We have a very old copy of James and the Giant Peach. I believe it was my wife's when she was a little girl. Now, we have started reading Roald Dahl books to our son, with him reading bits and bobs for himself as we go along. The latest one is Jame sand the Giant Peach, and it really is a very ... Read review
Advantages: Great storytelling and characterisation Disadvantages: Some longer paragraphs that may bore kids at times
...a very old copy of James and the Giant Peach. I believe it was my wife's when she was a little girl. Now, we have started reading Roald Dahl books to our son, with him reading bits and bobs for himself as we go along. The latest one is Jame sand the Giant Peach, and it really is a very well created and told story.
Dahl is one of the most celebrated children's authors ever. His storytelling was amazing in my eyes when I was a kid, and ... ...for him.
James is a sad boy. He lives with his Aunt Sponge and his Aunt Spiker in a house with a sloping garden. They are horrible to him, and he longs for the day when he doesn't have to be looked after them any more. His time comes sooner than he expected, as one day a peach in the garden starts growing bigger and bigger and bigger until it is absolutely huge, bigger even than James and his aunts.
We have a very old copy of James and the Giant Peach. I believe it was my wife's when she was a little girl. Now, we have started reading Roald Dahl books to our son, with him reading bits and bobs for himself as we go along. The latest one is Jame sand the Giant Peach, and it really is a very well created and told story.
Dahl is one of the most celebrated children's authors ever. His storytelling was amazing in my eyes when I was a kid, and it still is now that I am an adult. I had never read this one before we started reading it to Will, so it was as much of an exciting read for me as it was for him.
James is a sad boy. He lives with his Aunt Sponge and his Aunt Spiker in a house with a sloping garden. They are horrible to him, and he longs for the day when he doesn't have to be looked after them any more. His time comes sooner than he expected, as one day a peach in the garden starts growing bigger and bigger and bigger until it is absolutely huge, bigger even than James and his aunts.
One evening, James goes outside, and when he finds a hole in the peach big enough to crawl into, he obliges. What will he find at the centre? And what adventures will become of him crawling into the peach?
Well, Dahl certainly has created an amazing tale here. His array of characters is well described, with a whole bunch of bugs and insects characterised into larger than life sizes for James to adventure with. The clever descriptions of the bugs and insects, such as Miss Spider and the blind Earthworm who likes to have something to moan about is wonderfully done, as is the sort of adventures they embark upon once the peach breaks free from its stalk and starts rolling away.
I suppose the thing about Dahl's tales isn't whether or not there are huge surprises round the corner - I think it's a key fact of his storytelling that things are a little imaginative, with things that you would not get in the real world becoming rather commonplace in every story I have read f his, save the autobiographical books.
James and the Giant Peach is a brilliant story to read to your kids. There are a few longish descriptive paragraphs which may bore them a little if they aren't completely switched on, but the conversational elements of the book are hilarious, with the characters so well described and used, vocally, that they are instantly imaginable whilst reading.
I thoroughly recommend reading this book. There are roughly 100 pages in the book, and this is a copy with quite small writing. There are a few illustrations dotted around the place, but I imagine a book with larger writing would mean more pages even without these illustrations. James and the Giant Peach is currently available to buy at the regular retail price of £5.99 or so, although I have noticed that the Book People are currently doing a fantastic book offer where you get 15 Dahl books for a mere £15.99. I'm off to buy them. Recommended.
Advantages: Easy to read, Great characters Disadvantages: too easy
...pretty exciting but quite sad. James Henry Trotter is an orphan and lives with his 2 horrible aunts, Aunt Spiker and Aunt Sponge. His parents were killed in an unfortunate and terrible accident. One day when his parents were in London an angry Rhinoceros escaped from London zoo and unfortunately ate them. So from that day on James became an orphan. He used to live by the seaside with his mum and dad. James had loads of friends and when it was hot ... ...surrounding the house which stopped James getting out. James longed and longer to go down to the sea but they wouldn't let him. They made him do chores everyday like chopping wood for the fire and making them tea and drinks. He asked them many time to go down to the sea but they told him to stop moaning.
~~~James Bedroom~~~
Now I will describe what James bedroom looks like. It had nothing in it apart from a mattress. His has bars on his windows ...
Jamz.13 07.04.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of James and the Giant Peach - Roald Dahl
James and the Giant peach is one of the many classic books written by personally my favourite author Roald Dahl. This book has kept me occupied through many times and to tell you the truth it still does! Before I start babbling about anything else I think I should get straight to the books story. The story is about a Four year old boy whose life was full of love and happiness until his parents were eaten up by an angry escaped rhinoceros. The story ... ...these two grizzly women treat James like a slave and abuse him daily, James is afraid of what they will do to him so he never asks for anything of them, until one day he suggests to his two Aunts to go to the beach, their reaction is obviously to punish him so James runs to the bottom of the garden behind the clump of laurel bushes to cry. This is when his life at present is about to change! The tree that never grew any peaches begins to grow a peach, ...
angel_dust 25.07.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of James and the Giant Peach - Roald Dahl
Advantages: brilliantly described characters Disadvantages: nothing really
...you could ever find, called James Henry Trotter. He lost his parents in a most unfortunate incident when a rhinoceros escaped from the zoo and ate them. As an orphan, he is looked after by his aunts, two delightfully wicked characters called Spiker and Sponge. The former is lean, tall and bony and the latter is enormously fat and very short. They treat him very badly so he is glad when he finds an entrance to the peach and climbs inside. There he ... ...put on and take off. James gets the job on his arrival. He winds up blind Earthworm something rotten by claiming to have a hundred feet and pompously boasting as to how splendid he is. Also, he recites wonderful little rhymes.
The Earthworm character is also highly amusing especially with his banter with Centipede. As Ladybird says, "He loves to make everything into a disaster. He hates to be happy. He is only happy when he is gloomy." He is particularly ...
imogen49 01.09.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of James and the Giant Peach - Roald Dahl
Advantages: a fabulous adventure Disadvantages: quite scarey and a bit episodic
...for a shock. Poor James loses both parents in the first few pages in a hideous Rhino incident which happens when they are on a day trip away from him (no increase in seperation anxiety there then!) And just when you thought things couldn't get any worse for poor James he is left in the 'care' of two vicious and abusive aunts who beat him and starve him of food, affection and books. His fortunes turn when he meets a strange little man in the garden ... ...a giant peach, some outsized insects, two squashed aunts and a whole host of wild adventures. Those of you who have encountered Roald Dahl before will be well used to his world view in which most adults are evil and most children are abandoned/abused/ generally badly treated but it can be a shock to the system. He gets away with not pulling any punches by being such a fantastic story teller and launching straight into adventures so incredible you ...
nyppi 23.02.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of James and the Giant Peach - Roald Dahl
...of his own imagination.
James and The Giant Peach is no exception, all the elements are there for a brilliant childrens story, and as the children grow older, the stories will still accomodate them.
Because whilst Dahl was a fantastic writer, for children and adults, he had an edge that other childrens writers do not. He could add that slightly sinister, slightly dangerous touch, that small children wont find, older children and adults will appreciate.
... ...'cutsey' imagery that more stodgy childrens fare has, but with Dahls refusal to treat children like sugar plum fairies, comes a more refreshing read.
Children read and feel equal, he knows whats in their minds, he doesnt patronise.
Read his books, read them ALL no matter how old you are!
Emmabeth ...
emmabeth 24.09.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of James and the Giant Peach - Roald Dahl
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Advantages: Easy to read, great value Disadvantages: none
In my opinion this book is fantastic for children aged two and over. You can read it over and over again without boring of it.
My children love this book and request other RoaldDahl books regularly.There is several books by this author out there and not one I can say a bad word against.
The book is about a little boy called James, who is being looked after by his nasty aunts that treat him cruelly. After being sent outside he is hungry and finds a piece of fruit he shrinks in height and finds himself inside a large peach along with several bugs........
There is nothing I dislike about this book it is a great book at a fantastic price.
The illustrations are freehand which isn't a problem as this is similar with most of this authors books. ...
use his powers for the good side to ward off the dark powers. Can he do it? Does the goodness he had at birth still prevail against the evil powers amongst the dark side? Only the book will tell you of Harry's adventures at Hogwort's!
When reading this book, I was taken back to my childhood when I was reading RoaldDahl's James And The GiantPeach, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Charlie And The Great Glass Elevator; Beverly Cleary's Ralph S. Mouse; and E.B. White's Charlotte's Web.
All of these books attracted me to read. I am sure kids today do not want to read the books their parents did back then. These are new!! I am old to my nieces, and I am only 22. If I told them, I had something like they do now, I get the look of shock from their gorgeous faces!
Do I understand the attraction of the Harry Potter stories? I sure ...
Advantages: entertaining stories, kids love his books Disadvantages: I find the humour rather stupid these days
I had a few RoaldDahl books as a child, including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, James and the GiantPeach, but the first one was one of my favourite books. Now, my children love his books too.
My ten year old has a large collection of his work, but these days, I am not too impressed. I find a lot of the humour rather silly and annoying, but I suppose I have just grown out of it. My kids rave about The Twits, but I just find it stupid, the kind of slapstick humour I feel too old to read about.
RoaldDahl has definitely proved his longevity as a classic childrens' author, with many of his novels being made into very successful films too. But I would like to concentrate this opinion on my favourite of his books - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
It is quite an easy read and I would ...
This is a new edition of this hugely popular story of James and his journey to New York with the strangest group of insect friends. It features a great new Quentin Blake cover and new author biography.
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