James and the Giant Peach: a Play

by Richard R. George (Adapter), Roald Dahl

Roald Dahl fans will rejoice at the opportunity to bring their favorite books and characters to life. Five of Dahl’s hugely popular, beloved books have been adapted into winning plays for children. With useful tips on staging, props, and costumes, these plays can be produced with a minimum amount of resources and experience. Teachers, parents, and children everywhere will recognize Quentin Blake’s appealing classic cover art and will find these easy-to-perform plays to be a great source of entertainment!

Genres: Childrens, Plays, Fiction, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Theatre, Drama

91 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1982

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Richard R. George has been an elementary school teacher, principal, youth worker, children's pastor, youth pastor, and marriage and family counselor in his professional career. He is a published poet, free-lance writer, speaker, and playwright. He has authored "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", "James and the Giant Peach", and "Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator" (all plays). He and his wife Sue have four children and eleven grandchildren and presently live in East Amherst, New York where he serves as Shepherding Pastor at The Chapel at CrossPoint.

Reviews

[Jes]

Loved reading this book for the first time with my son 🧡

[J · Rating 2 out of 5]

Seriously I am not a fan of Roald Dahl so it has been quite a while since I have either read the original story or even seen the movie adaptation. As a result there isn't much that I remember, which more or less may be a good thing for this particular review.

The story itself was changed into a play format and so much of the background as well other meat was taken from the story itself. As a result the reader is given much more creative licenses when it comes to actors taking on other roles although there are particular descriptions for most of the secondary characters. Even with the book having been cut down in nature, though, it does continue to keep all the elements that clearly marks it a Roald Dahl work.

Secondly the reader or director has been given as much help as possible to turn this work into a play. Not only have the main events been pared and brought out in the characters' conversations. Furthermore there are scene and costume ideas at the end along with lighting cues at the end. All of these combined along with play directions in the actual writing and the stage placement helps to take out the guesswork. At the same time, though, if one really wants to be creative and tackle this I am sure you can truly come out with some really good creative ideas that would still feel like Roald Dahl.

All in all this makes me want to go back and read the book again just to see what main element plots I have missed in the telling and just to get back in touch with another book from my past. Who knows I may end up finding that I have grown into it or again I may just be so revolted by it again that I remember the reason why I dislike the author so much.

[Spooky Spice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rereading all the Roald Dahl books with my 4 year old. What fantastic stories!!!! This one is a favorite.

[Lottie Zuni · Rating 3 out of 5]

idk man I’D be scared if giant bugs were on the Empire State Building

[Maddie Aplin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Follow James as he discovers a magical giant peach and embarks on a journey across the ocean with a crew of eccentric insect friends. With its blend of fantasy, humor, and heartwarming moments, it's a delightful read that will capture the imagination of readers young and old.

[Abraham Ray · Rating 2 out of 5]

good book for those that want to do the book as a play!

[B. Ortega · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spoiler Free Summary
The story follows a young boy named James Trotter who lives with his cruel, mean aunts after the death of his parents. One day, James’s life takes a magical turn when he discovers a mysterious giant peach growing on a withered old tree (ChatGPT May 5th 2024). James climes inside the peach and meets a group of magically enhanced insects who become his new friends. James and his new friends embark on a journey to New York city, flying the peach attached to 502 seagulls. On their journey, the come across perilous obstacles along the way. This books’s memorable characters, imaginative plot and timeless themes of friendship and courage make it a fantastic read across all ages (ChatGPT, May 5th 2024)

Commentary
Another book turned film, James and the Giant Peach hold a special place in the hearts of readers and viewers everywhere. The book makes your imagination run wild with the hungry sharks they encounter and the rhinoceros cloud, but to see it as a movie really let the imagination run. In sort of a reverse Cinderella sort of way, James escapes the realities of his home life with his aunts and goes on an adventure. With access to it being on Disney+, this makes for a good novel to read and watch the film afterward to see the story come to life.

Application
For the application of this story, Watching the 1996 Disney made movie adaptation will be the focus of the class. During the movie, students will take notes of pivotal events and notate the symbolism within each event (example: magical green objects = the hope for a good and better life). Students will identify the objects and talk about their representation in both the book and the film.

[Kanwarpal Singh · Rating 3 out of 5]

James is an orphan, living with his two horrible aunts, Sponge and Spiker. A mysterious man gives James some magic crystals that will make marvelous things happen to him, but James accidentally drops them on the roots of an old peach tree that doesn't grow any peaches. But then, the magic works on the tree, and it grows a giant peach. Inside the peach, James finds several giant insects, and when the peach breaks off the tree, they go on an adventure.

Most importantly are the insect characters that inhabit the peach, all play their part in the journey and help educate the reader on natural history.From the glow worms light to the spiders web used for hammocks.
The combination of Dahl's bizarre imagination and complete disregard for rules makes him the perfect author for distracted and imaginative people

[Anne Soderlund · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this because I was going to see a musical version of the book and wanted to know the basic plot. This adaptation is for inexperienced theater makers. There are stage directions and technical suggestions throughout for how to handle the lighting and various magical elements of the story. There are even pages at the end with costuming ideas.

It is not the same as the full-blown musical (plot slightly changed to make the story more coherent, keep the villainous aunts involved longer, foreshadow the insects). I enjoy the way the centipede is an unabashed "pest" in this version, but he also has the most poetic voice.

[Jessaka · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I were a kid I would probably give this book 5 stars. But, as it is, it's really a 2 star read for me. But I can't give it 2 stars.

I read this book because I had called amazon help In regards to my kindle, and he said his name was James like James and the giant peach. That made me curious about the book. I'm curious no more.

[Adriana Coppola · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really good children's book! My favourite character was the ladybird! Enjoy!

[Ford · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual I watched the play. It was a youth theater cast and they did a good job. Because of my hearing lose, the next day I checked the book out from the library.

[Zeina Elwakeel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think that this book is very nice book, just because it fits ages from 7 years old to 12 years old. Maybe it’s a little childish but sill is an amazing book 📚

[Aprille xii · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the play, but I prefer the book.

[Alexia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Directed this play in college and it’s so much fun.

[•Ana • · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great for children !

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very funny to make my 7th graders act this out but overall very boring adaption; lost most of the excitement and whimsey in the transition. Although I also didn't love the original

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this with my 5 year old son. He was really loving it, but I did have to edit/omit some dated terms for him. It also got him to finally try a peach.

[Lucia · Rating 5 out of 5]

James is a little English boy who had lived by the seaside with his beloved parents until they got eaten by an 'enormous angry rhino escaped from the London Zoo'.

He was sent to live with his two horrible aunts: Aunt Sponge, fat and lazy, and Aunt Spiker, bony and cruel.

Their house was ramshackle, set on top of a high hill and surrounded by a big garden, where James was practically a prisoner for years.

He was absolutely alone and desperate when, one day, he ran away to the edge of the garden, and right there an old man gave him a bag with tiny green things that James was supposed to eat to finally end his miserable life.

But he stumbled over the old peach tree's root, dropping the entire content of the bag that disappeared in a few seconds into the ground.

The very next day something awesome happened: on the top of the old peach tree, that never had produced a single fruit, a peach suddenly appeared that, in less than one day, grew up and reached the volume of a house!

One night James found a hole in the skin of the massive fruit and… Enormous friendly insects and exciting adventures finally flew him toward a new happy life across the Ocean!

This book is worth to reading for at least 3 different reasons.
First of all, the story is founded on few basic Propp's functions that bring the young reader from an initial status of unhappiness of the hero (James) to an happy ending thanks to a magic gift given to him by a mentor. The hero makes new friends that will join and help him through many adventures with characters like sharks and stormy Cloud-Men.

You can also find many nice and funny rhymes in it and we all know how much important they are to developing reading skills and phonetics.

Finally it teaches children about insects: the Grasshopper, the Centipede, the Spider, the Earthworm, the Glow-worm, the Silkworm and the Ladybird.
They will discover who is useful to agriculture and who is a pest, why only certain kinds of grasshopper can play beautiful melodies, how many legs a centipede really has, several uncorrected beliefs about them and much more!

http://misslucysteachingfun.blogspot.com.es/2012/01/james-and-giant-peach-by-roald-dahl.html

[Josie · Rating 4 out of 5]

James and the Giant Peach: A play
By Roald Dahl, adapted by Richard George
Puffin Books
2007
Play

Richard George has adapted James and the Giant Peach into a fun play for kids. The story will be familiar to lovers of Dahl's literature. James is treated horribly by his aunts, but one day something magical happens. A giant peach grows with giant insects living inside of it. James and his new friends roll off into the sea, are rescued from sharks by seagulls and land truimphantly on the Empire State Building. Reading a play is an important skill to be learned, as it is very different from reading prose. George has made it easy for his reader to envision the action by providing excellent narration and stage directions. While reading a play may be fun, putting on a play is even better. The book provides great suggestions for lighting in a school setting, which can also be adapted for home use using flashlights. The costume and scenery sections are also fun and provide instructions for bringing the play to life. While putting on the whole play may not be a feasible summer project, picking certain scenes may be more doable. This will provide a fun new experience for all involved (parents and children alike!).

[محمود قحطان · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a story about friendship, cooperation, and facing fears. It stars a young James Henry Trotter. He lived a wonderful life with his father and mother in a small house by the sea. Then one day a terrible thing happened, an enormous angry rhinoceros gobbled up his father and mother. After he lost his parents, he was forced to live as a servant with his two horrible aunts; Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker. And he was never allowed to meet other children.

One day, when he was working in the garden, a small elderly man came holding a magic bag fraught with little green things that looked like little stones or crystals. He told the boy they have the power to help him escape from his troubles and achieve his dreams and give him freedom.

He took the bag and made his way home but he fell when he was passing an old peach tree and the green things came out from the bag and a peach started to grow and grow. This peach was a home for bugs, insects, animals—and they wanted to go out and James helped them. They crossed the seas facing death and dangers on their way toward New York City.

James Henry Trotter was once of the saddest and lonely kids, but now he had a new family and all friends in the world they visit him to hear the story about an adventure with the giant peach.

[Kate Frost · Rating 3 out of 5]

What I liked: That they travel to America. The flight lends itself to some more creative writing from the children. You could add more mini beasts if you needed more characters.
What I didnt like: Centipede is an unpleasant character. However at the end when they think they are going to die, he makes peace with everyone. The play version has perhaps too much narration and some of the stage directions and suggestions for lighting are a bit perscriptive and outdated. Its a shame they aren't purely actions, so that the mechanics is left to the children's imagination.
Patterns: like many of Dahl's stories, the story starts with a tale of chid neglect
Puzzles: Who was the mysterious man with the crocodile tongues, and how did he know about James?

[Seth · Rating 4 out of 5]

James and The Giant Peach is a weird story, and it makes for a delightfully weird play. I actually got a chance to perform in a production of this adaptation (as a minor character, but I was in it) and it was a lot of fun. The story is at its best at its most ridiculous, and it is very entertaining to act out. That said, the plot is just a bit... pointless? It is excellent for getting a good laugh out of you and capturing your imagination, but you could easily wake up the next morining thinking that you just had a bizzare dream and remember very little of the details. That said, while James and his insect friends' adventure may be some of the more forgetable of Roald Dahl's stories, it is still Roald Dahl, and is very much worth your time if you get a chance to read, or to see it.

[Miho Kobayashi · Rating 3 out of 5]

-PUFFIN, level ?
-Time 11/20 = 20 minutes: 11/25 = 10 minutes: 11/26 = 50 minutes.
-7-word summary: James - leave - peach - for - going - wonderful - adventure
- Discussion questions:
1. Do you want to go the island which is full of insects?
No, I don't because I'm poor at them, so I can't endure that sitiation.
2. Which insects do you like the best?
I like a ladybug the best because it's very cute, so I sometimes buy something to be related to it.

I like ROALD DAHL's books because there are some pictures on them, so I chose it without looking the content carefully. However, I don't like it because there isn't a picture as usual on it>

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first introduction to Roald Dahl. It was short, so I thought I'd read it. I thought it was quite funny and loved the bugs! I thought it would be a terrific book for my class and for boys, especially. I was right, only they read the complete version, not the play. I rather liked the play because 1. it was short and 2. it was interesting to read a play for children.

[Smithy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was ok it was only a filler till I got another book so not many thoughts.

[Trina · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book is cute :)

[Sammi · Rating 3 out of 5]

i love it.sometime you should read it.

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I performed various roles in this show back in college.

[Tess · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's pretty good