James and the Giant Peach

James and the Giant Peach is a colorful downloadable audiobook by kid-friendly author Roald Dahl. In the beginning it is a sad story and a bit dark but soon becomes fun and silly with a sense of wonderment and suspense. Like Harry Potter there is something about a story where the life of a child is so wretched that it cries out to be rescued to a world of fantasy and magic.

James lived happily with a great mom and dad; a very normal life. Sadly both his mother and father were eaten by a mad rhino and he was forced to go the live with his two horrible aunts. These aunts underfeed him, made him do all the chores and yelled at him for everything. Then this old man offers James a bag of neon green crocodile tongues which he accidentally spills on his aunts’ withered peach tree. Little does James know that this old tree produces a single peach which grows, and grows, and grows! The night James noticed this huge peach he discovers a hidden tunnel into the center and makes friends with the huge talking bugs that live there. They all embark on an exciting trip heading to America on their enormous peach leaving his two wicked aunts behind.

James and the Giant Peach

Roald Dahl wrote many classics and is remembered best for his children‘s fiction, writing in a way that never talked down to them. This book will stimulate your child’s imagination with a desire to learn new words, feel they are in the story and friends with the characters. Along with James and the Giant Peach he wrote the classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Both are good audio books but in my opinion James and the Giant Peach is great for children and adults where Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is enjoyed by children.

Jeremy Irons is the narrator of this version of James and the Giant Peach. Did you know that he is the voice of “Scar” in the memorable Disney movie The Lion King. In The Lion King Jeremy Irons sings the song “Be Prepared” with Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin, and Jim Cummings. He is a well know English film, television and stage actor of over 60 productions, has directed over 70 production and is a multiple award winner. When I think of Jeremy Irons in film, Brideshead Revisited come to mind and is also the narrator of the audio series of the same name. In a more recent film, Eragon, Jeremy plays a former dragon rider, Brom, mentoring Eragon with ageless wisdom.