James and the Giant Peach
| File:Jamesandthegiantpeach3.jpg James and the Giant Peach book cover | |
| Author | Roald Dahl |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Quentin Blake |
| Cover artist | Quentin Blake |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's novel |
| Publisher | Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. |
Publication date | 1961 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | Paperback |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-375-81424-8 Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character |
James and the Giant Peach is a children's book by Welsh author Roald Dahl, originally illustrated by Nancy Ekholm Burkert, first published in the USA in 1961 by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. and then in London in 1967 by Allen & Unwin. Because of the book's content it has been the frequent target of censors and appears on the American Library Association list of the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-2000 at number fifty six. [1]
Synopsis
James Henry Trotter, a four-year old boy, has had a happy life but is orphaned as a result of a bizarre accident: his parents were killed and eaten up by a Rhinoceros which had escaped from the London Zoo (although rhinos are, in truth,Herbivore). He is sent to live with his two maiden aunts, Spiker and Sponge.
One day, three years later, while chopping wood in the garden, James, then age six, meets a strange man who mysteriously knows James's plight and gives him a small sack containing the ingredients for a magic potion, the the stranger promises, will bring James wealth, happiness, and great adventure. Unfortunately, while running back to the house to hide the sack, James trips and drops it. It bursts and the magic green crystals sink into the ground and vanish without a trace – or so it then seems. James is horrified at the loss of what seemed to be his only opportunity for escape from his wretched aunts.
But things take another odd turn when a peach tree in the garden puts forth a single fruit which grows to almost twice the size of the tree. Spiker and Sponge realize they can make money, so they charge people to see the giant peach. One night, James, who has been shoved out of the house to pick up the litter from the crowd, crawls inside the giant peach, where he finds a most bizarre group of friends – all giant creepy-crawlies: the Centipede, Miss Spider, the Old-Green-Grasshopper, the Silkworm, the Earthworm, Mrs.Ladybird and the Glowworm. The peach, with the help of the Centipede, breaks off the tree, rolls over and flattens and kills James's two aunts, cuts a swath of destruction through the countryside, and tumbles into the Atlantic Ocean.
Seeking to float to New York City to begin new lives, the friends embark on an adventure across the sea on the giant peach. Among the things they encounter before reaching the city are a swarm of sharks and air-elemental creatures called Cloud Men, who are responsible for painting rainbows. In the end, upon reaching the city, James and his unusual friends are accepted into society and have wonderful lives in America. The stone of the marvelous peach is enshrined in Central Park.
Film version
A film version of the same name was released in 1996, directed and co-produced, respectively, by The Nightmare Before Christmas collaborators Henry Selick and Tim Burton. It featured a combination of live-action and stop-motion animation.
Characters
- James Henry Trotter - An ordinary 7-year-old boy, the main protagonist has had a happy life but is orphaned as a result of a bizarre and terrible accident. He is sent to live with his two aunts, Spiker and Sponge, who subject him to a variety of physical and mental abuse.
- The Old-Green-Grasshopper - is an old, wise musician (he plays the fiddle).
- The Centipede - is a boisterous but good-natured rascal, fond of eating and singing.
- The Earthworm - is blind and very pessimistic. He frequently argues with the Centipede.
- The Ladybird (or in American versions of the book, Ladybug) - is a kind, motherly character.
- The Glowworm - is a living-lighting-system for the peach's interior. She is fond of sleeping, and sometimes needs to be woken up so she can switch herself off.
- The Silkworm - is a quiet, inactive creature who helped very much with her amazing "power" to weave very fine gossamer/silk. (She is missing from the movie.)
- Miss Spider - is a gentle creature (whose web-silk replaces that of the missing character of the Silkworm in the film).
- Old Man - A wizard-like magician who helped James.
- Aunt Sponge - A dimwitted, obese aunt.
- Aunt Spiker - A cruel, thin-as-a-stick aunt.
References to other Roald Dahl works
James and the Giant Peach possibly references Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in the beginning and end of the novel. When the peach rolls off the tree, it rolls through a "famous chocolate factory", possibly a reference to Willy Wonka's chocolate factory (the illustration even depicts the word "WONKA" on the side of the building). Towards the end of the book, people in New York City accuse the passengers aboard the peach to be Vermicious Knids, Whangdoodles, Snozzwangers or even Hornswogglers. All of those animals (except the former) are mentioned by Willy Wonka to live in Loompaland, which is also the home of Oompa-Loompas. Vermicious Knids are extraterrestrials.
Editions
- ISBN 0-375-81424-8 (hardcover, 2002)
- ISBN 0-670-88577-0 (hardcover, 1999)
- ISBN 0-7868-3105-7 (hardcover, 1996)
- ISBN 0-670-85251-1 (hardcover, 1995)
- ISBN 0-613-35965-8 (library binding, 2001)
- ISBN 0-679-98090-3 (library binding, 1996)
- ISBN 0-14-130467-7 (paperback, 2001)
- ISBN 0-14-131135-5 (paperback, 2001)
- ISBN 0-14-130756-0 (paperback, 2000)
- ISBN 0-00-102494-9 (paperback, 1997)
- ISBN 0-679-88090-9 (paperback, 1996)
- ISBN 0-14-038234-8 (paperback, 1996)
- ISBN 0-14-037424-8 (paperback, 1996)
- ISBN 0-14-038297-6 (paperback, 1996)
- ISBN 0-14-037156-7 (paperback, 1995)
- ISBN 1-55734-441-8 (paperback, 1994)
- ISBN 0-14-034269-9 (paperback, 1990)