James and the Giant Peach
tells the story of James Henry Trotter, an orphan who starts out living with
his two horrible aunts.  They insult him and abuse him and make his life
miserable.  But through a remarkable accident, he finds himself inside a giant
peach with several giant insect companions — an old green grasshopper, a
gloomy earthworm, a ladybug, a spider, a glowworm, a silkworm, and a centipede. 
Their adventure has many of the same ingredients as Dahl’s other works,
especially at the start where James has to suffer at the hands of cruel
adults.  Some adults may be a little shocked when the giant peach rolls over
James two aunts, squashing them flat, and the travelers cheer.  Such gleeful
and vengeful violence is not normally found in modern books for young
children.  Children, however, will probably love it.  The rest of the story has
more fantasy and maybe less social satire than much of Dahl’s work, but it is
nevertheless extremely entertaining for both children and adults.  The group
goes through terrible dangers and only James cool head and the skills of the
different insects keeps them alive.  Dahl is so inventive and funny that you
can’t help enjoying it, and the audiobook is performed with gusto by Jeremy
Irons.  You may want to get this as a gift for young children, but I strongly
recommend you listen to it first, especially if you could do with some cheering
up. 

© 2003 Christian Perring. All
rights reserved.

Christian Perring,
Ph.D., is Academic Chair of the Arts & Humanties Division and Chair of the
Philosophy Department at Dowling College, Long Island. He is also editor of Metapsychology Online Review. 
His main research is on philosophical issues in medicine, psychiatry and
psychology.

Categories: Children