James and the Giant Peach by: Roald Dahl (modern fantasy)

This story begins with a little boy named James Henry Trotter who has to go live with his two mean aunts after his parents die in a rhinoceros accident.  His wicked aunts, Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker, treat James very poorly, leaving him miserable for the next three years. Then, James is approached by a mysterious old man that gives him a bag of magic crystals and tells him that they can help reverse his misery forever. In the midst of his excitement, James accidentally slips underneath an old peach tree in the garden, spilling all of his crystals. Little does he know that the crystals dig into the roots of the tree, causing the growth of a massive peach! His aunts become very excited about this big peach and begin charging people to come see it. James is forced to pick up the trash that people leave, and his curiosity leads him to begin touching the peach. After noticing a huge hole on the peach, he crawls inside and follows a tunnel to the center. Inside the peach, James meets several over sized insects which include Miss Spider, Earthworm, Grasshopper and Centipede who seem to have swallowed the crystals that James spilled.  After the peach's stem is removed, the peach rolls off and their adventure begins!

There are several things that could be done after reading this book with students. First, you could start off by doing a compare and contrast activity with them using the movie. Students could watch the movie and see how it compares to the book by creating a Venn diagram.  Another way to use a Venn diagram would be to compare and contrast two characters from the book. Students would be able to take a closer look at specific characters to see how they are different and/or similar. After reading the book, you could also talk with your students about themes in the story. One of the recurring theme's of the book is overcoming fear, so you could have students write about a time they had to overcome a fear. This will give students a chance to connect with the characters as well as sharing a personal experience and making connections.