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. James befriends an assortment of hilarious characters, including Grasshopper, Earthworm, Miss Spider, and Centipede--each with his or her own song to sing. Roald Dahl''s rich imagery and amusing characters ensure that parents will not tire of reading this
classic aloud, which they will no doubt be called to do over and over again! With the addition of witty black and white pencil drawings by Lane Smith (of
The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales and
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs fame), upon which the animation for the Disney movie was based, this classic, now in paperback, is bursting with renewed vigor. We''ll just come right out and say it:
James and the Giant Peach is one of the finest children''s books ever written. (Ages 9 to 12)
More reviews about the James and the Giant Peach