James and the Giant Peach

 

James Henry Trotter is a boy who lives with his parents in a house by the sea happily. Unfortunately, when he is four years old, an escaped rhinoceros from the zoo eats James's parents and he ends up with his two cruel aunts, Spiker and Sponge. Instead of caring for him, they treat him badly, feed him improperly and force him to sleep on bare floorboards.

After James had been living with his aunts for three years, he meets a mysterious man who gives him green beans and says that if he would drink it his life would change for the better. While going to his home he falls and the beans spill on a peach tree. The tree, in turn, produces a single peach which soon grows to the size of a house. Spiker and Sponge build fences around it and earn money by selling tickets to tourists, giving them the chance to see the peach. James is locked in his house and sees the peach through the bars of his bedroom window.

After the tourists have gone, James is assigned to clean the rubbish and finds a tunnel in the peach. He enters it and meets Centipede, Miss Spider, Old Green Grasshopper, Earthworm, Ladybird, Glowworm, and Silkworm who become his friends.

The next day, Centipede cuts the stem of the peach, causing it to roll down and fatally squash James's aunts. It reaches the sea where sharks surround it. James uses Miss Spider and Silkworm to make threads, while Earthworm is used as bait and draws 501 seagulls[6] near the peach, whereupon the threads are tied on their necks. The peach is lifted off the water and Centipede falls down but is later rescued by James. The peach goes into the clouds and meet cloud men demons. Then Centipede mocks them which makes them angry, and they start throwing hailstones at the peach. James manages to pull the peach down on the lower part of the sky and realizes that they have reached New York City. People think it was a bomb and warn the others to evacuate.

Police personnel and firemen arrive and see the peach, which causes some to faint. Then James comes and tells the whole story and becomes friends with many children in New York, and they eat the peach and James and his friends get their own jobs.

Characters

James Henry Trotter – The seven-year-old protagonist.

The Old Man – A friendly yet mysterious man, who initiates James' adventure.

Aunt Spiker – A thin, tall, cruel and evil woman; Sponge's sister.

Aunt Sponge – A fat, treacherous, greedy and evil woman; Spiker's sister.

The Centipede – A male centipede, depicted as a boisterous rascal and proud of his 'hundred legs', even though he only has 42.

The Earthworm – A male earthworm who often quarrels with the Centipede.

The Old Green Grasshopper – A male grasshopper, who is the eldest and most cultured of the animals.

The Ladybird – A kind, motherly female ladybird.

Miss Spider – A good-natured female spider who takes care of James.

The Glowworm – A female glowworm, which is used as a lighting system for the Peach.

The Silkworm – A female Silkworm, who assists Miss Spider in the production of thread, both before and after the adventure.