I feel like I liked the movie more than the book.

Read this to my sons, and loved it myself. There was also and excellent cartoon made of it.

Dahl's books continue to bring me joy while reading them. Do I think his books are standing the test of time? No, no, I don't. There's a lot of fat shaming and abuse trickling through his stories, and in our current day and age, I wouldn't want to see language like that in stories any more. However, these books are out in the world and if anything, there's something to be learned from it.

*3.5

At Weston Rhyn Primary School Roald Dahl is the current display in the library. Every time I go in there for volunteering a smile appears on my face and I try my best to persuade the children to let me read them a little bit of any of his books. But alas, I did not succeed, so I decided to read one myself and James and the Giant Peach was the one I picked. I remember the film with fondness and as soon as I entered Dahl's incredible world the childlike feeling of glee rushed back to me. The way James and his insect friends are described are vivid and each character is interesting and unique. I particularly liked the Centipede and his 42 pairs of boots. The book is also educational, informing children about the different characteristics of insects, while making them funny. I also enjoyed the different songs. As a twenty-one year old, revisiting Roald Dahl was a joy and I aim to read more, hopefully to inspire the children next time.

How cute! I realized earlier in the month that I had never read anything by Roald Dahl and so I decided to start with listening to this audiobook. It was an adorable little adventure and I’ll definitely check out more of his famous works.

Another enjoyable read by Dahl. I can’t say that I’ve ever not enjoyed one of his story, but perhaps I’m growing out of them. James lives a horrible life with his two aunts who treat him like dirt. That is until one day a mysterious man gives George something to him that will change his life forever (I don’t know what the something is, green wiggly things?). That is until James drops them near a peach tree and a giant peach grows off the tree. He then meets some oversized bugs and they go on an adventure on the peach. This was quite dark I have to say, flattening your evil aunts with a giant peach? That’s pretty brutal if you ask me. It was a fun and odd journey, but I was left a little disappointed. It didn’t really seem like there was a point to the story. It just seemed a bit unnecessary. Yes it was slightly whimsical and magical, but there was never an overall message. A weird and dark read. If you’re looking for some a quick and quirky book, this is for you.

4.5

I was surprised to find that James and the Giant Peach was the first Dahl children's book to be published. I'd always assumee it to be Danny the Champion of the World. What I'm guessing is that Danny was the first children's book he wrote, but wasn't punished until he'd become successful. My goal is to read them in publishers order you see. Memory is an interesting thing. I do remember reading this book as a child, but there is a whole section I didn't remember, which was about Cloud-men, which I found fascinating. You can tell this is an early Dahl, for though it has some whimsy, it wasn't fully formed here, it was only really at the end that you started to get the word play that Dahl is known for. But it's still a masterpiece all the same!

*2.5* I enjoyed this book quite a bit but it wasn’t anything that really stood out for me.

REREAD

Anyone who says this book is not entertaining and enjoyable has clearly never been a child.

The audiobook has some wonderful sound effects that really enhance the experience. That being said, I did feel a bit bored at times and found myself on several occasions wishing it would move faster, but I think that's a result of this being for children, not adults. It's still incredibly fun and entertaining, and wonderfully whimsical, however.