
Who are the characters in James and the Giant Peach?
James and the Giant Peach Character List
- James. James is the main character of the story. ...
- Aunt Spiker. One of the main antagonists in James and the Giant Peach, Aunt Spiker is one of the cruel aunts whom James lives with in the south of England.
- Aunt Sponge. ...
- The Old Man. ...
- The Centipede. ...
- The Miss Spider. ...
- The Earthworm. ...
- The Old-Green-Grasshopper. ...
- The Ladybug. ...
- The Silkworm. ...
Does James and the Giant Peach have a moral?
While James and the Giant Peach certainly has grim aspects, there is also an element of hope to this novel. Regardless of how bad things get for James at the hands of Aunt Spiker and Aunt Sponge, he still believes that something magical and wonderful could come from the magic green creatures that he receives.
What are the main events in James and the Giant Peach?
Listed below are the story's first three main events. An Old Man appears in the backyard garden and offers James a packet of magical green objects. If James follows a set of specific instructions (says the Old Man), something spectacular will happen. A peach begins to grow on a top branch of a previously barren peach tree.
What is the conflict in James and the Giant Peach?
Within James and the Giant Peach, there are many conflicts, or problems that arise and need to get resolved, throughout the story. The main conflict is that James is living with aunts who are mean and cruel. James has to decide whether to stay with his aunts, or use magic to escape.
When was James and the Giant Peach released?
Who wrote James and the Giant Peach?
What does Spiker use the peach for?
What does Spiker and Sponge do to James?
What insects did James see in the middle of a moment?
Where does the peach land in the movie Centipede?
Why do the insects decide to ration out the peach?
See more
About this website

What age is James and the Giant Peach good for?
As a parent, your job description is to TEACH - NOT to overly shelter. R-rated and some PG-movies are off-limits; understood; but this book is entirely appropriate reading material for age 7 and above.
Is James and the Giant Peach scary?
In addition to the violent scenes and scary visual images mentioned above, James and the Giant Peach has some scenes that could scare or disturb children aged 8-13 years.
Why did they ban James and the Giant Peach?
In 1986, a WI town banned this book because religious groups thought a scene featuring a spider licking her lips could be taken in two ways, including sexual.
Is James and the Giant Peach appropriate?
With some scary moments and instances of parent figure bullying, we would recommend 'James and the Giant Peach' as suitable for children aged 5 and over.
What grade level is James and the Giant Peach?
This book's Lexile measure is 870L and is frequently taught in the 4th and 5th grade.
Is Matilda kid friendly?
this movie is inappropriate for young children Lots of violence; adults themes; abuse and neglect dressed up as humor.
Where is Harry Potter banned?
A Catholic school in Nashville, Tennessee has banned the "Harry Potter" series because a reverend at the school claims the books include both good and evil magic, as well as spells, which, if read by a human can conjure "evil spirits," according to the Tennessean.
What does the Rhino in James and the Giant Peach represent?
Thus, the rhino symbolizes death for James. He is left an orphan and is forced to experience a monumental life change by going to live with his terrible aunts, Spiker and Sponge. The rhinoceros also symbolizes loneliness and sadness for James as he is forced into hard labor without any children or toys to play with.
Why did they ban Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?
5. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: Roald Dahl. This book was originally banned due to the fact that the depiction of the oompa loompas was seen as racist. Roald Dahl was taken aback by this and changed the description of the oompa loompas in a revised version.
Why was Alice in Wonderland banned?
Alice in Wonderland was banned in China's Hunan province by the Governor as far back as 1931. The primary reason for the ban was because the censor general believed attribution of animals acting like humans with the same complexity was an “insult”.
Why is Huck Finn banned?
Huckleberry Finn banned immediately after publication Immediately after publication, the book was banned on the recommendation of public commissioners in Concord, Massachusetts, who described it as racist, coarse, trashy, inelegant, irreligious, obsolete, inaccurate, and mindless.
Why was Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire banned?
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire The novel was originally challenged because it characterized authority as “stupid” and portrays “good witches and good magic.” Challenged, but retained in the New Haven, Conn. schools (2003) despite claims the series "makes witchcraft and wizardry alluring to children."
When was Lord of the Flies banned?
A committee of the Toronto, Canada Board of Education ruled on June 23, 1988, that the novel is "racist and recommended that it be removed from all schools" after parents objected to the book's use of racial profanity, saying that the novel denigrated Black people, according to the ALA.
James and the Giant Peach - Wikipedia
A television adaptation of the novel appeared on BBC One on December 28, 1976. Paul Stone directed a script by Trever Preston. The cast included Simon Bell playing James, Bernard Cribbins playing Centipede, and Anna Quayle playing Aunt Spiker. Though Roald Dahl declined numerous offers during his life to have a film version of James and the Giant Peach produced, his widow, Felicity Dahl ...
James and the Giant Peach (musical) | Broadway | Fandom
James and the Giant Peach is a musical with music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul and book by Timothy Allen McDonald based on Roald Dahl's 1961 children's book of the same name. After McDonald and Leslie Bricusse successfully developed Charlie and the Chocolate Factory into a musical, using songs from the 1971 film adaptation, Dahl's widow Liccy granted the rights to develop James and ...
James and the Giant Peach songs - Disney Wiki | Fandom
These are songs from Disney’s 1996 animated/live action film James and the Giant Peach.
When was James and the Giant Peach released?
Book " James and the Giant Peach ". by Roald Dahl. Premiere. September 2010: Goodspeed Musicals. James and the Giant Peach is a musical with music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul and book by Timothy Allen McDonald based on Roald Dahl 's 1961 children's book of the same name. After McDonald and Leslie Bricusse successfully developed Charlie ...
Who wrote James and the Giant Peach?
James and the Giant Peach (musical) James and the Giant Peach. (musical) James and the Giant Peach is a musical with music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul and book by Timothy Allen McDonald based on Roald Dahl 's 1961 children's book of the same name. After McDonald and Leslie Bricusse successfully developed Charlie and ...
What does Spiker use the peach for?
Spiker realizes that she and Sponge can use the peach to make money, and make deals with companies, allowing the peach to be used for much commercial use and media ("There's Money on That Tree"). James tells the aunts that he made the peach grow. They call him a liar and force him to sleep outside.
What does Spiker and Sponge do to James?
They take James back to their house. Spiker walks into a spider-web and instructs James to cut down the old tree it was hanging from. The two aunts leave for the beach.
What insects did James see in the middle of a moment?
James enters the peach and meets the five insects he saw earlier: The grasshopper, ladybug, earthworm, spider, and centipede, who were also grown by Ladahlord's spell.
Where does the peach land in the movie Centipede?
They arrive in New York City and are attacked by Spiker and Sponge (who have acquired attack helicopters equipped with missiles) and the peach lands on the top of the Empire State Building ("Empire State/The Attack").
Why do the insects decide to ration out the peach?
Time has passed and all six of our characters are hungry. They decide to ration out the peach so they won't starve and won't sink. With new energy, the insects decide to entertain James with some personal facts ("Have You Even Begun to Wonder?").
When was James and the Giant Peach made into a musical?
The musical had its premiere at Goodspeed Musicals on October 21, 2010 and is currently produced in regional and youth theatre.
What year was James and the Giant Peach made?
For the 1996 film adaptation, see James and the Giant Peach (film). For the musical adaptation, see James and the Giant Peach (musical).
Why did Roald Dahl change the name of James and the Giant Peach?
Roald Dahl was originally going to write about a giant cherry, but changed it to James and the Giant Peach because a peach is "prettier, bigger and squishier than a cherry.". Because of the story's occasional macabre and potentially frightening content, it has become a regular target of censors.
How do Spiker and Sponge make money?
Spiker and Sponge build a fence around it and earn money by selling viewing tickets to tourists ; James is locked in the house only able to see 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.
What is James' job after the tourists have gone?
After the tourists have gone, James is assigned to clean the rubbish around the peach and finds a tunnel inside it. He enters it and meets Centipede, Miss Spider, Old Green Grasshopper, Earthworm, Ladybug, Glowworm, and Silkworm who become his friends.
What happens when James spills the bag on the ground?
While returning home, James stumbles and spills the bag on the ground, losing the crystals as they dig themselves underground. The nearby peach tree, in turn, produces a single peach which soon grows to the size of a house.
Where did the peach lands in the Empire State Building?
The massive peach lands on the spire of the Empire State Building. It is mistaken as a bomb at first, resulting in the arrival of police and firemen. Calming the crowd, James tells his story and becomes friends with many children in New York, they eat the peach and James and his friends get their own jobs.
What is James and the Giant Peach about?
Based on Roald Dahl’s book of the same name, James and the Giant Peach is a whimsical and magical journey of one boy out to change his life and find a real family. Opportunities for puppetry and spectacular visual effects abound, and the show is available in both Theatre for Young Audiences and Junior versions.
Why does James make a potion?
Urged by a mysterious man called Ladahlord, James creates a magical potion in an effort to change his situation. But the magic gets away from him, and instead he creates a giant peach and human-sized insects. The aunts see a way to make money from this impressive fruit.
What is the story of James Trotter?
After his parents are killed by a stampeding rhino, James Trotter spends time in an orphanage before being sent to the only family he has left, his aunts Spiker and Sponge. But his aunts are cruel and torment poor James mercilessly. Urged by a mysterious man called Ladahlord, James creates a magical potion in an effort to change his situation. But the magic gets away from him, and instead he creates a giant peach and human-sized insects. The aunts see a way to make money from this impressive fruit. However, the insects decide they have to escape, and with James, they cut the peach from the tree--and their adventure begins.
How to study James and the Giant Peach?
You can also incorporate some geography study in the James and the Giant Peach book. First, find the setting on the globe. Then in Chapter 18, find England on the map and determine which ocean the peach landed in. Make a prediction about where James and his friends are headed. You may even want to research current patterns in the ocean in ...
What is the purpose of making a chart in James and the Giant Peach?
Making charts can be a fun way to discuss what different characters are feeling or doing. In James and the Giant Peach, the different animals often are expressing different feelings or have a different role to play. Creating a chart on a whiteboard or paper to fill in is a great visual way to organize this information.
Is James and the Giant Peach a good book?
James and the Giant Peach is a wonderful book to study in your homeschool. It is has a fun cast of characters, is full of wonderful descriptive language and describes a great fantastical journey across the Atlantic Ocean. James’s life is dramatically improved as the book unfolds, which just makes everyone feel good!
When was James and the Giant Peach released?
Book " James and the Giant Peach ". by Roald Dahl. Premiere. September 2010: Goodspeed Musicals. James and the Giant Peach is a musical with music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul and book by Timothy Allen McDonald based on Roald Dahl 's 1961 children's book of the same name. After McDonald and Leslie Bricusse successfully developed Charlie ...
Who wrote James and the Giant Peach?
James and the Giant Peach (musical) James and the Giant Peach. (musical) James and the Giant Peach is a musical with music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul and book by Timothy Allen McDonald based on Roald Dahl 's 1961 children's book of the same name. After McDonald and Leslie Bricusse successfully developed Charlie and ...
What does Spiker use the peach for?
Spiker realizes that she and Sponge can use the peach to make money, and make deals with companies, allowing the peach to be used for much commercial use and media ("There's Money on That Tree"). James tells the aunts that he made the peach grow. They call him a liar and force him to sleep outside.
What does Spiker and Sponge do to James?
They take James back to their house. Spiker walks into a spider-web and instructs James to cut down the old tree it was hanging from. The two aunts leave for the beach.
What insects did James see in the middle of a moment?
James enters the peach and meets the five insects he saw earlier: The grasshopper, ladybug, earthworm, spider, and centipede, who were also grown by Ladahlord's spell.
Where does the peach land in the movie Centipede?
They arrive in New York City and are attacked by Spiker and Sponge (who have acquired attack helicopters equipped with missiles) and the peach lands on the top of the Empire State Building ("Empire State/The Attack").
Why do the insects decide to ration out the peach?
Time has passed and all six of our characters are hungry. They decide to ration out the peach so they won't starve and won't sink. With new energy, the insects decide to entertain James with some personal facts ("Have You Even Begun to Wonder?").

Overview
James and the Giant Peach is a musical with music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul and book by Timothy Allen McDonald based on Roald Dahl's 1961 children's book of the same name.
After McDonald and Leslie Bricusse successfully developed Charlie and the Chocolate Factory into a musical, using songs from the 1971 film adaptation, D…
Synopsis
Ladahlord sets the stage by introducing the characters and setting the stage right in front of the audience ("Right Before Your Eyes"). The story starts with James having a nightmare while sleeping at the orphanage, remembering his parents getting eaten by a rhino at the London zoo. He wakes up in a cold sweat. He then explains to a ladybug and grasshopper on the ground his life problems ("On Your Way Home"). The next morning, James is informed that he is leaving the …
Musical numbers
The following is the song list from the version currently available for licensing through Music Theatre International:
The Goodspeed Broadway tryout production opened with the song "Perfectly Perfect" during which James's life with his parents and their subsequent death is shown and was followed by "Shuffle On Through" in which James experiences being put through the system as an orphan. B…
Productions
The musical premiered from 21 October 2010 to 21 November 2010 at Goodspeed Musicals in East Haddam, Connecticut. The musical itself was quite different from its source material, but honored it. Throughout the two-month run, the show was revised. The cast featured young actors Ellis Gage and Justin Lawrence Hall playing James, Steve Rosen as Marvo The Magician, Ruth Gotschall as Aunt Spiker and Denny Dillon as Aunt Sponge. The show also featured Jim Stanek a…
Cast recording
When the new Seattle version of the show was made available for licensing by McDonald's company, Music Theatre International, a cast album was recorded and released in 2015 as a permanently free download along. With young actor Luca Padovan as James, this cast featured Marc Kudisch as Ladahlord, Jackie Hoffman and Mary Testa as Spiker and Sponge, respectively, Christian Borle as the Grasshopper, Megan Hilty as the Ladybug, Sarah Stiles as the Spider, Daniel …
Other versions
When Music Theatre International started to license the new version of the show in 2015, they put two other versions on the market; the Theatre For Young Audiences (TYA) version and a Junior version.
This version is like the full show but trimmed down to one act, most notably cutting "Middle Of A Moment" and "Have You Even Begun To Wonder?".
Overview
James and the Giant Peach is a popular children's novel written in 1961 by British author Roald Dahl. The first edition, published by Alfred Knopf, featured illustrations by Nancy Ekholm Burkert. There have been reillustrated versions of it over the years, done by Michael Simeon (for the first British edition), Emma Chichester Clark, Lane Smith and Quentin Blake. It was adapted into a film of th…
Plot summary
James Henry Trotter is a boy who lives happily with his parents in a house by the sea. Unfortunately, when he is four years old, a rhinoceros with a strange carnivorous appetite escapes from the zoo and eats James' parents, so 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.
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.
Adaptations
A television adaptation of the novel appeared on BBC One on December 28, 1976. Paul Stone directed a script by Trever Preston. The cast included Simon Bell playing James, Bernard Cribbins playing Centipede, and Anna Quayle playing Aunt Spiker.
Though Roald Dahl declined numerous offers during his life to have a film version of James and the Giant Peach produced, his widow, Felicity Dahl, approved an offer to have a film adaptation pr…
Editions
• 2011 – ISBN 0-14-310634-1 (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition paperback, 50th anniversary, illustrated by Jordan Crane and Nancy Ekholm Burkert, introduction by Aimee Bender)
• 2003 – ISBN 0-06-054272-1 (audio CD read by Jeremy Irons)
• 1996 – ISBN 0679880909 (paperback, illustrated by Lane Smith)
External links
• Charity readings of the story by Taika Waititi and celebrities