James and the Giant Peach

Bizarre, misshapen, and sweet, this is the Roald Dahl book I find most alluring. A much-beloved tale, the plot sounds phantasmagoric in distillation: a house-sized peach sprouts overnight from a tree outside the shack where young James is essentially kept imprisoned by two cruel aunts; the boy tunnels into the fruit’s pit, befriends the band of enormous talking insects within, and the whole gang embarks on an adventure where the peach bobs out to sea, is carried through the air by hundreds of seagulls, is attacked by creatures who live on clouds, and eventually comes to rest on the spire… show more.

Life is bleak for James, an orphaned boy trapped with unloving aunts, until he comes across an old man with a bag of crocodile tongues. This leads to a journey across the Atlantic inside a giant peach.

I especially love this book because it was Dahl’s first, written after he completed his stint as a British spy in America during WWII and before he emerged as a celebrated children’s author. The many absurd poems recited by human-sized Centipede reflect the (much bawdier) poems Dahl exchanged with friends during the war.

“I’ve eaten many strange and scrumptious dishes in my time… show more.

This is another classic story that has the honor of a spot in my ridiculously small bookcase. It’s the fairy tale-type story of poor James, a young orphan boy being raised by two horrible aunts. One day he discovers a peach tree with a peach as big as a house—full of giant, intriguing creatures. Then one day, the peach falls and takes off on a rollicking journey. It’s a funny, heartwarming, and just plain fun read.