From the World's No. 1 Storyteller, James and the Giant Peach is a children's classic that has captured young reader's imaginations for generations. We wanted to celebrate the Roald Dahl centenary by putting a selection of 'wondercrump' books Roald Dahl has written into one perfect list.You've probably read all these books several times already, but you can never get tired of these individual pieces of magic. James lives with two terrible old women whose main form of parenting is verbal abuse and infringement of child labor laws. When I read this book a very long time ago I rated in 3 stars. I think as an adult I enjoyed reading this book more than I did as a child. The Old Green Grasshopper – A male grasshopper, who is the eldest and most cultured of the animals.

Cummins, Anthony (15 January 2023). "Bret Easton Ellis: 'James and the Giant Peach changed my life' ". The Guardian. I liked the more macabre elements of the story like the oddly sinister Cloud-Men and the “immense grey batlike creature swooping down towards them out of the dark” - Quentin Blake’s drawing really sells them too. The batlike creature is a really weird inclusion as it has no bearing on the plot and is never mentioned again. But that kind of strange detail is partly why you re-read as you notice stuff you didn’t the first time!James and the Giant is undeniably macabre. Dahl never shies away from infusing his stories with ghastly elements. On a more hopeful note, the underlying message of this story is that there are ways to escape a troubling homelife. The verbal and emotional abuse James receives is a bit over-the-top, but that might be the reality for some kids. How do they escape that? And while they can't fly away on a giant peach, ultimately, this story suggests that abused kids can find possible escapes through friends and writing. That the power of relationships and creativity and imagination are all a person needs to take them anywhere they want to go i.e. it shows kids that no matter how bad things may seem, or how bad they get, there is always hope.

FYI - Wrote this review ~2017 from memory as I want to have a review for everything I remember reading. If I messed it up, let me know! LOL :) EP6: Duchess of Cornwall, Lupita Nyong'o & Josh Gad read James & the Giant Peach w/ Taika | #WithMe

In a blog by Madeline Holler, she took issue not with the language or drugs, but jokes about physical characteristics because of the physical description of James’ cruel guardians Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker. One is very fat and one is very skinny and their features are laughed at, criticized, and meant to be evoke disgust. His first children's book was The Gremlins, about mischievous little creatures that were part of RAF folklore. The book was commissioned by Walt Disney for a film that was never made, and published in 1943. Dahl went on to create some of the best-loved children's stories of the 20th century, such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda and James and the Giant Peach. This is the highly amusing tale of Reverend Lee, who does not realise that his dyslexia is affecting his sermons. Reading it again as an adult, my strongest impressions are of just how much FUN this whole adventure is. Roald Dahl manages the perfect blend of whimsical, frightful, exciting, and tender elements. I think that's why his books can be every bit as appealing to adults as they are to children. I'd be laughing one minute at Centipede's songs about Aunts Sponge and Spiker, and grossing out a few minutes later when Centipede tells Earthworm that the Cloud-Men will eat him: "They would cut you up like a salami and eat you in thin slices." What I was hoping would be a magical tale that reminded me of my childhood turned out to be an incredibly dull but also problematic book by Dahl - yet again!

A peach at the very top of a tree begins to grow . . . and grow . . . and GROW! Inside are seven very unusual insects - all waiting to take James on a magical journey. How many seagulls would really be needed to carry Dahl's Giant Peach?" The Telegraph. Retrieved 25 November 2019.This story urges readers to take a closer look at the world around them. First, a closer look at nature. There are several amazing things happening in the natural world, from photosynthesis to the water cycle. The book even explores the importance of each type of insect and how each of them contributes to the well-being of the environment.