It was enjoyable enough and contained the usual Dahl elements (mean guardian, magic, smart kid). I didn't care much for the supporting characters. Maybe because I truly don't like bugs. Personally, not one of my Dahl favorites.

Click here to watch a video review of this book on my channel, From Beginning to Bookend.

James Henry Trotter is forced to live with his dreadful Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker after his beloved parents are killed in a tragic incident with a rhinoceros. There's no place as dreary and lonely as the house atop the hill where he lives with his aunts. James suspects his bad luck will change after a mysterious man arrives and offers him a bag of magic crystals. The way in which the crystals alter his circumstances is more fantastical than anything he could have ever imagined.

James and the Giant is undeniably macabre. Dahl never shies away from infusing his stories with ghastly elements.

Their names were Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spider, and I am sorry to say that they were both really horrible people. They were selfish and lazy and cruel, and right from the beginning they started beating poor James for almost no reason at all. They never called him by his real name, but always referred to him as "you disgusting little beast" or "you filthy nuisance" or "you miserable creature," and they certainly never game him any toys to play with or any picture books to look at.

Given the title of the book, it's no secret that James encounters a giant peach, but this is no ordinary piece of fruit. Dahl makes it sound like the most delectable peach imaginable:

The skin of the peach was very beautiful - a rich buttery yellow with patches of brilliant pink and red.

And all around there was the curious bittersweet smell of fresh peach. The floor was soggy under his knees, the walls were wet and sticky, and peach juice was dripping from the ceiling. James opened his mouth and caught some of it on his tongue. It tasted delicious.

James' adventure is brimming with magic and just a pinch of adult humor.

"And there's a - there's a - there's a - a - a - a sort of giant ladybug!"
"Now just a minute, Captain!" the First Officer said.
"And a colossal green grasshopper!"
"Captain!" the First Officer said sharply. "Captain, please!"
"And a mammoth spider!"
"Oh dear, he's been at the whisky again," whispered the Second Officer.

Sail away on a giant peach in this delightful story of a boy finding friends in unusual ways and in astonishing places.

James has quite an adventure once he breaks free from those despicable aunts. Love Centipede with his shoe obsession and the NYC adventures. No wonder this is a classic.

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



So, a couple of month ago I got gifted a whole box of Roal Dahl's books by somebody who knew very well he was my favourite author when I was a child. So, obviously, I decided to re-read all his books. And the more I read them, the more I become convinced that I don't really like Roald Dahl. I mean, his ideas are bizarre and funny but after a while they just become repetitive. Also, he's mean!! I would sincerely think twice before giving his books to a kid...



Meet James, a young fella who lives with his ugly aunts who are fat and ugly. Did I mention one of them is fat? Yeah, I mean Roal Dhal loves to make fun of big people- also blind people - but I digress. James is walking alone one day when he meets a suspicious individual who suggests he gets some suspicious items he is giving him and eats them; if he does so, magical things will happen. Marvelous things, indeed. Kids, make fun of fat people by creating funny rhymes and get lots of candy from strangers! Magical things will happen if you do so! Like getting inside a giant peach with a bunch of giant bugs who are mean to each other and to everybody else, just as much as the aunts are mean, James is mean, literally everybody is mean. I never read kids books with such horrible messages like Dahl's.



So why, you may wonder, are you going on reading this author if you know he is despicable? Two reasons: one, Quentin Blake (the illustrator), and two... I have to admit... deep down... I still love good ol' mean Roal Dahl

For some reason I need to read all the Roald Dahl books. I believe it's because I've never read any of them when I was a child and I'm curious about the stories. Everyone knows them, especially people from the UK, and I don't.

James and The Giant Peach must be my least favorite Dahl book so far. The story was a bit boring to me, feeling that not a lot happened.

One of the things I love most about the Roald Dahl books is the illustrations. All the books I read were illustrated by Quentin Blake, except this one. This one was illustrated by Lane Smith. Although the illustrations are beautiful, it's like Dahl and Blake belong together. They complement each other perfect, Blake bringing the story alive in pictures.

The lowest rating for Dahl so far, but the quest to read all the Dahl books continues.

As always, Roald Dahl writes the most fantastic wonderful tale for children. Great story, easy to read. Fun, quirky story that can be loved by all.

For some ridiculous reason, I never read any Roald Dahl when I was a kid. So now that my kids are at ages where they can enjoy his books, I’m super excited to be reading these with them. My oldest (6), loved this book. She’s declared it to be the best book ever. I also really enjoyed it, and would have read it myself even if I didn’t have kids. My four year old however was indifferent, she’s mostly excited to watch the movie.

n  n    Book Reviewn  n
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl is a very creative story built for everyone of all ages to enjoy. I think of it as a cross between 3 things: (1) Dr. Seuss, (2) Jack and the Beanstalk and (3) Harry Potter. 4 of 5 stars to this lovely keepsake!

I had to read this book, when it's my namesake, James. But the similarities end there. James' parents have passed away and he lives with his awful aunt and uncle. A mysterious man gives him a package which helps him grow this giant peach. And then the peach turns into a house, rolls away into fantasy-land and brings tons of new cartoon characters for James to have his own family.

It's a great children's story / younger young adult story to help show the different types of family, love and support one can get. So many fun things come from here, it's a must read for all kids. My favorite character would probably be the ladybug... such a treasure in words and pictures.

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 :)

n  n    About Men  n
For those new to me or my reviews... here's the scoop: I read A LOT. I write A LOT. And now I blog A LOT. First the book review goes on Goodreads, and then I send it on over to my WordPress blog at https://thisismytruthnow.com, where you'll also find TV & Film reviews, the revealing and introspective 365 Daily Challenge and lots of blogging about places I've visited all over the world. And you can find all my social media profiles to get the details on the who/what/when/where and my pictures. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Vote in the poll and ratings. Thanks for stopping by. Note: All written content is my original creation and copyrighted to me, but the graphics and images were linked from other sites and belong to them. Many thanks to their original creators.

James and the Giant peach

4.5/5

James and the giant peach used to be one of my favourites when I was younger (around 8-9). I love this book to this day as when I was reading that as a young child it helped expand my vocabulary but gave enough context so I could understand said word.

I have not read this book in a few years, but I still remember it quite clearly. I enjoyed the writing style immensely, as it was educating yet I didn’t struggle or feel as though I could not understand. The chapters were a good length I feel as it was enough to explain said chapter but not too much as if Roald Dahl was dragging it. The book itself was a nice length around 150 pages and at that age I didn’t enjoy reading as much as I do now, so it was not making me feel forced to read.



SPOILER ALERT

As for the story I really enjoyed it, I though the book was very funny informing on real-life issues, not the peach or the talking animals but James’s home situation, he was really struggling as he was living with aunts as his parent passed away, so they were his care takers, barely as he was mainly taking care of them. He took care of their garden, and they would sometimes take away his meals if didn’t finish his job. He referred to them as the evil aunts and to be honest I agree with this title as they were evil, and when they found out abound his peach, they used it for money and said they took care of the peach when it really was James.

About the peach itself I think it was a very good idea to write about because it is so interesting, the way they travelled around thew world from London to New York. I also wanted a hammock that they all got to sleep in, I was just 8 at this time so I thought it would be much better than a real bed, but for James he didn’t have a real one this was a very nice surprise for him. He really explained the characters well and Roald Dahl really describes James`s emotions and surroundings very amazingly. This really helps get into the book, being the character. Roald Dahl, I believe is an amazing author as I’ve read some of his other works and I really enjoy his writing style.

James Henry Trotter is a sweetie, and I absolutely adore this kid and his garden-friendly insect friends. The illustrations are so cute.

After enduring abusive aunts for three years who despise James after they agreed to raise him from the age of four when his parents died, James meets a mysterious man in the garden who gives him a bag of magical rice-sized crystals. He spills the crystals accidentally near his aunts' sad peach tree losing every one. It's a catastrophe for James, who was hoping for something wonderful he could use. James has hit bottom.

The next day, there is a giant peach growing on the tree! True to their vicious natures, the aunts start a business of charging tourists to see the peach but they lock up James in his room all day so he can't speak to anyone. At night they release him from his room and order him to clean up the trash in the garden. He is so hungry from not being fed all day that he climbs into the peach to eat a bit. He discovers there is a tunnel into it!

Crawling down the tunnel he discovers the huge peach pit - and the most adorable group of magically transformed bugs that anyone would be pleased to meet. Best of all, they love James. But this is not the end of the story. Meeting the insects is the beginning of new adventures and a new life, as they escape the evil aunts by rolling the peach away from the aunts' hilltop house. It isn't as easy as the reader might expect. They face trials and terrors in their escape which could mean their deaths. Even magically transformed beings can die! Will the friends work together and save each other by their individual strengths?

Unlike many, I never read this when a child, or had it read to me. I'm very happy that I read it now. It is one of the most charming stories for young kids I've ever read. It completely recognizes the challenges of life and offers lessons of hope, perseverance, courage, friendship, inventive use of resources and imagination, while recognizing grief and child abuse. Kids will either ask you questions (most won't I suspect; they will take in the story the way they take in Little Red Riding Hood or Hansel and Gretel, unless you get uncomfortable or upset) that you can answer age-appropriately, or they will simply enjoy feeling safe and loved while you read to them.

I recommend 'James and the Giant Peach' to anyone and everyone.

Membaca buku ini membuat gue kelaparan setengah mati.
Karena gue membayangkan buah peach kalengan raksasa, dengan warna oranye yang mengilap, tekstur buah yang lembut, air gula yang lengket, serta kadar gula yang sangat tinggi dan sanggup membunuh seekor brontosaurus karena terserang diabetes melitus secara mendadak.
Atau brontosaurusnya hidup tapi cuma boleh makan kentang rebus seumur hidup.
Tapi gapapa, karena brontosaurus cuma makan sayuran.
Tapi selama beberapa tahun kedepan, si brontosaurusnya akan jadi kurus.
Kasihan.
Ini brontosaurus siapa yang melihara sih, hey??

Buah peach akan mengingatkan gue pada peach danish di toko kue Harvest. Ya Tuhan, keyboard gue penuh iler!! *elap-elap*

Gue suka cerita ini, walopun buat gue ngga jelas asal-usulnya kenapa Roald Dahl milih buah persik.
Karena kalo duren, bau.
Karena kalo semangka, basah.
Karena kalo belimbing... bentuknya bintang.
Karena kalo pisang, kalo kelamaan ntar kulitnya item.
Karena kalo terong.... terong??

Yeah okay, buah peach emang pilihan tepat deh.
Dan catchy. Maksud gue, coba aja bayangin ada buah peach terbang diangkut ama burung camar. Catchy banget kaaan??

Ceritanya sangat lucu. Dan selalu deh, Roald Dahl itu tokoh utamanya anak-anak yang miskin ataupun yatim piatu. Yah mungkin itu emang ciri khasnya dia.

Di cerita ini, sepertinya peach terbangnya James melewati pabrik coklat deh. Jangan-jangan punya Willy Wonka? hahaha

My Video Review:
https://youtu.be/5deOXwnqOZA



June 12, 2020:
Book/Movie Video Review to Come! I just rewatched the movie for the first time in so long last night, so I just need to organize my thoughts before recording the review.