I love how Roald Dahl can transport you; can make your imagination come alive.
He makes you feel like a kid again!
I've read a lot of his work as a child, but never this one. SO it was my first time. And I loved it.

I have always been taught to start at the beginning, which seemed like sage advice when I wanted to explore some of the children's stories that Roald Dahl crafted over his long and illustrious career. Choosing this work, apparently his first stab at children's literature, proved highly entertaining and a wonderful way to spend a few hours. After an accident claims the life of his parents, young James Henry Trotter is sent to live with his wicked aunts, facing a period of miserable adjustment. While out one day, he encounters a man who offers him a sack of magical beans that will, so the tale goes, react marvellously with the first living thing they encounter. James brings them home and while outside, the beans escape at the base of an old peach tree that has not shown any signs of life for many years. James witnesses a peach growing larger than anything he has ever seen in all his years and soon approaches it. He discovers a number of other creatures that have reacted with the beans, including a grasshopper, an earthworm, and a ladybug. Crawling inside a hole within this peach, James escapes the confines of his yard and sets about on an adventure with his new-found friends. Rolling through town, they eventually make their way to the open waters and find themselves marooned in the middle of the Atlantic. James and his 'pesty' friends use their wherewithal and conquer numerous enemies as they tackle a number adventures before them. James, in turn, learns the importance of new and exciting friendships, leaving some of the sorrow of his past behind him. Dahl at his best, proves how he became a household name amongst children's authors.

As part of my 2017 reading goals, I thought I would pave the way and return to reading some of the classic books from my youth, in hopes of introducing them to my son in the coming years. Dahl has a way of telling a great story that will appease the young reader while also instilling great values and ideals into their little minds, sure to please parents and other adults. The stories have a degree of silliness, but also adventure and excitement, allowing the reader's interest to be piqued to forge onwards a little more. While some books out there seek to create a spark amongst children by addressing modern characters and technologies, Dahl's ideas and presentation are timeless, which I would venture to say might spurn children whose attention span has been whittled down by games and electronics to turn to these stories and take a moment to absorb all that is going on from chapter to chapter. Timeless classics are hard to discover in this fast-paced world, but Dahl has left these stories as breadcrumbs to discovering the wonders of early reading.

Kudos, Mr. Dahl for introducing me to reading and the love of books. I hope to bring another generation of readers up to see the wonders of your storytelling abilities.

Like/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/

A favorite of mine from childhood, I decided to listen to the audiobook today as I cleaned. I forgot how violent Roald Dahl's books could be! It doesn't bother me none, and I remember finding the bouts of fancy amusing as a child.

I gave this a 5 out of 5 rating mainly for the narration by Jeremy Irons. Holy hell. He could narrate a phone book and I would line up to buy it. His voice is smooth as peanut butter. As beautiful as a willow tree. As exciting as a festival. It's everything I've ever wanted in a narrator. I want him to whisper sweet nothings in my ear. Jeremy Irons took an already fun and inventive children's book and made it even better. I apologize that this review is more about Jeremy Irons than the book, but his voice is damn distracting. Good book, even better narrator.

Third Read: April 12, 2021 - May 18, 2021

I read this to my grade five class. They loved it.

Second Read: September 23, 2018 - November 9, 2018
4 Stars
I had a group of students I read this with.

First Read: 2000
4 Stars
I read this in grade five.

In 1996 I watched and loved the movie when it was out in theatres but I hadn't ever read the book. I just finished listening to the audiobook read by Julian Rhind-Tutt with special effects. It was so good! I hadn't remembered how funny some parts are.

Uit! Voorgelezen aan mijn dochter Roos: De reuzenperzik van Roald Dahl, het verhaal van James Henry Trotter die in een reuzenperzik wegvliegt van zijn vreselijke tantes Spons en Spijker. Zijn medepassagiers in de pit van de perzik zijn ondermeer de Ouwe-Groene-Sprinkhaan, het Lieveheersbeest, de Regenworm en de Duizendpoot.

Na Matilda, De GVR en Daantje, de wereldkampioen opnieuw een geweldig avontuur van de geniale Roald Dahl, voor dochter én vader. In tengels: James and the Giant Peach. 

U prethodna tri sata sam na neki način iznova preživeo svoje detinjstvo. Savijeni listovi, tragovi “ušiju” na njihovim ivicama, ilustracije obojene drvenim bojicama, posveta na kojoj piše datum 18.8.1998. godine… Imao sam isto godina kao Džems kada je ova knjiga prvi put došla u moje ruke i ne sećam se koliko sam je puta pročitao kao dete. Samo znam da nema veće sreće i lepšeg uživanja kada ponovo, koliko god to kratko trajalo, osetite čar koju bezbrižno detinjstvo nosi sa sobom, a na tome sam trenutno zahvalan Roaldu, Džemsu i dobroćudnim džinovskim insektima (kojih se ovom prilikom, dvadesetak godina kasnije, konačno nisam plašio)!

Poor James must live with his beastly aunts after the tragic loss of his parents, who had the misfortune of being eaten up by an escaped rhinoceros from The London Zoo!

Listen to my dramatic reading of Chapter 1 - 2 at the Peachy Books blog post n  here. n

This story both fascinated and scared me when I was a child.

I remember reading this book more than 20 years ago. Way better than the movie that came along.

Now I’ve had the chance to listen to it, narrated by no less! than Jeremy Irons. What a wonderful experience! The sense of nostalgia was overwhelming, as Jeremy brought it back to me. Marvelous for both, the story and the narrator!

Somehow, I missed this book in my many reading escapades when I was young. It was good, though! Very cute, imaginative story of a little boy and his magically enlarged bug friends finding their way to New York City. I've always loved anything I've read by Roald Dahl!