James and the Giant Peach

James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

Genre: fantasy

A classic children's story, James and the Giant Peach tells the tale of James Trotter, an orphan boy who's barely cared for by his two terrible aunts.  He lives in a house by the sea with them, and they use him as a slave.
One day James is given magical crocodile tongues by a mysterious stranger.  James is to swallow the tongues with some water, and then good luck will befall him.  On his way home to do just that, James trips and spills the crocodile tongues onto a peach tree--which then produces a giant peach.  Thus begins James' adventure across the sea--inside the peach, with some surprising friends--to a farawat land and, perhaps, the promise of a better life.
This book is so much fun.  I love all his insect friends and their vastly different personalities.  I read this aloud to my daughter and she enjoyed the story immensely--especially the little song towards the end!

Lesson idea:  Give each student a giant paper peach, and have them draw their ideal traveling companions.

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