James and the Giant Peach
written by Roald Dahl

This story is about a fox named Mr Fox. At night, he steals chickens, ducks, and turkeys from three mean and wealthy farmers - Boggis, Bunce and Bean - in order to feed his family. The farmers are fed up with this and try everything to kill him. One night, they wait outside his foxhole in an attempt to ambush him. When Mr Fox emerges from his home, they fire at him but only succeed in blowing off his tail. Determined to catch him, the farmers use spades and shovels to dig their way into the foxes' home, but Mr and Mrs Fox and their four children dig a tunnel deeper into the ground and manage to escape. The farmers even resort to using bulldozers in order to dig deeper into the ground, but to no avail. The three men therefore decide to play a waiting game, keeping watch on the entrance to the tunnel with shotguns at the ready, while their men patrol the area to make sure the foxes do not escape. After three days of starving, Mr Fox comes up with a plan. He and his children dig further on and end up in Boggis's number one chicken house. There they steal some chickens and depart without leaving any sign of their presence there. They also raid Bunce's storehouse of ducks, geese and vegetables and Bean's underground cellar of apple cider. Along the way they meet Badger and other digging animals who are also starving due to the farmers' siege of the hillside. Mr Fox, feeling responsible for the whole affair, invites the other animals to a feast made from the loot and they all decide to make an underground town where they will be safe, while discreetly obtaining food from the farmers. Meanwhile Boggis, Bunce and Bean keep guard on the tunnel entrance in pouring rain, unaware that Mr Fox and his friends are stealing their food right under their noses. The book ends with the indication the three will be waiting forever.

James Henry Trotter finds himself living with his two abusive aunts, Spiker and Sponge, after his parents are killed by a rhinoceros. Life with his aunts is hard and he dreams of a better place, specifically New York City, a "dream like" place his parents had talked about. His dream comes true when a mysterious stranger appears with a bagful of magic green "crocodile tongues" which are supposed to make his life better. When James is returning to Sponge and Spiker's house, he trips and the "tongues" fall into the root of an old peach tree, affecting it and its inhabitants in amazing ways. One peach is soon found on the tree, and it grows to immense proportions. James ventures into the giant fruit were he finds and befriends a group of anthropomorphic insects who also dream of an ideal home (Mr. Old Green Grasshopper, Mr. Centipede, Mr. Earthworm, Miss Spider, Mrs. Ladybug, and Mrs. Glowworm). Mr. Centipede manages to cut the twig holding the giant peach to the tree, and the peach rolls away to the Atlantic ocean with James and his friends inside it. They use Miss Spider's silk to tie a hundred seagulls to the peach stem, allowing them to fly their way to New York City while going through a series of adventures such as facing a giant robotic shark, skeletal pirates in an old frozen galleon, and the rhino which is riding with the clouds. The group finally gets to New York City, where James stands up to his aunts and learns to face his fears.