James and the Giant Peach - Hardcover

Dahl, Roald

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0425287653 ISBN 13: 9780425287651

Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers, 2016

Synopsis

This collectable hardcover edition will feature a beautiful cover and deluxe packaging, including peach-colored interior text and illustrations!

From the bestselling author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The BFG comes the story of a young boy on a magical adventure. 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!

About this title

Review

When poor James Henry Trotter loses his parents in a horrible rhinoceros accident, he is forced to live with his two wicked aunts, Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker. After three years he becomes "the saddest and loneliest boy you could find." Then one day, a wizened old man in a dark-green suit gives James a bag of magic crystals that promise to reverse his misery forever. When James accidentally spills the crystals on his aunts' withered peach tree, he sets the adventure in motion. From the old tree a single peach grows, and grows, and grows some more, until finally James climbs inside the giant fruit and rolls away from his despicable aunts to a whole new life. James befriends an assortment of hilarious characters, including Grasshopper, Earthworm, Miss Spider, and Centipede--each with his or her own song to sing. Roald Dahl's rich imagery and amusing characters ensure that parents will not tire of reading this classic aloud, which they will no doubt be called to do over and over again! With the addition of witty black and white pencil drawings by Lane Smith (of The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs fame), upon which the animation for the Disney movie was based, this classic, now in paperback, is bursting with renewed vigor. We'll just come right out and say it: James and the Giant Peach is one of the finest children's books ever written. (Ages 9 to 12)

From the Publisher

"The most original fantasy that has been published in a long time...[it] may well become a classic."
San Francisco Chronicle

"This is a stunning book, to be cherished for its story, a superb fantasy."
Chicago Sunday Tribune

"Here is a broad fantasy with all the gruesome imagery of old-fashioned fairy tales and a good measure of their breathtaking delight."
Kirkus

About this edition

• Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 0425287653
• ISBN 13: 9780425287651
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 176
• Illustrator: Blake Quentin