James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl (1961)
After his parents are killed by a rhino, James is forced to live with his horrible aunts, Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker. A mysterious man in the garden gives him a bag of magical crystals but he spills them all over his aunts’ peach tree – and suddenly, a peach starts to grow. And grow. How big will this peach get? Roll into a sweet and juicy adventure on the high seas, with giant singing insects, whimsical cloud men and (spoiler alert) an ending right at the top of the Empire State Building.
Recommended reading age: 7-9 years old