James and the Giant Peach (original) (raw)

Information

Information on identifying editions is from Richard Walker’s “Roald Dahl – A Guide to Collecting His First Editions”.

First editions:
- Knopf, 1961, USA.
  * Illustrated by: Nancy Ekholm Burkert
  * To identify: Five-line colophon found on the last printed page that includes the statements: Bound by H. Wolff Co. (later printings were bound by the Book Press) and underneath this: Paper supplied by P.H. Glatfelter, Spring Grove Pennsylvania. The boards are a deep red/maroon and the head is stained a peach/yellow color. The dust jacket is priced at $3.95 and does not have any SBN numbers on the right bottom of the rear panel. Note: there are more intricacies here which can be found on Richard’s site…
- Allen & Unwin, 1967, UK.
  * Illustrated by: Michel Simeon
  * To identify: Used a standard single statement (‘First published in Great Britain in’ followed by the date, no later dates or printing statements) and was published without pricing and no dust jacket.
Later editions:
- Unwin/Hyman, 1990, UK.
  * Illustrated by: Emma Chichester Clark
  * To identify: After original publishing listing and twelfth print, a standard © statement for Clark illustrations 1990 was used. Published with a dust jacket priced at £8.95.
- Viking, 1995, UK.
  * Illustrated by: Quentin Blake
  * To identify: Used a number line and was published with a jacket that was either not priced and without a Viking logo on the spine or a jacket with the logo on the spine and priced at £9.99.
- Knopf, 1996, USA.
  * Illustrated by: Lane Smith
  * To identify: Used number line and published with a jacket priced at $16.00
- Knopf, 2002, USA.
  * Illustrated by: Quentin Blake
  * To identify: Used a number line and published with a jacket but without a price.
Censorship:
- Challenged at the Deep Creek Elementary School in Charlotte Harbor, Fla. (1991) because it is “not appropriate reading material for young children.”
- Challenged at the Pederson Elementary School in Altoona, Wis. (1991) and at the Morton Elementary School library in Brooksville, Fla. (1992) because the book contains the word “ass” and “promotes” the use of drugs (tobacco, snuff) and whiskey.
- Removed from classrooms in Stafford County, Va. Schools (1995) and placed in restricted access in the library because the story contains crude language and encourages children to disobey their parents and other adults.
- From 2022 onwards, Puffin has edited selected Dahl books to remove sensitive language and insert new sentences not written by Dahl. If you would prefer to read the original text, ensure you get a copy published before 2022 or one of the “Classic Collection” published by Penguin.
Recent news:
- More news…
Contains:
Related books:
Movies:
- James and the Giant Peach (1996)
Theater:
- James and the Giant Peach adapted by David Wood
- James and the Giant Peach: A Play adapted by Richard R. George
Audio Books:
- 2 Favourite Stories read by Roald Dahl
- 4 Favourite Stories read by Roald Dahl
- 5 Favourite Stories read by Roald Dahl
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Four More Stories read by Roald Dahl
- James and the Giant Peach read by Roald Dahl
- James and the Giant Peach read by Jeremy Irons
- James and the Giant Peach read by Julian Rhind-Tutt
- James and the Giant Peach read by Andrew Sachs
- James and the Giant Peach read by full cast
- James and the Giant Peach read by unknown
- James and the Giant Peach read by full cast
- James et la Grosse Pêche read by Claude Villers, Geneviève Lezy, Henri Marteau, Christine Martin, Sophie Wright
- James und der Riesenpfirsich read by Rufus Beck
- Roald Dahl Audio Books read by David Walliams, Stephen Fry, Kate Winslet, Chris O'Dowd, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Peter Serafinowicz, Miranda Richardson, Richard Ayoade, Douglas Hodge
- Roald Dahl Audio Books (10 CD Collection) read by Simon Callow, Miriam Margolyes, Geoffrey Palmer, James Bolam, Andrew Sachs, June Whitfield, Timothy West, Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry, Martin Jarvis
- The Roald Dahl Audio Collection read by Roald Dahl
- The Roald Dahl Soundbook read by Roald Dahl
TV Shows:
- Jackanory (1965)
Buy this book:

Important note: From 2022 onwards, Puffin has edited selected Dahl books to remove sensitive language and insert new sentences not written by Dahl. If you would prefer to read the original text, ensure you get a copy published before 2022 or one of the “Classic Collection” published by Penguin.

Description

A little magic can take you a long way.

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!

Reviews

“Books for Young People” by Alice Dalgliesh (The Saturday Review)
“The Wonderful World of Dahl” by Sean Kelly (New York Times) – review of movie tie-in book

Awards

Massachusetts Children’s Award (USA 1982)

Criticism and Analysis

“Deconstructing the Peach: James and the Giant Peach as Post-Modern Fairy Tale”
- Article by Eve Tal published in Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts
“In Absentia Parentis: Confronting the Uncanny Orphan in Roald Dahl’s _James and the Giant Peach_“
- Essay by James M. Curtis published in Children’s Literature Association Quarterly

Fun Stuff

James and the Giant Peach Quiz

First edition illustrations
BBC Radio “Listening and Reading” Editions from the 1970’s
Escape the Sharks! – online Flash game created by me
Original cartoon illustrations by artist Liz Manicatide
“James and the Giant Peach, with Taika and Friends” – 10 episode YouTube series read by Taika Waititi and friends

Merchandise

Sotheby’s Dahl Auction

“James and the Giant Peach”

Elsewhere on the web:
- Custom binding by artist Erin Fletcher
- Book-A-Minute Bedtime Story

Teacher Ideas

James and the Giant Peach – Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker
- PDF with activities exploring metaphors and similes
James and the Giant Peach – Classroom Activities
- Classroom activities related to the book
James and the Giant Peach – Complete Novel Guide
- Excellent guide with vocabulary words, questions, and lots of activities
James and the Giant Peach – Lesson Plan
- Comprehensive lesson plan with unit plan, diagrams, and vocabulary tests
James and the Giant Peach – Lesson Plans
- Bring a world of giant peaches and talking insects to life in your classroom with these brilliant beyond belief YPO lesson plans.
James and the Giant Peach – Novel Study (Preview)
- PDF preview of Novel Study including everything you need to teach the novel (full version available for purchase on novelstudies.org)
James and the Giant Peach – Peachy Ideas
- Includes some peach-related ideas for teaching the book
James and the Giant Peach – Project for Children and Parents
- Includes summary, discussion questions, activities, and recipe
James and the Giant Peach – TeacherVision.com Resources
- Includes several good ideas for enrichment activities, a list of Internet links, and a Dahl bibliography
James and the Giant Peach – Writing Lesson
- Activity where students write their own large-object-rolling-through-something paragraph.
Quick Student Workbooks
- Designed to get students thinking critically about the text they read and provide a guided study format to facilitate in improved learning and retention

Covers

First Edition, Alfred A. Knopf, 1961

Allen & Unwin, 1967

Puffin, 1973

Bantam Skylark, 1980

Puffin, 1988

Cornerstone, 1989

Puffin, 1990

Viking, 1994

Puffin, 1995

Puffin, 1996

Knopf, 1996

Puffin, 2000

Puffin, 2001

Knopf, 2002

Puffin, 2007

Puffin, 70th anniversary ed., 2010

Puffin, 2011

Puffin, 2014

Puffin, 2016

Penguin, 2017

Penguin, 2024

Penguin Readers Covers

Penguin Readers is an ELT graded reader series for learners of English as a foreign language. Simplified story texts are combined with beautiful original illustrations for students aged 7 and above.