Willy Wonka’s famous chocolate factory is opening at last!But only five lucky children will be allowed inside. And the winners are: Augustus Gloop, an enormously fat boy whose hobby is eating; Veruca Salt, a spoiled-rotten brat whose parents are wrapped around her little finger; Violet Beauregarde, a dim-witted gum-chewer with the fastest jaws around; Mike Teavee, a toy pistol-toting … pistol-toting gangster-in-training who is obsessed with television; and Charlie Bucket, Our Hero, a boy who is honest and kind, brave and true, and good and ready for the wildest time of his life!
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One of the first books I ever read. I wanted to watch the movie, but wasn’t allowed to until I read the book. And so I did. And now, every few years, I want to again. It’s been a long time. But who doesn’t love chocolate and dreams and wishes and gifts? I think I may read this series… only looked at the first one.
I adore this book. It was one of my favorites as a kid and I still love it today. If you haven’t read it in a while, pick it up again!
My 3rd grade teacher would read a chapter or two of this book aloud to my class each day. She handed out Willy Wonka candies for us to enjoy while we were listening to the story. I was whisked away to a magical world with lickable wallpaper, roast beef flavored bubble gum, golden egg laying hens, oompa-loompas, and the infinite possibilities afforded by my imagination. As a result of this experience and incredible book, my life-long love of reading began!
I read this book so many times when I was a kid that I could recite large parts of it by heart. So much fun. A classic
A truly special book.
While there are two similar but dissimilar versions (published quite near after one another, for various reasons that often overshadow the innocence of the book itself (check out D. Cheetham’s essay, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Versions and Changes,” for an insightful look) it is a comical adventure where naughty children find their “deserved” and due end—in some ways, a post-modern comical throwback to cautionary tales for children from the 19th century. Politics aside—actually no—as it does add much literary depth to the novel, exploring the ideas of contemporary race/class relations, fairytale styled punishments and—well won’t spoil everything—Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has so much to offer to children, adults, and literary looker-aters alike.
Now that’s an adventure.
So imaginative. Even the puns were funny. I love all the wonderful candy. What struck me was the naughty children display the same behaviors as children today. Such a fun book; it made me want to eat chocolate.
An original story that keeps you reading to the very end in one day! Highly recommend it for young readers and those who are great fans of Roald Dahl!
One of my all-time favorite stories. You cannot go wrong with becoming a dreamer and believing the impossible can happen to you.
Okay, maybe it can go wrong…but it’ll work out in the end (wink).
It teach kids a very big lesson.
classic
itss really great
Classic. kids loved it!
romance
Great and silly.
It’s not often you have a book that’s worth a second-read as a kid, but I’ve read this one a few times, as well as its sequel ‘Charlie and the Green Glass Elevator’.
That it also works as a horror-story-lite to an adult is a bonus.
Willy Wonka, Fairy Godfather?
Fairy tales, no matter what form they take, have and will continue to endure, whether they are the squeakily cleaned and sanitized Disney versions or the gritty and grisly Brothers Grimm versions. They capture a sense of wonder and make the readers feel anything is possible. More importantly, they speak to universal aspects of childhood and teach profound lessons.
I have always been a huge fan of Roald Dahl since I was in elementary school when a teacher – I unfortunately cannot remember her name or what grade it was – read bits of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to us in class. I was instantly mesmerized.
Years later, as an adult and a teacher myself, I have done my best to make sure Mr. Dahl’s legacy thrives in my little corner of the world. For starters, I have placed one of his many classics in the hands of many reluctant readers and watch them transform into avid readers because of the magic of his words.
Did you know September 13th is Roald Dahl’s birthday and thus officially known as Roald Dahl Day? Perhaps not. However, I did my best to promote it at the last few schools where I taught. Students would read and have group discussions about his books all through August and into September, culminating with a class party on the 13th. I even own a Willy Wonka costume which I break out for that very occasion – the old school Gene Wilder version, of course.
Spending a lot of time delving into Mr. Dahl’s books, I started noticing their resemblance to fairy tales in essence, as in they shared a similar spirit. However, I did – and still find myself drawing comparisons between Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Cinderella.
To begin with both protagonists start off living in poverty, except Charlie has a loving and supportive family while Cinderella’s stepmother and stepsisters are famous for being the exact opposite of that. Taking the place of the Ball is Mr. Wonka allowing five children to tour his factory. It might be a bit of a leap, but I think Charlie’s golden ticket could be seen as a substitute for Cinderella’s famous glass slipper.
So Mr. Wonka, this strange and mysterious man, manic and elflike, with almost magical abilities, will make these children’s wishes come true, not only by allowing them to tour his whimsical factory but by gifting each one of them with a lifetime supply of chocolate. Surely, this makes him a sort of fairy godfather.
This is where things start to get a bit dark, in a way I’m sure the Brothers Grimm would nod and applaud. The other children on the tour are not as wholesome or goodhearted as Charlie – and they end up paying the price for it. I love how each child brings a parent with them. You get to see, in the case of the Foul Four (Augustus Gloop, Violet Beauregarde, Veruca Salt, and Mike TeeVee), how their parents enforce and enable their children’s horrible behavior. Each child’s flaw is their own undoing, and they each suffer a bizarre, grotesque fate which reminded me of how, in the Brothers Grimm version of Cinderella, the greedy stepsisters go as far as to hack up their own feet so they could fit in the glass slipper.
So like in any fairy tale, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ends happily ever after. Charlie not only earns his lifetime supply of chocolate but is also given the keys to the factory, which makes him king of his own magic kingdom. A moral is shared too, about being good no matter your circumstances in life, and you will be rewarded. Seriously, if you think about it, Charlie grew up in “the ‘hood,” yet he wasn’t out there shoplifting or mugging pensioners for chocolate money. That could be an interesting retelling of the story.
If you have made it this far, I should thank you for reading this review. I’m hoping it will be the first in a series, as I examine the fairy tale qualities of not just Roald Dahl’s books but other famous authors as well.
Charlie Bucket has a very poor family and sometimes he goes hungry. But he can always smell the chocolaty-goodness coming from the nearby chocolate factory.
And one day it is announced that 5 lucky children will be able to enter the chocolate factory that has been closed to visitors for as long as Charlie can remember. But he only gets a chocolate bar on his birthday. Can he be so lucky as to get a golden ticket?
Of course he does! He goes to the chocolate factory, he meets the awful children who had won the other tickets (lots of lessons in the book) and finally, with his goodness of heart and pure spirit, Charlie wins the grand prize: the chocolate factory.
This book is filled with interesting characters, odd drawings, and life-lessons. Well worth the read. (And the film with Johnny Depp is also a must-see adaption.)
A true classic. If you enjoyed the movie you will love the book. There are more details and twists than any movie can include! A must read for everyone.
All
AlSo enjoyed the movie
I love this book it’s really interesting and funny