News & Blog

Sign up to receive Elaine's newsletter for the latest book news, giveaways, and more
Sign Up
James and the Giant Peach Book Cover

Backyard Book Club: James and the Giant Peach Overview

The Backyard Book Club is back in action! For this month’s meeting, the kids read James and the Giant Peach, thanks to a request by one of our members. (Click here for the book spotlight with online resources and other ideas.) We started with a quick talk about what the kids loved best in the book, then went straight […]

See more
rainbow Science

Rainbow Science

In this month’s book, James and his friends shatter a rainbow by flying right through it! (Not to mention all the other fantastical weather-related things that happen in the story.) Is it really possible to shatter a rainbow, or even reach one? Rainbows are made from light reflected off tiny droplets of water in the air. […]

See more
Girl looking at bugs

Bug Hunt!

This month’s book, James and the Giant Peach, was filled with fun bug characters. But were they all insects? Nope. Insects are a type of arthropod, and all of the bugs in the book were arthropods. So what’s the difference? Arthropods have segmented bodies, jointed apendages (legs), and exoskeletons (a hard shell). And so do insects, […]

See more
James and the Giant Peach Book Cover

James and the Giant Peach

About the Book: When James accidentally drops some magic crystals by the old peach tree, strange things start to happen. The peach at the top of the tree begins to grow, and before long it’s as big as a house. When James discovers a secret entranceway into the fruit and crawls inside, he meets wonderful new […]

See more