A cool orphanage! (James and the Giant Peach - Roald Dahl)

Member Name: josollsam

Product:	James and the Giant Peach - Roald Dahl
Date:	20/05/02 (179 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: fun, easy to read

Disadvantages: none

James Henry Trotter, an orphan who has to live with his two horrible aunts who treat him as their own personal slave, embarks on a fantastic journey when he encounters a little man who hands him a bag of magic.

James falls down and the magic enters the earth to be soaked up by the peach tree. One of the peaches suddenly starts to grow and reaches gigantic proportions.

James finds entry into this peach whereupon he meets a brand new set of friends, in the form of Earthworm, Old green grasshopper, Centipede et al.

James and his new friends travel around in this giant peach encountering all sorts of adventures, meeting strange creatures and enduring scary scenarios.

We all love James, because he is uncomplaining when living in dire circumstances with his horrid aunts, because he is brave in venturing into the unknown and because he is clever and comes up with bright ideas to help them all overcome the difficulties they find themselves in.

The ending is fitting for such heroes and we are glad that all is well.

I read this book to my children, aged 6, 5 and 3. The 6 year old (Sam) loved it but the 5 and 3 year olds found it a little hard going.

Sam says his best bit about the book is that James never sees his aunties again.

Summary: