James and the Giant Peach Lesson Plan

Describe James's living situation. How has it changed? Why?

James was happily living with his parents in a beautiful home near the seaside at the start of the book. When James was four, his parents were killed by a rhinoceros that escaped the zoo when they were in London to do some shopping. James's life was turned upside down. He was sent to live with his two aunts, Sponge and Spiker. They are horrible people, lazy and cruel. The three of them live in an ugly, broken-down house at the top of a hill in the south of England. James's bedroom is compared to a prison cell and his aunts don't give him books, games, or anything to play with. He is never allowed to leave the...