James and the Giant Peach
by Roald Dahl
Grades 4-5; Genre - Fantasy; GRL S; AR pts. 4.0
James Henry Trotter loses his parents and is forced to live with his evil aunts. Luckily, he is given magic crystals, which he accidentally spills on his aunts' decrepit peach tree. One of the peaches begins to grow, and grow, and grow. Finally, James climbs into the peach and it rolls away from his aunts' yard and his miserably lonely life. With the giant peach, he begins a new life, making friends along the way with hilarious characters like the Grasshopper and the Earthworm.
Comprehension Questions
Chapter 1
- Describe James’s situation. He lived near the ocean with his parents until he was 4 years old; his parents were killed by a rhinoceros in London one day and he went to live with his two horrible aunts who wouldn’t allow him to leave the garden where they lived; a peach tree was in the garden, but it never bore fruit p.1
Chapter 2
- Describe the main character’s aunts. Selfish, lazy, thought they were beautiful, mean to James; Aunt Sponge was fat and short with piggy shaped eyes and sunken mouth; Aunt Spiker was tall and lean, would spit when she talked p.5
Chapter 3
- Who approached James and what did he give him? An old man; magic crystals p.10
Chapter 4
- What instructions did the man give James and what did he promise him? Put them in a large jug of water with ten hairs from his head and drink; wonderful things will happen to him p.12
Chapter 5
- Where did the crystals disappear to? Why? James tripped and the crystals all disappeared into the ground near the peach tree p.13
Chapter 6
- What was peculiar about the peach tree? A peach was growing on it p.16
Chapter 7
- What did Aunt Spiker want to do with the peach? Make money by charging people to see it p.24
Chapter 8
- What did the aunts have James do that day? Stay in his room locked up and clean up the garbage after everyone left p.26
Chapter 9
- What did James feel in the moonlight? Something more peculiar was going to happen to him p.28
Chapter 10
- Summarize this chapter. James found a hole in the peach and climbed into it, crawling down a tunnel to the middle of the peach, through a doorway into the peach pit p.30
Chapter 11
- Why was James terrified in this chapter? He thought the human sized insects were going to eat him p.34
Chapter 12
- How did the insects get to be so large and human like? The magic crystals p.38
Chapter 13
- Describe how James felt about his new friends? He liked them, they were kind and helpful p.43
Chapter 14
- Where were the creatures and James going? They didn’t know, they just wanted to go somewhere to get away from James’s aunts and the hill they were on p.45
Chapter 15
- What happened to James’s aunts? The peach rolled over them and they were smashed p.48
Chapter 16
- What book, also written by Roald Dahl, was referenced in this chapter? Charlie and the Chocolate Factory p.50
Chapter 17
- Describe the journey James and the creatures had to the ocean? They were tossed around, hitting into each other until they landed on the water p.53
Chapter 18
- What good news did James have for the creatures in this chapter? They wouldn’t starve because they had the peach to eat p.60
Chapter 19
- What attacked the peach and why were the creatures worried? Sharks; with each bite from the sharks, the peach will be eaten away p.66
Chapter 20
- What was James’s plan to save them from the sharks? Take string from the spider and silk worm and tie it from the peach stem to seagulls to lift the peach out of the water p.70
Chapter 21
- Why did James become the captain of the peach ship? He took charge p.75
Chapter 22
- What word would you use to describe James in this chapter? Listen to your child’s answer; determined, hard worker, clever, smart p.75
Chapter 23
- Why do you think the peach wasn’t damaged by the sharks? Listen to your child’s answer; magic, the sharks couldn’t get their teeth into it p.83
Chapter 24
- List one thing James learned in this chapter? How grasshoppers play music; where their ears are; where crickets and katydids ears are p.87
Chapter 25
- Summarize what James learned in this chapter? How each of his insect friends help the world p.89
Chapter 26
- How did James help the centipede in this chapter? He saved him; the centipede fell over the edge of the peach into the water and James asked silk work to spin rope and went in after him p.95
Chapter 27
- What caused hail stones to hit the peach? The Cloud-Men because Centipede called them names p.104
Chapter 28
- What danger were the friends in this chapter? The Cloud-Men saw them and threw whatever they could at them p.112
Chapter 29
- Why is Centipede upset in this chapter? The Cloud-Men hit him with paint and he was stuck p.113
Chapter 30
- What freed Centipede? The Blood-Men dumped water on them and it washed the paint off p.118
Chapter 31
- What did the author say the weather is a result of? The Cloud-Men working their sinister magic upon the world below p.120
Chapter 32
- What’s James’s plan to get the peach down to the earth? Cut a few of the strings holding the peach p.122
Chapter 33
- What did the people in America think the peach was? A bomb p.123
Chapter 34
- Why did the friends think they were going to die? An airplane came through the air and sliced through every string holding the peach p.126
Chapter 35
- Summarize this chapter. People in the city thought they were going to die along with those in the peach p.127
Chapter 36
- What saved the peach? It fell onto the Empire State Building p.128
Chapter 37
- What helped the fire fighters and police officers not be afraid of the creatures in the peach? James spoke up for them p.134
Chapter 38
- Why was James so happy in this chapter? 10,000 Children asked if they could try the peach; he’d never seen so many children in his life p.141
Chapter 39
- Summarize the conclusion of this story. It describes what happens to each of the creatures and James; James was so happy to have so many children who wanted to meet him and hear his story p.145