"James and the Giant Peach" - a Special Roald Dahl Day Review (Puffin Books)

Everyone has a favourite Roald Dahl book, and virtually everyone will always  pick "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" as their overall favourite.

But high on everyone's list must surely be the classic "James and the Giant Peach" - First published all the way back in 1961!

We're taking another look at this fantastic story to celebrate it being the focus and theme for this year's Roald Dahl Day so let's dive in.

I first read this to C when she was tiny, many years ago and it was lovely to revisit it - and whizz through it as it's such a nice easy and breezy read, the perfect book in fact if you're new to Dahl (where have you been!) and want a good jumping in point.

It's the story of young James, who lives with two horrible aunts, Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker.

James' parents were killed, apparently by a rampaging rhinoceros, leaving the poor little lad with his guardian aunts who are cruel and heartless, and treat him like a live-in slave.

James longs to break free of his miserable life, and his opportunity arrives after a brush with magic - and the discovery of a single peach growing in Spiker and Sponge's scruffy garden.

The peach grows to enormous size, and with the help of insects who are also gifted with giant size and the ability to speak and think by the same magic that affects the peach, James soon finds himself on a journey of discovery, and a destination set in his mind - New York, New York.

What always drew us in were the amazing descriptions of James' first bite of that peach and if you've ever enjoyed these fuzzy little fruit you'll know that Dahl's mouthwatering prose captured the feeling of biting into a juicy peach perfectly.

We also love a classic Dahl villain (or two, in this case) and Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker are just brilliantly realised.

But the true star is James, given a smidge of hope of a better life and grasping the opportunity with both hands, and making a stack of very special friends along the way.

The book was successfully translated into a brilliant animated film by Henry Selick, and it's also worth checking that out if you haven't seen it.

But as it stands, the book is potted perfection, a peachy treat that definitely bears reading and re-reading and belongs in your book collection without a doubt.

"James and the Giant Peach" by Roald Dahl, illustrated by Quentin Blake, is out now, published by Puffin (Self purchased, not provided for review).