A blithe retelling of a traditional Japanese tale features a small girl named Momoko, who bursts from inside the giant peach a couple finds by their door and announces she’s come to make the world a better place. Her new parents warn of a nearby ogre who eats small children. On her way to confront him she meets a monkey, a dog, and a pheasant, who all add to the ogre’s legend — he’s bigger than a tree, with teeth like knives and eyes that shoot flames, AND he eats small children. But they accompany her, buoyed by Momoko’s courage and the promise of peach dumplings. Playful details in both the narrative and the illustrations propel a delightful story in which the ogre himself proves to be lonely, and friendly, and a lover of peach dumplings, too. “Peachy.” (Ages 4–8)