For Mr and Mrs Trotter and their son James, life is pretty marvellous. Until, that is, Mr and Mrs Trotter are eaten by an angry rhinoceros. Poor Mr and Mrs Trotter you might say, but really you should say poor James. For when his parents die, he’s left to the care of his miserable, selfish, cruel aunts in a falling-down house on a hill in the south of England and for a while it looks as though that’s just where he’ll stay.
 
Then, one day, James meets a strange old man who gives him a bag full of magical crystals and James’ life takes a most extraordinary turn. For when the magical crystals come into contact with a withered old peach tree, it starts to grow an enormous peach, bigger than anyone has ever seen, as big as a house, big enough to roll away all by itself and most certainly big enough for a small boy to crawl inside. Which is exactly what James decides to do.
 
Penguin Books Ltd