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James and the Giant Peach
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James and the Giant Peach
Unavailable
James and the Giant Peach
Audiobook3 hours

James and the Giant Peach

Written by Roald Dahl

Narrated by Julian Rhind-Tutt

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

4.5/5

()

Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

"Roald Dahl sometimes shared a tonal kinship with Ogden Nash, and he could demonstrate a verbal inventiveness nearly Seussian…[His] stories work better in audio than in print." -The New York Times


A little magic can take you a long way.

After James Henry Trotter's parents are tragically eaten by a rhinoceros, he goes to live with his two horrible aunts, Spiker and Sponge. Life there is no fun, until James accidentally drops some magic crystals by the old peach tree and strange things start to happen. The peach at the top of the tree begins to grow, and before long it's as big as a house. Inside, James meets a bunch of oversized friends-Grasshopper, Centipede, Ladybug, and more. With a snip of the stem, the peach starts rolling away, and the great adventure begins!


From the Compact Disc edition.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateJul 25, 2013
ISBN9781101632567
Unavailable
James and the Giant Peach
Author

Roald Dahl

Roald Dahl (1916-1990) es un autor justamente famoso por su extraordinario ingenio, su destreza narrativa, su dominio del humor negro y su inagotable capacidad de sorpresa, que llevó a Hitchcock a adaptar para la televisión muchos de sus relatos. En Anagrama se han publicado la novela "Mi tío Oswald" y los libros de cuentos "El gran cambiazo" (Gran Premio del Humor Negro), "Historias extraordinarias", "Relatos de lo inesperado" y "Dos fábulas". En otra faceta, Roald Dahl goza de una extraordinaria popularidad como autor de libros para niños.

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Reviews for James and the Giant Peach

Rating: 4.415094339622642 out of 5 stars
4.5/5

106 ratings73 reviews

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This was one of my favorite childrens' books! It made me feel like a more grown-up reader, for some reason, maybe becuase of the behavior of the aunts.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Today is a day for revisiting old favourites, clearly. I have an excuse, I swear! I'm doing 20th Century Children's Lit next semester (for lack of decent medieval courses I haven't already taken, murr). So this is all relevant, right?

    Anyway, it's amazing how this book makes things as scary as giant insects fun and reassuring. It didn't work in general, but I was rather fond of Miss Spider. I smiled at the tiny bit of education about insects and their uses that gets worked into the story...

    My favourite part is the Cloud-Men, painting a rainbow.

    I wonder if the man at the beginning who gave James the bag of magic things knew what would happen, really. It all turned out just as he said, marvellous and wonderful, and James was never lonely again, after all.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This was my most favoritest book in the world! Hmm... a fantastic voyage from a remote hill near the sea to NYC... Wow, that does sound familiar, come to think of it!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Oh, childhood, Roald Dahl takes me right back. I will always love Roald Dahl's work, because of how much these books meant to me as a kid, not that they're not fun now, of course, but the experience really is not quite the same. Unlike with a lot of my childhood reads, dimmed to hazy memories, I have a strong recollection of my first time reading James and the Giant Peach. Much as I loved Roald Dahl (personal favorites being the BFG, The Witches, Boy, and Matilda), I dreaded reading this book, popular as it was. In my younger years, completely different from now, I was a picky reader, wandering shelves, unsure what to read. Thus when an author tickled my fancy, I embarked on all of their books that I could get my hands on. As such, eventually the time came when I had to cave and read James and the Giant Peach.

    "But Christina," you might ask, "why did you not want to read this children's classic, much beloved by many you knew and by one of your favorite authors?" Well, my dear friends, the answer is simple. All my life, I have had a phobia of just about every kind of bug. My childhood self read that synopsis and looked at that cover and thought whatever the childhood equivalent of OH HELL TO THE NO was, which, I suppose, would be something in the vein of YOU CAN'T MAKE ME. Though precisely who would be trying to force me I have no idea, as my parents let me choose my own reading material.

    To try to keep what has already morphed into a rather long story from becoming a tome of giant peach proportions, I caved and read it, and, as ever, Roald Dahl charmed me utterly, perhaps more than usual because he won me over in spite of my stubborn, childish desire NOT to like the book. Ever since then, I've remembered James and the Giant Peach as a favorite. Rereading a book that meant so much to you as a tiny tot is always a treacherous prospect, because, sometimes, you discover that the book that so impacted you has all of the wit and charm of Mr. Collins.

    Of course, with Roald Dahl, you're pretty safe. In my case, I found that I could not enjoy this one nearly so much as an adult, but that I could still bask in the glow of Roald Dahl's boundless imagination. Seriously, that man was a freaking international treasure. How in the world did he come up with that? How did that brainstorming session go? "Mmm, this peach is delicious. Rather large. I wish I could live in a peach with my insect and arachnid friends..." The whole story runs with the absurd, making an art of it. This book would be a perfect transition to chapter books for kids who best love Dr. Seuss' wordplay and silliness.

    As an adult, I just found myself unable to lose myself in the magic of the tale the way I did as a child. I kept trying to impose logic where there was never meant to be any. Admittedly, some of the absurdities, like James' parents having been eaten by an escaped rhinoceros from the zoo, are quite humorous. Others, such as how the giant peach came into existence or the fact that sea gulls carried that peach across the Atlantic Ocean without stopping, my grown up brain could not just accept.

    The fact that Dahl wrote in an earlier time is very apparent in the peach's origin. James is just sitting around outside moping, when this weird man approaches him and offers him a bunch of squirmy little bright green things. He tells James to eat them so that something magical can happen to him. In the modern world, if a stranger gives you something weird like that, you better get to running and hollering your fool head off. Thankfully, James is a klutz and drops all of the green things, thus saving us from finding out what would have happened to him.

    Making the main characters James and a bunch of bugs now capable of rational thought was a clever way of allowing the child to shine. James, while exceedingly young, gets to be the problem solver, because, little life experience as he possesses, he knows more about the world than the insects do, aside from some biology lessons.

    Something that I entirely did not recall about this book was how much poetry Dahl wove into the story. Every few chapters, someone sings a song or uses a poem to express themselves. The songs made sense to me, but exposition as poetry did not, though I'm sure as a kid it's the best. At the end, James addresses all of the mucky mucks in America, all freaking out because the peach just landed King Kong style on the top of the Empire State Building, and calms them by introducing his friends in a poem. Sadly, this may be more efficient and logical than how governments actually function. Children will delight in these, I have no doubt, but I'm very picky about poetry.

    In all, James and the Giant Peach certainly did not impress me as much now, and I suspect that, for me at least, it's not his best. Still, he has imagination and humor like no other, and I imagine I will revisit this one again someday.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    What's not to love about anything by Roald Dahl!! Quirky and fabulous.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Lovely. All the things you expect in a good Dahl children's book, and the added bonus moral of not killing certain insects and spiders [with reasoning why] - favorite parts are the poetry and what happens to the peach in NYC.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    At the beginning of this book, James' parents are eaten and he is left to live with two very mean aunts. I think Lemony Snicket might be a Roald Dahl fan. Through a twist of fate, James accidently grows a giant Peach. Eventually he finds a hole in it and inside, some giant bugs. He and the bugs take off on a fanciful (like the book wasn't already!) journey. Fun, short book that's a quick read and quite entertaining. Challenged for: use of the word "ass"; promotes smoking and drinking by mentioning wine, tobacco and snuff.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I like this book ,I read this at school,and it is amazing. I like this book because , not only this book i love all the roald dahl books because in his books he has the posh language which i really love and i am used to.ADITI SINGHAL
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I love the movie and I finally got to read the book. The book is better than the movie. It was an easy and quick read. I loved the characters, especially the spider.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Great book! It's a really easy but funny one!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This whimsical book for adolescents is a classic by Roald Dahl and details the story of a young boy who leaves his troubled home, becoming a hero to an insect family that he travels with. The details in this book are incredible, and though the vocabulary can be a bit wordy at times, Dahl succeeds in transporting his readers to an imaginative place filled with hope. Having all the elements of an adventure, but also posessing softer undertones of love, friendship, and self-discovery, this book is perfect for both boys and girls who have great imaginations.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    James Trotter finds himself a great adventure inside of all things, a giant peach. At the young age of 4, James lost his parents and was forced to live with his two unpleasant aunts, that forced him into hard labor and prevented any type of fun. James is deserving of something better, and he is granted with an escape from his unfortunate situation by an old man who presents him with a bag of magical crystals. He accidentally drops the bag, and a peach tree grows, A giant peach, the size of a house, grows on the tree. James climbs inside and is greeted by human life insects that become his new friends, and take him away from his horrendous world. This is a great action-packed story about friendship and hardships. It presents an optimistic view to the readers that though although surroundings may not be in the best condition, that there is always a chance for a brighter outcome.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    James Trotter becomes an orphan when his loving parents die a tragic death. He is forced to live with his mean, abusive aunts, Spiker and Sponge. They keep him isolated from other children. His life changes when he meets a strange old man who gives him a sack. On the way home, he drops the sack on the peach tree outside his home. A peach grows to be the size of a large house, and James finds a way to enter it and get away from his aunts. There he befriends the oversized insects that live in the peach, They go on an adventure together when they roll down the hill into the ocean and eventually end up in NY. There they are recognized as heroes and James gains something he didn't have, many childhood friends.This book is great as a read-aloud at the beginning of the school year when the students are getting to know each other and making new friends.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Why did i pick it up: i quite like Roald Dahl books and i usually read them for SSR so i got this one out and it was really cool,i had already seen the movie but i didnt really remember what happened.Why did i finish it: I read it a while ago so it's hard to remember whathappened but Roald Dahl is sucha creative author and his books never get boring.Who would i recommend this too: People that have a wide range of imagination and like stories about people/things that go on adventures
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This was one of my favorite novels as a child. I was captivated by the completely absurd idea of a gigantic peach populated by talking insects traveling across the Atlantic Ocean. I recently listened to the audio version, read by Roald Dahl, with my young son. It was an abridged version, but just as delightful. I had forgotten all the poetry in the book, and Dahl's reading of it is wonderful, especially when he forces the rhymes just a little bit. This book deserves to be a classic.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This story is filled with plenty of emotions. James Henry Trotter loses his parents in a horrible rhinoceros accident, he is forced to live with his two mean aunts, Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker. After three years he becomes “the saddest and loneliest boy you could find.” Then one day, a magic old man in a dark-green suit gives James a bag of magic crystals that promise to reverse his misery forever while befriending some funny little creatures (bugs).
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    James was a kid whos parents died. He had to live with his three evil aunts. He had wished he could leave them. He then found a giant peach. He made new friends and did not worry about his aunt. He ate peach every night for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He started to miss his aunts. He left the peach but still had it. I gave this book a 4 star rating. I gave it a 4 star rating because it was a fun book. I enjoyed having a very good book to read. I recommend this book for many. I mostly recommend it for young kids. It would help them read and its a good story. If you need a good bood to read this would be a very good book to read. This is also a book for traviling.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    As fun as I remember from when I read it as a boy. Both my 7 and 5 year olds also enjoyed the story as we read it aloud as a family. Fun, imaginative and good illustrations make this a fantastic story time read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    After his parents get eaten by a rhinoceros, four-year-old James has to go live with his two mean-spirited aunts who make him work all day long, and prevent him from going anywhere. After three years of living a miserable life, James is given magic crystals by a strange little man, and accidently drops them by an old peach tree. Almost right away, a peach starts growing on the tree until it becomes as big as a house. The next day, James finds an entrance into the peach, and meets seven gigantic insects inside the pit: a grasshopper, a ladybug, a spider, a glow worm, a centipede, an earthworm and a silkworm. Frightened at first, James soon realizes that these oversized animals are very nice, and he becomes good friend with them. They cut off the stem of the peach, and soon embark on a trip that will eventually take them all the way to New York.This story that has become a classic is a wonderful tale of friendship, resourcefulness, and of coming together to solve problems. Even if the main characters besides James are insects, they act and behave like humans, and their feelings and fears make them very realistic and likeable characters. The exaggeration of some of their behaviors actually works well with the story, as are funny-sounding made-up words. That type of humor is sure to appeal to young readers. In my opinion, this is a very nice fantasy. The only negative point is that I do not care very much for the illustrations in the version that I read because I find them a bit sloppy-looking. Grades 4-6.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Who can believe that its been half a century since James Trotter walked up to a giant peach, stepped inside and shared a magnificent adventure with a grasshopper, spider, ladybug,centipede and an earth worm. Together they weathered many a storm and changed their fortune by working together. This story is a classic that has consistently stayed on the bookshelves of my home and is a story I have shared with all of my children. Roald Dahl put together a masterpiece with the creation of this story, and I hope my children pass it along with as much fondness as I have to them.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Summary- James Henry Trotter was a normal happy boy until his parents were gobbled up by a rhinoceros when he was four. James moves in with his horrible Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker. The aunts never allow James to have any fun and obviously dislike the poor boy. James' luck changes one day when an old man hands him a bag of magic worm-like creatures. James drops the bag and the creatures burrow into the ground. The magical worms make a normal peach grow humongous and normal size insects grow enormous. The group of insects become friends with James and set sail on remarkable adventures, but not before it rolls over the horrible aunts, killing them both. James and the insects have many fun times together but also experience several dangerous situations. Opinion- I loved this book. I have read other Roald Dahl books and this one is just as wonderful as the others. I love how Roal Dahl teaches lessons in his stories and provides information that children can relate to. The book is full of adventure and very funny situations. I think my students would love hearing this book and I plan to read it to them this school year.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I think that as a part of every pre-Harry Potter Childhood, with some obvious exceptions, were the writings of Roald Dahl, at least in one form or another. Having not read this story since I was knee-high to a (regular-sized) grasshopper, I find it quite interesting, some 20+ years later, to return to James and the Giant Peach.The story itself should be quite familiar to anybody born BHP (that is, Before Harry Potter): an orphaned boy is taken in by his wicked aunts, and he escapes from his terrible life on an oversized piece of produce. Fairly standard tale there... Err. Nevermind.Dahl mixes simple yet humorous prose with songs (some of which are a little, err, strange) to provide a fairly modern fairy tale. While it may be too grim (pun unintended) for little, little children, this book is ideal for that independent reader, and for the independent reader at heart.My only complaint were Quentin Blake's illustrations. Everybody looks like they (a) were drawn by a child using its non-dominant hand, and (b) are having a seizure.That aside, I recommend everybody read at least one thing by Dahl.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A great little story about a boy and his giant peach. This is my favorite of all the Roald Dahl books. I remember one of my grade school teachers reading this in class.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Love this book! If you ever saw the movie, it's exactly like it.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is a great book to launch your enthusiasm for Roald Dahl books. His character development in this story is unmatched. The adventure of James and his giant peach is beyond the ordinary everyday fantasy tale. It stretches further than just the simple text. It creates a world for the reader that they would have never imagined before.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I really enjoyed James and the Giant Peach because it was exiting and funny. But it was a bit easy to read.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I read this book when I was little and fell in love with it. The perfect adventure for children.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    James is a young English orphan who ends up finding himself in a world with a bit of magic. One day he accidently drops magic crystals near a peach tree. Eventually strange things begin to happen and one peach begins to grow and grow until it is enormous. James decides to crawl inside where he meets new friends(insects), that are also oversized. Together they find themselves on an adventure because the peach became disconnected from the tree and they began rolling away!This is a great book for reluctant readers.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    James is a peculiar little boy, who, after the death of his parents, is forced to live with his two aunts. The problem with this was that these two aunts were not kind and loving, but were mean and horrible to James. One day, as they were making James work, he met an odd man in the bushes who gave him magical stones that James accidentally drooped in the ground. The result was the tree that had never produced fruit began making the biggest most beautiful peach ever seen. It was so big, that when he approached it, he met several human-sized insects that were living in it. As the peach grew bigger, it becamed too heavy to stay on the tree and broke off. As it rolled down the hill, he rolled over and killed the two evil aunts. It continued to roll all the way to the sea. It was there that the sharks tried to eat the peach and James had to come up with an invention that saved him and his friends. The remeainer of the book tells of the adventures of this group on the peach and how they finally got to their final homes. The happy and light-hearted will make you smile and see that James gets a break of good luck after dealing with his horrible aunts for so long.I thought this books was pretty good. It definitely was a perfect example of fantasy with all of the human-sized insects that acted like actual humans. I think this book is appropriate for some second graders, but definitely third and up. The only problem to expect is that the centipede tells a character it is acting like an ass in two different places. I think that as long it is discussed with the student before reading it, it would be fine.When I first started reading this book I thought a definite lesson could be made about talking to strangers, especially when your gut is telling you not too. Later in the book I thought there could be many science lessons used about the different insects in the book. It even discusses what some of the purposes of the insects are in the world and I think this could be elaborated on in discussions or papers, depending on the age of the children.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    James is sent to live with his two mean aunts after his parents are eaten by rhinos. After three years with his aunts, James meets a mysterious, older man who gives him a bag that is full of magic things. On his way home, he is so excited that he trips and spills everything that is in the bag underneath a peach tree. Pretty soon a peach starts growing bigger and bigger until it is the size of the house. The aunts start charging admission and James is forced to pick up litter after people leave. One night he sees a whole in the side of the peach and he follows the tunnel until he finds insects who are overgrown because they ate the magic crystals also. The peach rolls of and James and his friends have several adventures, in the end the peach rolls over and squashes the aunts.I think that this is a fun tale that most children will enjoy. I know I enjoyed it when I was little, it was one of my favorites. It is just a fun, simple read that kids will want to read over and over.I would use this book to teach children about Venn diagrams. They could make a Venn diagram comparing the two aunts, the difference between a peach and a nectarine, ect. They would also learn the difference between a bug and an insect and then they will make a chart listing the bugs and insects in the book and stating which are which.