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James and the Giant Peach is a children's book by Roald Dahl, originally illustrated by Nancy Ekholm Burkert, first published in the USA in 1961 by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. and then in London in 1967 by Allen and Unwin.
James Henry Trotter, an ordinary four year old boy, has had a happy life but is orphaned as a result of a bizarre and terrible accident. He is sent to live with his two horrid maiden aunts, Spiker and Sponge, who subject him to a variety of physical and mental abuse and treat him like a hired man.
One day while chopping wood in the garden, James, then aged seven, meets a strange man who, mysteriously, knows James's plight and gives him a small sack containing the ingredients for a magic potion which, the stranger promises, will bring James wealth, happiness, and great adventure. Unfortunately, while running back to the house to hide the ingredients - the potion is only effective when consumed at night - James trips and drops the sack. It bursts and its contents sink into the ground and vanish without a trace - or so it then seems. James is horrified at the loss of what seemed to be his only opportunity for escape from his wretched aunts. But things take another odd turn when a long-barren peach tree in the garden puts forth a single fruit which grows...and grows...and grows...
A film version of the same name with a combination of live-action and animation was released in 1996.
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