayden from South Africa

It was great to read and the story it self was good I definitely recommend this for kids

Ethan from Pakistan

It's an amazing adventure. The best story ever.

Jessica from London

Very very very good

Flame from South Africa

This book is awesome I love it. Something does not have to be real for it to be real.

Jamie from United Arab Emirates

I loved this book.

Samlags from Amsterdam

Helped me a lot in school.

Minahil from Pakistan

I LOVE it! 😊

Adrian from India

Awsome book. I loved it.

Bushra from Pakistan

Its amazing!! I absolutely love the plot <3

Uma from India

It is such an awesome book. I love it.

Dazy from England

The book is awesome

Pooja from India

I will read the store in Hindi.

Fatima from Pakistan

It is amazing😍😍😍

Unknown from Ireland

James and the giant peach is a great book and is made by my favourite authors Roald Dahl you should also read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

umaima from pakistan

James and the Gaint is written by Roald Dahl. Its about a boy James loses his parents and was forced to live with his aunts.one day he met a man who gave him green crystals and promised that his all problems would be solved. Unfortuanately those magical crystals fell on ground and near old peach tree.then the peach grow grow growed who was really famous.then james was totally changed................

Very interesting and sometimes funny kids book although some parts are boring.

Arafath from Africa

Amazing book

Marriam from America

The Best Book Ever.

David from UK

James and the Giant Peach is far by one of Roald Dahl’s best books. It is very funny. When James the main character goes to London with his parents a rinocerous gobbles them up. Poor James is taken to his horrible aunts who treat him terribly. Will he escape? Roald Dahl is one of the best writers ever. You will very much laugh when you see what happened to the aunts.

Samah from Pakistan

This is a great book.I really loved reading it and Roald Dahl is the best author ever. Kids do read this book its amazing!!!!

Taha from Pakistan

Wow! What a book  Best to read all the time. So intersting Roald Dahl.

Mohammed zaid khan from Singapore

I love the book, it's my favorite.

Zainab from Italy

Mary from America

The book is fantastic and interesting.

Zaid Khan from India

It is my favorite book ever.

Maheen from Pakistan

This is a very good story! You can also read it. It's a bit of a new one for young children 6-9 years. 

I love this book a lot. Roald Dahl is the best author of all time.

Natasha from India

I personally liked the book. It is good for young readers as you can have a quick read. Roald Dahl is one of my favourite authors. I love the language he uses, the numerous words he has invented. The theme of the book is hope and friendship. A very important life lesson has been taught to us through this extremely hilarious and wonderful sweet book. I would recommend it.

Ansh Kumar from Indonesia

Cool!!!!!!!!!!

Vidushi from India

It was an amazing story but I was really sorry and pity full sometimes in the story for James.

Anon from Pakistan

Wow! Children should read this book.

Vartika from India

The book was amazing but i felt pity for poor james.

Ali from Russia

Saad from England

Amazing !!!!

Moeed Hassan from Pakistan

It is fantastic and very good read for the children.

Serena R from England

James and the giant peach is the best book that I have ever read.I love the animals, they are so funny with their peculiar characteristics.I even find James' two aunties are funny although they were very mean and rude towards James.I definitely recommend this book , specially to young readers like myself.

Shreyank from South Africa

Anam from Canada

The book James And The Giant Peach is a great book that teaches you to have hope. In the book James is an orphan that lives with his 2 cruel aunts in a ramshackle house and a desolate garden. But with a few magical seeds and a dead Peach tree, James' life is about to change forever. Roald Dahl is the author of many great children's books that all teach you to have perseverance and to never give up. The book "Matilda", also by Roald Dahl, is about a 4 year old girl that lives with her cruel parents but escapes with her sheer knowledge. Hopefully James will find a better home, friends to play with, and a welcoming environment. This Roald Dahl book is sure to keep readers on the edge of their seats till the last page.

Kinza from Pakistan

Mashal from Pakistan

James and the giant peach is a fictional novel . It is best for kids . James and the giant peach is written by the famous author Roald Dahl . This story is about an orphan boy James Henry Trotter who lived with her aunts and was the saddest and lonniest boy ever . One day while he was working he saw an old man fully dressed in green he gave him magical powder but it was James bad luck that he fell and the powder scattered around an old peach tree . Suddenly a peach as big as an house grew and it was growing much bigger and bigger . James saw a tunnel in the peach and he entered in it . His adventure to a new and lovely place started . This book is amazing for kids to read it . My favourite part was when the Aunts were crushed under the peach . I liked this book as it gives us a lesson of hope and the theme of this book is hope and friendship . I think everyone shoul read this book as it is awesome and you will enjoy .

Joanne from Australia

James and the Giant Peach is the best!

Julia from America

Such an original, hilarious read. Though it does have some words that are mild for younger viewers, and can make you fall asleep at parts. Overall this book is fantastic. 10/10 WOULD RECOMMEND!!! :)

Selena from China

Best read ever!!!

Santrupth Shetty from India

This book is worth reading for young children. I have really enjoyed reading it. This is an adventure and it speaks about facing obstacles with courage. I also recommend other children to read this book.

Angus from Austrailia

James and the Giant Peach is a very good fairytale which is good for young children. It is very interesting and I would recommend this to anyone which is interested into Fairy Tales and this book has very easy language. It is a good book and I would recommend it to anyone who wants a quick read. Bad luck that James is so miserable.

Lisa from United States of America

I loved it! It was funny. Plus I love fictional books. Any book that has a character who goes on an adventure with friends and has a happily ever after is a book I love!

Harsh from India

I am Jagrut's brother and I liked it alot and I have performed an activity on it. This book is going be a thumbs up.

Jagrut from India

It was an amazing book by Roald Dahl. I would recommend this book to other children.

Devanshi from India

It is the best book I have ever read.

Zoha Taj from Pakistan

This is the best read ever!

Anoushka from India

This is an awesome and amazing novel. Very charming and interesting. :-) It's very fascinating. The made the book good to great and funny. It's too sad the Roald Dahl passed away soon. Just wanted to tell him that we love you now too!!! I love all his books <3

Emmanuel from India

Best book by the best author.

Sabriyah from England

It was one of the best books I had ever read. I have to give it a double thumbs up for it's so good. Poor little James is so miserable and I would just like him to stay where I live. It's too disappointing that Roald Dahl died too soon. I've already got the whole collection of Roald Dahl except for Dirty Beasts and Revolting Rhymes. I have to say, the whole story is right in my head. I would just have to go running out of those gates if I were James Henry Trotter myself. Anyway, if Roald was still alive I would have wanted to give him a gift made out of pure gold. His books are stupendous, brilliant, marvellous,superb. AMAZING!!!

Kiara from England

Amazing book!! Seriously becuz it is written by the best author ever!!!! I think it was a very interesting story!!

It's a very good book for children. A must read.

Alina from England

THE BEST BOOK EVER!

Haleemah from England

Poor James, I feel so sorry for him because his mean ugly nasty aunties be mean and treat him like nothing but the book is really good. I think people should read it they would enjoy.

Sneha Pandiyan from India

As Dahl's novel begins, the reader is introduced to James, a young boy who is orphaned when his parents are eaten by a rhinoceros. James is consequently sent to live with his two aunts, Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker. These relatives are very cruel to him, and he is incredibly lonely, since he has no friends yet longs to play with children his own age. But on one particularly hard day, James's luck changes: an Old Man appears in the backyard garden and offers James a packet of magical green objects. If James follows a set of specific instructions (says the Old Man), something spectacular will happen. James is very excited, but as he runs back to his house to execute the instructions, he trips and the magical green objects burrow into the ground. James is incredibly upset, but as he begins to resume his chores, he hears his aunts shouting. James soon discovers the source of the commotion: a peach has begun to grow on a top branch of a previously barren peach tree. As the three of them watch, the peach becomes larger and larger, until it is bigger than the aunts' entire house. Seeking to capitalize on this strange event, Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker set up a fence and begin charging admission to see the peach. They forbid James from interfering, fearing that he will ruin their profit-making scheme. The night after the first day of visitors, James sneaks out of the house to visit the peach. He sees a hole at the bottom of the peach, and he realizes that this hole is the opening to a tunnel. He begins to crawl through, and he eventually enters the hollow peach pit at the center of the fruit. When James enters the pit's inner chamber, he meets an odd assortment of creatures, who initially intimidate him: Miss Spider, Centipede, Earthworm, Old-Green-Grasshopper, and others. The next day James and his new companions begin their journey away from Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker. Centipede cuts the peach away from its tree and the peach begins to roll, flattening everything in its way - including Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker, who are killed. The peach then rolls off of a cliff several miles away and lands in the Atlantic Ocean. From this point forward, James and his friends face a series of obstacles. They must escape attacking sharks, evade the Cloud-Men and their anger, and settle internal disputes. James asserts himself as the leader and frequently saves the day. When sharks attack, he has his companions fasten ropes to nearby seagulls, then to the stem of the peach, the peach rises out of the water and begins flying through the air. After one day of flying, James and his friends realize that they have flown across the entire Atlantic - they can now see New York City below them. They begin to cut the seagull strings one-by-one, when suddenly a passenger plane flies above them and cuts all of the lines at once. Their gradual descent into the city is ruined and they begin to sink rapidly. Everyone holds on for dear life, thinking death is imminent, but they land safely on the pinnacle of the Empire State Building. After explaining their situation to the New York City policemen and firemen, James and his friends are brought to street level and are welcomed lavishly. The city throws a parade in their honor, and by the end of the parade the entire peach has been eaten by local children, who want to taste the giant fruit. After the parade, James and his friends live happily ever after. The remaining peach pit is set up as a monument in Central Park, and James lives inside of it. So many children visit him, hoping to hear his story, that he decides to write a book about the journey. The book that he wrote is the book that the reader has just read.

Preethi from India

Amazing book, just loved it. Watch the book trailer, if you want to know the gist of the book https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgCJQdz6l_U

Matthew from United Kingdom

It was amazing because the insects made it funny.

Yashu from India

It was excellent. Roald Dahl is a great author.

Maria from England

The book is obviously going to recieve a thumbs up from me due to its originality and because it was written by Roald Dahl who is an excellent author and it is such a shame that he only wrote a limited amount of books in his lifetime, he died too soon! :( Anyway enough of that, in my opinion the book was a great success and I loved it, love it, and will carry on loving it. (past, present, future and nobody can do anything about it,:b).

9.7 /10 from 83 reviews

All Roald Dahl Reviews

• James and the Giant Peach
• Revolting Rhymes
• Dirty Beasts
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
• Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator‏

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James and the Giant Peach

Buy from other retailers, what's this book about.

From the bestselling author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The BFG! After James Henry Trotter’s parents are tragically eaten by a rhinoceros, he goes to live with his two horrible aunts, Spiker and Sponge. Life there is no fun, until James accidentally drops some magic crystals by the old peach tree and strange things start to happen. The peach at the top of the tree begins to grow, and before long it’s as big as a house. Inside, James meets a bunch of oversized friends—Grasshopper, Centipede, Ladybug, and more. With a snip of the stem, the peach starts rolling away, and the great adventure begins!

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The Creatives Behind the Book

Roald Dahl (1916-1990) was born in Wales of Norwegian parents. He spent his childhood in England and, at age eighteen, went to work for the Shell Oil Company in Africa. When World War II broke out, he joined the Royal Air Force and became a fighter pilot. At the age of twenty-six he moved to Washington, D.C., and it was there he began to write. His first short story, which recounted his adventures in the war, was bought by The Saturday Evening Post, and so began a long and illustrious career. After establishing himself as a writer for adults, Roald Dahl began writing children’s stories in 1960 while living in England with his family. His first stories were written as entertainment for his own children, to whom many of his books are dedicated. Roald Dahl is now considered one of the most beloved storytellers of our time. Although he passed away in 1990, his popularity continues to increase as his fantastic novels, including James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, The BFG, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, delight an ever-growing legion of fans. Learn more about Roald Dahl on the official Roald Dahl Web site: www.roalddahl.com

Sir Quentin Blake, the first-ever Children’s Laureate of the United Kingdom, has illustrated nearly 300 books, including most of Roald Dahl’s children’s books. He lives in London.

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James and the Giant Peach

Sections: Information | Description | Reviews | Awards | Criticism and Analysis |  Fun Stuff   | Teacher Ideas | Covers | Penguin Readers , Afrikaans , Bulgarian , Catalan , Chinese , Czech , Danish , Dutch , Estonian , French , German , Greek , Korean , Lithuanian , Norwegian , Polish ,  Russian , Serbian , Slovakian , Spanish , Turkish , Vietnamese , and Welsh Covers

Information

Information on identifying editions is from Richard Walker’s “Roald Dahl – A Guide to Collecting His First Editions” .

• Illustrated by: Nancy Ekholm Burkert
• To identify: Five-line colophon found on the last printed page that includes the statements: Bound by H. Wolff Co. (later printings were bound by the Book Press) and underneath this: Paper supplied by P.H. Glatfelter, Spring Grove Pennsylvania. The boards are a deep red/maroon and the head is stained a peach/yellow color. The dust jacket is priced at $3.95 and does not have any SBN numbers on the right bottom of the rear panel. Note: there are more intricacies here which can be found on Richard’s site …
• Illustrated by: Michel Simeon
• To identify: Used a standard single statement (‘First published in Great Britain in’ followed by the date, no later dates or printing statements) and was published without pricing and no dust jacket.
• Illustrated by: Emma Chichester Clark
• To identify: After original publishing listing and twelfth print, a standard © statement for Clark illustrations 1990 was used. Published with a dust jacket priced at £8.95.
• Illustrated by: Quentin Blake
• To identify: Used a number line and was published with a jacket that was either not priced and without a Viking logo on the spine or a jacket with the logo on the spine and priced at £9.99.
• Illustrated by: Lane Smith
• To identify: Used number line and published with a jacket priced at $16.00
• To identify: Used a number line and published with a jacket but without a price.
• Challenged at the Deep Creek Elementary School in Charlotte Harbor, Fla. (1991) because it is “not appropriate reading material for young children.”
• Challenged at the Pederson Elementary School in Altoona, Wis. (1991) and at the Morton Elementary School library in Brooksville, Fla. (1992) because the book contains the word “ass” and “promotes” the use of drugs (tobacco, snuff) and whiskey.
• Removed from classrooms in Stafford County, Va. Schools (1995) and placed in restricted access in the library because the story contains crude language and encourages children to disobey their parents and other adults.
• From 2022 onwards, Puffin has edited selected Dahl books to remove sensitive language and insert new sentences not written by Dahl. If you would prefer to read the original text, ensure you get a copy published before 2022 or one of the “Classic Collection” published by Penguin.
• James and the Giant Peach, with Taika and Friends - June 21, 2020
• Lego Roald Dahl Characters in UK - September 10, 2017
• ‘BFG’ to ‘Matilda’: How Roald Dahl Books Became Big Movies | Variety - June 30, 2016
• More news…
• “‘I look and smell,’ Aunt Sponge declared…”
• “We may see a Creature with forty-nine heads…”
• “I’ve eaten many strange and scrumptious dishes in my time…”
• “Aunt Sponge was terrifically fat…”
• “Aunt Spiker was thin as a wire…”
• “Once upon a time…”
• “Down they go…”
• “Oh, hooray for the storm and the rain…”
• “My friends, this is the Centipede, and let me make it known…”
• Hey! Listen to This – Stories to Read Aloud
• It’s Heaven to be Seven
• James’s Giant Bug Book
• Roald Dahl 15 Book Box Set
• Roald Dahl Collection
• Roald Dahl’s Glorious Galumptious Story Collection
• Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach Sticker Activity Book
• Roald Dahl’s Scrumdiddlyumptious Sticker Book
• Roald Dahl’s Creative Writing with James and the Giant Peach: How to Write Phenomenal Poetry
• The Marvellous Roald Dahl Library
• The Puffin Roald Dahl Collection 2
• The Roald Dahl Centenary Boxed Set
• The Roald Dahl Collection
• James and the Giant Peach (1996)
• James and the Giant Peach adapted by David Wood
• James and the Giant Peach: A Play adapted by Richard R. George
• 2 Favourite Stories read by Roald Dahl
• 4 Favourite Stories read by Roald Dahl
• 5 Favourite Stories read by Roald Dahl
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Four More Stories read by Roald Dahl
• James and the Giant Peach read by Roald Dahl
• James and the Giant Peach read by Jeremy Irons
• James and the Giant Peach read by Julian Rhind-Tutt
• James and the Giant Peach read by Andrew Sachs
• James and the Giant Peach read by full cast
• James and the Giant Peach read by unknown
• James et la Grosse Pêche read by Claude Villers, Geneviève Lezy, Henri Marteau, Christine Martin, Sophie Wright
• James und der Riesenpfirsich read by Rufus Beck
• Roald Dahl Audio Books read by David Walliams, Stephen Fry, Kate Winslet, Chris O'Dowd, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Peter Serafinowicz, Miranda Richardson, Richard Ayoade, Douglas Hodge
• Roald Dahl Audio Books (10 CD Collection) read by Simon Callow, Miriam Margolyes, Geoffrey Palmer, James Bolam, Andrew Sachs, June Whitfield, Timothy West, Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry, Martin Jarvis
• The Roald Dahl Audio Collection read by Roald Dahl
• The Roald Dahl Soundbook read by Roald Dahl
• Jackanory (1965)

Important note: From 2022 onwards, Puffin has edited selected Dahl books to remove sensitive language and insert new sentences not written by Dahl. If you would prefer to read the original text, ensure you get a copy published before 2022 or one of the “Classic Collection” published by Penguin.

Description

A little magic can take you a long way.

After James Henry Trotter’s parents are tragically eaten by a rhinoceros, he goes to live with his two horrible aunts, Spiker and Sponge. Life there is no fun, until James accidentally drops some magic crystals by the old peach tree and strange things start to happen. The peach at the top of the tree begins to grow, and before long it’s as big as a house. Inside, James meets a bunch of oversized friends—Grasshopper, Centipede, Ladybug, and more. With a snip of the stem, the peach starts rolling away, and the great adventure begins!

• “Books for Young People” by Alice Dalgliesh ( The Saturday Review )
• “The Wonderful World of Dahl” by Sean Kelly ( New York Times ) – review of movie tie-in book
• Massachusetts Children’s Award (USA 1982)

Criticism and Analysis

• Article by Eve Tal published in Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts
• Essay by James M. Curtis published in Children’s Literature Association Quarterly

• First edition illustrations
• BBC Radio “Listening and Reading” Editions from the 1970’s
• Escape the Sharks! – online Flash game created by me
• Original cartoon illustrations by artist Liz Manicatide
• “James and the Giant Peach, with Taika and Friends” – 10 episode YouTube series read by Taika Waititi and friends

Merchandise

Sotheby’s Dahl Auction

• Custom binding by artist Erin Fletcher 
• Book-A-Minute Bedtime Story  

Teacher Ideas

• PDF with activities exploring metaphors and similes
• Classroom activities related to the book
• Excellent guide with vocabulary words, questions, and lots of activities
• Comprehensive lesson plan with unit plan, diagrams, and vocabulary tests
• Bring a world of giant peaches and talking insects to life in your classroom with these brilliant beyond belief YPO lesson plans.
• PDF preview of Novel Study including everything you need to teach the novel (full version available for purchase on novelstudies.org)
• Includes some peach-related ideas for teaching the book
• Includes summary, discussion questions, activities, and recipe
• Includes several good ideas for enrichment activities, a list of Internet links, and a Dahl bibliography
• Activity where students write their own large-object-rolling-through-something paragraph.
• Designed to get students thinking critically about the text they read and provide a guided study format to facilitate in improved learning and retention

Penguin Readers Covers

Penguin Readers is an ELT graded reader series for learners of English as a foreign language. Simplified story texts are combined with beautiful original illustrations for students aged 7 and above.

Afrikaans Covers – James en die reuseperske

Catalan Covers – James i el préssec gegant

Chinese Covers

Czech Covers – Jakub a obří broskev

Danish Covers – James og den store fersken

Dutch Covers – Beesten aan boord; De reuzenperzik

Estonian Covers – James ja hiigelvirsik

French Covers – James et la grosse pêche

German Covers – James und der Riesenpfirsich

Greek Covers – Ο ΤΖΙΜΗΣ ΚΑΙ ΤΟ ΓΙΓΑΝΤΟΡΟΔΑΚΙΝΟ

Korean Covers – 제임스와 슈퍼 복숭아 양장본

Lithuanian Covers – Džeimsas ir milžiniškas persikas

Norwegian Covers – Verdens Største Fersken

Polish Covers – James i ogromna brzoskwinia

Serbian Covers – Džejms i džinovska breskva

Slovakian Covers – Jakub a obrovská broskyňa

Spanish Covers – James y el melocotón gigante

Turkish Covers – Dev Şeftali

Vietnamese Covers – James Và Quả Đào Khổng Lồ

Welsh Covers – James A’r Eirinen Wlanog Enfawr

• Children's Books
• Action & Adventure

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James and the Giant Peach Hardcover – January 1, 2015

• Part of series Roald Dahl
• Print length 144 pages
• Language English
• Grade level 3 - 7
• Lexile measure 0870
• Dimensions 0.5 x 6.5 x 9.5 inches
• Publisher Knopf
• Publication date January 1, 2015
• ISBN-10 0394812824
• ISBN-13 978-0394812823
• See all details

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Product details.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Knopf (January 1, 2015)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 144 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0394812824
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0394812823
• Reading age ‏ : ‎ 5 - 9 years, from customers
• Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 0870
• Grade level ‏ : ‎ 3 - 7
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 0.5 x 6.5 x 9.5 inches
• #14,247 in Children's Classics
• #49,215 in Children's Action & Adventure Books (Books)

About the author

The son of Norwegian parents, Roald Dahl was born in Wales in 1916 and educated at Repton. He was a fighter pilot for the RAF during World War Two, and it was while writing about his experiences during this time that he started his career as an author.

His fabulously popular children's books are read by children all over the world. Some of his better-known works include James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Fantastic Mr Fox, Matilda, The Witches, and The BFG.

He died in November 1990.

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James and the Giant Peach

• Podcast Episode

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User reviews

• May 1, 2024 (United Kingdom)
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• Runtime 1 hour 38 minutes

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