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). 

It's coming up to a very special date in any book lover's calendar. Roald Dahl Day will once again be upon us on the 13th September 2018 - and this year's theme centres around one of Dahl's best known and most loved books (and one of our personal favourites too!) - James and the Giant Peach!

This year there will be tons of fun things to join in with, and lots of different events in and around London and throughout the UK. So let's take a look at a few...

JAMES AND THE GIANT WEEKEND at the Natural History Museum - a family festival exploring the natural world, as featured in the story, on the weekend of September 8th and 9th. Loads of opportunities for kids and parents to meet Museum scientists, see real specimens and learn more about the fascinating real lives of James’ minibeast friends.

PUFFIN VIRTUALLY LIVE - the annual Roald Dahl Show streams live at 14:00 GMT on September 13th but is also available “virtually live” afterwards. Guests include comedian/actor/author Adrian Edmondson and Rachel White (archivist from the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre) plus scientists from the Natural History Museum!

FORESTRY COMMISSION - exciting partnership launching on Roald Dahl Day itself, which will see Forestry Commission sites across England running JAMES themed events over weekends in September and into October half-term, including peach volleyball, centipede races and crafting creatures.

DAHLICIOUS DRESS UP DAY - children and teachers in schools throughout the UK will be dressing up as Roald Dahl characters to help mark Roald Dahl Day but also to raise funds for Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity to support seriously ill children through its Roald Dahl Nurses programme.

ROCOCO CHOCOLATE WORKSHOPS - Rococo Chocolate is running JAMES inspired chocolate-making workshops in their flagship London store on the weekend of September 15th/16th.

Tons of extra details on all the events and a special downloadable Roald Dahl Day Party Pack can be found over on the official Roald Dahl Day website. 

Today, September 13th, is officially 'Roald Dahl Day' and ReadItDaddy would be remiss if we didn't at least pass comment on the man who has become synonymous with children's books, yet had a whole darker 'adults only' side that seldom gets explored.

It goes without saying that my first introduction to Roald Dahl's work was "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", which by rights should pretty much be any kid's introduction to Dahl. As a book-hungry 5 year old, I remember it was Dahl's description of the various chocolate and sweet concoctions of Willy Wonka that made me practically drown in my own saliva while our brilliant primary school teacher, Miss Cox, read passages of the book and used them to trigger classroom activities. We made Willy Wonka outfits, we dressed as oompah loompahs, we set up our own sweet factory and we made marzipan sweets and treats to 'sell' in it.

Using books as a trigger for activities was Miss Cox's stock-in-trade and I always remember her being an astonishing artist as well as teacher.


Back to Dahl though and like any heroic figure, there are always those who want to chip away at his foibles and primarily draw attention to his hard drinking, womanising and fairly victorian attitudes that were left at the door when he'd enter his writing shed and pen something new.

Dahl's secret of being a massive hit with kids is that he uses the two most powerful 'weapons' a children's author can use in their books. Front and centre, the underdog children, the heroes of his novels, are easily identifiable to children of all ages. George and his Marvellous medicine and of course Charlie Bucket are kids that children of the 70s could have identified with and bonded with very easily. Even contemporary audiences will love the fact that these kids triumph over adversity, and often show adults up to be a little bit too clever (or stupid) for their own good. The other weapon Dahl uses is the idea of subversion. Some (if not most) of Dahl's child heroes often resort to rather unsavoury practices in order to win the day. Kids absolutely voraciously consume any books that show kids being 'naughty' even if they do get their comeuppance in the end. Dahl's heroes are naughty but with a purpose. So they still manage to win favour with parents too.

I found it particularly galling in one recent article to see Dahl compared directly to EL James (I don't need to tell you she's the 50 Shades of Grey author, right?) I can see no comparison, not even in book sales really. Dahl's children's fiction was sublime, descriptive and rich. Not always politically correct but always engaging and interesting (we'll let Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator slide, it's the only Dahl children's book I find to be a complete chore - which is surprising given its predecessor).

Reading Dahl's rather fantastic (or should that be fantasised) self-penned biographies shows how his stories were directly affected by his own experiences in war and peacetime, and the sometimes grotesque characters he constructed came from the richest source possible - real people he'd met or knew. Good solid characters that other authors would die for.

All in all, I still think 'James and the Giant Peach' is my favourite Dahl book, with 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' following a close second, and I am happy to see an entire day devoted to celebrating one of our national literary treasures. I just wish the celebrations could happen without the inevitable dirt-digging by the popular press.