James and the Giant Peach
by Roald Dahl
List Price:
Our Price: $3.43
You Save: $3.56 (51%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Roald DahlIllustrator: Lane Smith
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2000-04-26
ISBN: 0140374248
Number of pages: 144
Publisher: Puffin
Book Reviews of James and the Giant Peach
Book Review: One of the Best...
Summary: 5 Stars
One thing Roald Dahl has never had problems with is how to properly dispose of parental figures.
"It had started out well, with much laughing and shouting, and for the first few seconds, as the peach had begun to roll slowly forward, nobody had minded being tumbled about a little bit. And when it went BUMP!, and the Centipede had shouted, "That was Aunt Sponge!" and then BUMP! Again, and "That was Aunt Spiker!" there had been a tremendous burst of cheering all around."
The evil aunts of our hero, James, have thus been dispatched. Cruel to their nephew from the day they took custody of him, they are the mere speedbumps in the life of a Giant Peach, magically brought about to take James and his new-found friends to a new life in New York City.
The lovely thing about Dahl is that he makes the magically extraordinary into a quite normal thing for his characters. James meets with giant insects, befriends them, and rides in a enormous peach across the sea, battling sharks and seagulls until they come to rest on the spike of the Empire State Building.
There are a thousand parallels a thinking person could make with this book: the immigration of thousands of people from oppressive governments to the United States; the bucking of authority; the whole debacle with Elian Gonzales, if you're really good; and the painfully obvious connection with Harry Potter.
(I mean, really. The kid's name is James Henry Trotter. Don't make me keep going.)
But what I find most interesting about Dahl is that he continually dispatches adults in grotesque ways. This is, of course, endlessly endearing to children, who generally wish to discard their parents on the average of twice a week.
In many cases, the adults are evil and cruel, who make the children go without supper, television or sugar. They never listen, they never play, they don't laugh. They are sharp and greedy, and they resent the children in their lives.
Well, you're saying to yourself, of course those parents deserve to be run over by giant peaches, or fed disgusting poisonous brews by their charges, or blown up into giant blueberries.
But that's not the entire case in a Dahl book. Any adult is at his mercy - for James' parents have been nothing but good. And yet...in the third paragraph of the story:
"Then, one day, James's mother and father went to London to do some shopping, and there a terrible thing happened. Both of them suddenly got eaten up (in full daylight, mind you, and on a crowded street) by an enormous angry rhinoceros which had escaped by the London Zoo."
Tell me that there is not one person among you who does not read that paragraph with a small glimmer of fear in your heart. Being flattened by a giant peach suddenly seems tranquil and pleasant, if not downright sweet. A rhinoceros, on the other hand, is undoubtedly terribly messy and probably quite smelly as well.
Who gets the worst punishment here? Really - you've got to wonder if Dahl had some unresolved issues with his parents.
Regardless. It's a great book, very funny and enjoyable. The characters (save the adults, of course) are two-and-a-half dimensional and funny for all that. If you find yourself with a copy that has illustrations by Nancy Ekholm Burkert, you're in luck in that regard as well.
Read it, cherish it, pass it on. But hide it from your kids, lest they start dreaming of rhinoceroses.
Summary of James and the Giant Peach
For young James Henry Trotter, life with the exceedingly nasty Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker is pure misery. Jame dreams of a better life, but he's totally unprepared for the wild adventures ahead of him when he drops the magic crystals he receives from a strange old man. Before long James is off on a weird, wonderful journey inside a giant peach with a bizarre group of companions - including a human-sized Earthworm, Ladybug, and Centipede!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)
Subjects Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Subjects Books
That Hideous Strengthby C S Lewis
Voyager; Published: 2005-12-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.01
Emperor (Emperor 1)by Conn Iggulden
Harpercollins Pb; Published: 2003-06-07; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.80
Girl With a Pearl Earringby Tracy Chevalier
Harper Collins Audio; Published: 2002-06-17; Audio Cassette; Book
Best price: $133.98
Illustrated Man (Voyager Classics)by Ray Bradbury
Voyager; Published: 2002-08-19; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.81
Magician's Nephew (Chronicles of Narnia S.)by C S Lewis
Harper Collins Childrens H/B; Published: 2003-10-06; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $27.15
1960s Series American Dreamby Norman Mailer
Flamingo; Published: 2001-04-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $17.98
Jonathan Livingston Seagullby Richard Bach
Harpercollins Publishers; Published: 1994-08-22; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.91
Man Lay Deadby Ngaio Marsh
Harper Collins Pb; Published: 2000-12-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $107.59
Rhythm Sectionby Mark Burnell
Harper Collins Pod; Published: 2000-06-19; Paperback; Book
Best price: $34.82
I Am Mary Dunneby Brian Moore
Flamingo; Published: 1995; Paperback; Book
Best price: $171.71
Similar Books and other products
The Twitsby Roald Dahl
Puffin Books; Puffin; Published: 2007-08-16; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.13
Price in other shops:
Charlie and the Great Glass Elevatorby Roald Dahl
Puffin Books; Puffin; Published: 2007-08-16; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.50
Price in other shops:
Danny the Champion of the Worldby Roald Dahl
Puffin Books; Puffin; Published: 2007-08-16; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.62
Price in other shops:
Fantastic Mr. Foxby Roald Dahl
Puffin Books; Puffin; Published: 2007-08-16; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.00
Price in other shops:
The Witchesby Roald Dahl
Puffin Books; Puffin; Published: 2007-08-16; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.00
Price in other shops:
Matildaby Roald Dahl
Puffin Books; Puffin; Published: 2007-08-16; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.47
Price in other shops:
The BFGby Roald Dahl
Puffin Books; Puffin; Published: 2007-08-16; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.95
Price in other shops:
Charlie and the Chocolate Factoryby Roald Dahl
Puffin Books; Puffin; Published: 2007-08-16; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.81
Price in other shops:
Charlotte's Web (Trophy Newbery)by E. B. White, Kate DiCamillo
Harper Collins Publishers; HarperCollins; Published: 1974-05-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.89
Price in other shops:
Pippi Longstocking (Puffin Modern Classics)by Astrid Lindgren
Puffin Books; Puffin; Published: 2005-04-21; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.79
Price in other shops: