A Study Guide for Grades 4 to 8Prepared by Charlotte S. Jaffe and Barbara T. Doherty

Illustrated by Koryn Agnello

James and the Giant Peach

By Roald Dahl

Literature In TeachingL-I-T Guide

The purchase of this book entitles the individual teacherto reproduce copies of the student pages for use in hisor her classroom exclusively. The reproduction of anypart of the work for an entire school or school system orfor commercial use is prohibited.

ISBN 1-56644-041-6

© 1999 Educational Impressions, Inc., Hawthorne, NJ

EDUCATIONAL IMPRESSIONS, INC.Hawthorne, NJ 07507

Printed in the United States of America.

This study guide is based on the book James and the Giant PeachCopyright © 1961 by Roald Dahl Published by the Penguin Group

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James and the Giant PeachWritten by Roald Dahl

STORY SUMMARY

In a small, quiet English village beside the sea, a fantastic tale begins. As in many fairytales, there is a mean, nasty adult that is related to the main character. In fact, in this storythere are two!

One fine day, four-year-old James Henry Trotter’s parents go off to shop, and his happylife is changed completely! As a result of a very unusual incident, he becomes an instantorphan. Suddenly, he is without the love and devotion of his parents and he must leave hisseaside home and playmates. James is plucked from an idyllic existence and submerged intoa virtual prison, where his two cruel aunts are the jailers. Living with them, James is deniednot only love, friendship, and recreation but also sufficient food and sleep. His is a harsh life,to say the least. After three years, however, his world is once again turned upside down, bothliterally and figuratively!

A strange little man visits James in the aunts’ garden and tells him of a wondrous secretingredient that offers great hope for James. In his excitement, James loses the secret ingredi-ent and thinks all is lost! Magical things start to happen in the garden, however, and Jamesbecomes a part of the magic. He makes friends with garden creatures that have many humanqualities. All of them escape the aunts’ garden for adventures unknown.

After an odyssey filled with many adventures, James and his friends find themselves inNew York City. At first the citizens of New York are terrified by the strange sight; however,James soon rids them of their fear, and they begin to treat James and his friends as heroes.There is even a ticker-tape parade in their honor. James is thrilled by all of the children whoappear. James and each of his traveling companions live long, successful, and happy lives in America.

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Roald Dahl was born inLlandaff, Wales, on September 13,1916. His childhood was marredby tragedy. His father and sisterboth died when Roald was three.He attended Repton School, wherehe was often beaten; in later yearswrote stories about children whotook revenge against adults fortheir cruelty.

Roald did have some happytimes, too. A particularly fondmemory was that of the neighbor-hood sweet shop, which he oncedescribed as the center of theirlives. Another experience—alsohaving to do with candy—had agreat influence on his writing ofCharlie and the ChocolateFactory! When Roald was ateenager, Cadbury, the largechocolate manufacturer, sentboxes of chocolate bars to theschool boys to be tested for taste and quality. Roald used to dream about working in one ofCadbury’s chocolate-inventing laboratories.

Roald did not attend a university. In 1932 he began a career with the Shell Oil Co. of EastAfrica. He worked for them until 1939, when the outbreak of World War II prompted him toenlist in the Royal Air Force. He became a fighter pilot and was seriously injured in a crashlanding. In 1953 Roald Dahl married actress Patricia Neal. They had four children, one ofwhom tragically died at age seven.

Roald always enjoyed writing. In 1943 an account of his adventures in the Royal AirForce was published by The Saturday Evening Post. His first book, The Gremlins, was pub-lished in 1943 and later became a hit movie. Dahl continued to write and became extremelypopular. Although he wrote many wonderful children’s stories, he is just as well known forhis adult suspense and horror stories. Dahl also wrote many movie scripts, including theJames Bond movie You Only Live Twice and the children’s film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.Among his most popular children’s books are James and the Giant Peach (1961) and Charlieand the Chocolate Factory (1964), which was made into the film Willy Wonka and theChocolate Factory in 1971.

Roald Dahl died in Oxford, England, on November 23, 1990.

Meet the AuthorRoald Dahl

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VocabularyChapters 1, 2, and 3

Use the words in the box to complete the sentences. You may need to use your dictionary.Not all of the words will be used.

beckoning blunt cellar clump creaky desolate

flecks ghastly glaring hobbled ignored mildewed

nuisance ramshackle spectacles stirring wistfully

1. When John went down to the _________________, he saw that the dampness had causedthe curtains to become _________________.

2. I saw my mother waving and I realized she was _________________ me to come.

3. Lauren’s constant whining was a _________________.

4. Maria’s _________________ look caused me to believe she was angry about something.

5. The boy _______________ down the street, and his mother wondered why he was limping.

6. The _________________ house looked as though it would fall apart.

7. The homesick girl looked _________________ at the photograph album.

8. The _________________ of daisies brightened up the otherwise _________________look of the place.

9. Ben had poor eyesight, but his _________________ enabled him to read the book.

10. Tiny _________________ of sunlight brightened the path.

11. Zack ______________ Sara; he refused to pay attention to her.

12. The knife had a _________________ edge; it needed to be resharpened.

Three of the words from the first part of this activity were not used. Use each in an originalsentence.

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Comprehension and Discussion QuestionsChapters 1, 2, and 3

Answer the following questions in complete sentence form. Give examples from the story tosupport your response.

1. At the very beginning of the story the author gave the reader a clue that this was going tobe a fantastic tale. Explain.

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2. Why wasn’t James beaten when he stopped chopping wood?

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3. The author used a simile to describe Aunt Sponge. Aunt Sponge used a metaphor todescribe Aunt Spiker. Explain.

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4. Describe the rather peculiar thing that happened to James.

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