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James And The Giant Peach

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Have you ever read James and the Giant Peach as a kid? I have. I was very surprised to find out that it is on the list for the most banned books in the US. I have read the book many times in my childhood, and really want others to be able to continue and enjoy it. Many kids have the book read to them before they even go to school. Many teachers and parents agree that it is not rational to ban the book. The Giant Peach should stay in schools and libraries! It is a classic book, it teaches many important life lessons to the young, it is a good read for all ages and lastly, the counterclaims to the book are just outright absurd.
James and the Giant Peach is one of the best literature work for children out there. The book is also rated very …show more content…

This can be seen in various places in the book. For example, “There was about a mile of string to be hauled in, but they all worked like mad, and in the end, over the side of the peach, there appeared a dripping-wet James with a dripping-wet Centipede clinging to him tightly with all forty-two of his legs.” (Page 96) this quote shows how James won’t give up on his friend, the centipede (which a lot of the other insect thought was dead and didn’t even attempt to help him) and used teamwork to save him. An example of grit and perseverance is how James, throughout the whole book, never gives up or complains doesn’t matter what difficulty he is challenging. And lastly, the whole book has the message of getting to a better place and getting out of an abusive relationship or a bad place because it will get better. This can be seen in this quote of the book, “…right from the beginning they started beating poor James for almost no reason at all” (Page 2) this shows that he was being abused. He also expressed many times in the book about wanting to go away to a “better place”. At the end of the book, he did get to his “Happy Place”, he finally made friends, he could go wherever he wanted to and was finally from his horrid aunts and their …show more content…

They say that it is too magical, and it is true that it has many magical elements that do not exist in the real world. But going from that to calling it satanic? kids can benefit a lot from fantasy fiction, according to studies, reading fiction helps develop our imagination and creativity, helps us feel empathy, reduces stress and even helps us lengthen our memories and decrease our chances to getting mental diseases. There is the claim that the book is too sexual, they get it from this quote, “The spider... ran a long black tongue delicately over her lips” In this scene, James thinks that the spider is hungry, and is going to eat him. (which turns out to be false) It doesn’t make sense that a book should get challenged for a spider licking her lips, it is not a sexual act. Even if it was sexual, which it isn’t, kids wouldn’t understand it. Lastly, there is the argument that James is too disobedient, and would provide a bad role-model for kids. The book is teaching kids to get out of an abusive relationship. It might be hard for kids to hear about an abused kid, but unfortunately, for some kids, it is a reality. And they should learn to get out of or report abuse. Additionally, James is a great role-model, he is brave, smart, and perseveres through his problems and challenges. The book is an all-around great book, the good

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