Customer Reviews

James and the Giant Peach

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

James and the Giant Peach is a funny and nerve racking book that you can't stop reading. This story is for all genders, and ages 10 and up.

James and the Giant Peach is about a little boy named James, whose parents died, and now lives with his wicked aunts. One day, someone suspicious gives him a bag of green things to make something spectacular, but James accidentally loses them, and all of them disappear. Suddenly, a gigantic peach grows from an old, dead, tree, which will bring James to anywhere away from his nasty aunts. On his way, he meets some unexpected guests. Some of them are help James, and some of them are very unpleasant. How is he going to get away? Find out if you read James and the Giant Peach.

James and he giant peach was one of the best books i have ever read. It was very action filled and was always exciting.Befor i started reading this book i hated reading now i love it. My favorite author is Roald Dahl He is very inspireing and lets kids like me imagin. This book tought me that reading isnt only a subject in school, it is life.
Regan- student

One of the more popular works in English children's literature over the last 3 decades is this short classic by Roald Dahl called James and the Giant Peach. Starting in similar fashion as Jack in the Beanstalk, a gigantic peach starts growing in the yard by a house on a hill. Occupying the house is James, a little boy whose parents were killed in a car - zoo accident. James was sent to live with his two nasty aunts who abuse him and work him. The house, by the way, is located on the West coast of the UK.

As the peach grows, James crawls inside and meets a bunch of insects and other bugs who have also grown in size with the peach, such that they are all human-sized now. The peach soon breaks loose, rolls downhill and into the ocean. From there, the peach, and all its inhabitants including James, travels to America. Along the way, James and his new friends have many grand adventures both on the ocean and flying above it with some help of sea gulls. Arriving in New York City, they are treated to a hero's welcome and live their lives happily ever after.

This book is a beautiful story, and has spawned a nice cartoon movie. The story itself has numerous allusions to other works; i.e. the part of James living with his mean aunts is reminiscing of Cinderalla. Likewise, James and his multi-species companions leaving Europe and arriving in New York City bespeaks the immigrant experience. All in all a great book for children and adults alike.

James and the Giant Peach is reallygood bookthat is kind of short.And James has a really hateful life with too mean Aunts that dont like him and because his parnets died and know he has to be with the too mean sisters and thenone day all three of them saw something out of this world.
Smith,Johna
7/8/05

The story James and the Giant Peach is a spectacular story in wich James is forced to live with his two mean aunts, because his parents died. When the weird little man gives James a package that has magical crystals in it. James gets a little to exited and he trips, falling and breaking the bag. James scrambles around trying to get the magical crystals but they just sink into the ground. After that spectacular things start to happen that will change James life forever. This is the funny, wonderful,and shocking story of James and his journy on the giant peach.

I read this outloud to the kids, and they loved it. It was perfect because the length wasn't too long taking weeks to read, but it was long enough that my kids looked forward to the next time we sat down together and keep going. Such a great way to spend time with your children and teach them how fun reading can be!

When James' parents die, he goes to live with Aunts Spiker and Aunt Sponge, who are just terrible. They are selfish and lazy and cruel to James. One one such occasion where they were being especially mean, James runs off from the garden and runs into a small man. This man has the offer of magic in a bag and gives James explicit instructions as to what to do to make sure the magic is his.

What follows from the start of this adventure is nothing short of extraordinary. James and the aunts witness a peach growing right before their very eyes. It gets so big it's like a small house, and the aunts want to make money off of this, using it like a fair attraction.

It's when they send James out to clean up after the crowds that he notices a hole in the peach. A small hole, but big enough for a fox so he kneels in front and sticks his head and shoulders in and then crawls right inside. (The description of the interior of the peach was my favorite, as it sounds lush and majestic. I love when James even stops to take a bit out of the wall of the peach.)

He meets a motley crew of insects who are human-sized within the peach and each tells his/her story of how they came to live in the peach. After a night of sleeping in the peach, and just as the evil aunts are about to start Day 2 of the Giant Peach Attraction, the peach itself breaks from the branch, tumbles down the hill, gathers speed, hurls across twenty field and eventually over the white cliffs and into the ocean...where it floats to a new land.

All along the way of this adventure, there is great peril and danger, but together the "peach-mates" make it though. They stick together, live on in the peach, and when they arrive in the new land, they are welcomed like heroes. After all this fanfare, they also go on to live extraordinary lives.

What happens to the peach, you ask? Read the book to find out, as the final destination is sweet and endearing, especially for our main character James.

I remember when I got it, I was only 8 or so...

James is an awesome character. But he was too sensitive to live with his mentally and physically abusive aunts, Aunt Spike(r) and Aunt Sponge.

One was tall, thin and bones, the other plump and short. But both were quite the hideous sight!

Eventually, James breaks away from them. Something magical causes this.

He meets some love-able friends, and they take a long journey, traveling inside and on the outside of a GIGANTIC peach.

In some ways, me and James are the same.

Anyway, it's a good read. And if you're 11 or so, you won't have much trouble with the words. There are bigger ones here and there, but your average 10 or 11 year old, should be able to get through with little to no help.

It'd make a good bedtime story!

4 stars.

In my opinion, James and the Giant Peach was not the greatest book, but if you like imaginary things, you might like it. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl describes a boy who finds a giant peach, and it rolls down a hill and ends up in the ocean; he doesnt know how to get it out. To begin, James escapes from his evil aunts house. He wanted to escape because they were mistreating him. Next, when he is in the middle of the ocean, he comes up with this interesting plan. His plan was to tie seagulls to the peach so they would lift him up. Lastly, he arrives at his destination. Aww the life of New York City. Even know I hated this book, I hope you like it.

"There was a crunch. And then there was silence."