One of Roald Dahl's Greatest

I love most of Roald Dahl's books, but James and the Giant Peach was especially delicious. I think this was the only occasion in my life in which I actually liked bugs (even the spider, which I generally have a phobia of). Dahl paints their characters in such a light, but compelling way that it is hard not to like them. 

I would recommend this book to anyone able to read, because although it is a children's book, it resembles Harry Potter in the fact that it has something for everyone. Children will enjoy the humorous characters and situation, while adults will enjoy those elements as well as the sometimes dark humor. The book is a quick, delightful read that has enough intelligence behind it to make it more enjoyable than many of the inane children books out there. I would also recommend Dahl's The Witches, Matilda, BFG, and his short stories.

The story revolves around a young orphan named James, who is forced to live with two abusive aunts, Spiker and Sponge, but finds a way out when a peach magically grows to the size of a house and James crawls inside, meeting several human-sized insects. The peach rolls down the hill, squashing the aunts on the way, and makes its way to the ocean where it floats until sharks begin attacking it and the gang is forced to catch seagulls and tie them to the stem, which carries the peach into the air. Other adventures take place until the peach finally reaches New York to be impaled upon the Empire State Building.