Well, thank you for finding your way to my website where you can read reviews of children’s books as well as young adult novels, and you didn’t even need a golden ticket to enter! Let’s get right into it and step right up to Willy Wonka’s wondrous world, where rivers flow with chocolate, trees drip with candy, and Oompa-Loompas break into song at the slightest provocation. I am of course talking about the Roald Dahl’s classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, where young readers are transported into a fantastical world of impossible treats around the infamous chocolate factory, where they will also find lessons in kindness, humility, and the perils of greed. And plenty of adventure and laughter!
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is the first book of two in the Charlie Bucket series.
Charlie Bucket is a bright, sweet and kind boy, but one that is also very hungry. He lives in a tiny house with six other people; his parents and both sets of grandparents (as the house is so small the grandparents all sleep in one room and all in the same bed). The Buckets are a poor family, Mr Bucket works in the toothpaste factory screwing lids onto tubes of toothpaste which means that they eat a lot a cabbage-based meals (imagine the rotting smells that must permeate throughout that house!). That means chocolate is a very rare luxury, only savoured on Charlie’s birthday.
When Mr Willy Wonka, owner of the local, and world famous, chocolate factory, says he is opening up the factory for a tour to 5 special people Charlie hopes to be one of them. Five Golden Tickets have been hidden in Wonka bars all over the world and the lucky winners get to tour the factory.
Lady Luck was smiling down on young Charlie and he finds the final ticket. He and four rather spoiled children: Augustus Gloop – a glutton for chocolate, Veruca Salt – a spoiled and selfish brat, Violet Beauregarde – a repulsive gum-chewer and Mike Teavee – a television fiend, step through the factory gates into pure imagination, where they about to embark on a whimsical adventure full of surprises, dangers, and wonders. In Wonka’s chocolate factory, every temptation carries a twist – and only one child will earn the sweetest reward of all.
Overall, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a fantastic story, full of imagination and humour. A wonderous tour of a magical sweet factory with everything from chocolate waterfalls to three-course chewing gum and even edible grass and trees, each page bursts with inventive sweets that spark the imagination. As readers, young and not so young, salivate through the pages over the delicious sounding treats some very important lessons are learned about greed, selfishness, kindness and getting exactly what you deserve.
And if you can keep your mind off the sweet treats, you are in for a bigger treat with the mixture of loveable and loathsome characters; meet Augustus Gloop, the chocoholic extraordinaire, Veruca Salt, the world’s most demanding spoiled brat, Violet Beauregarde who is an annoying gum chewer supreme and Mike Teavee who is far too screen-obsessed (does this ring any bells with our young page turners?). Then, of course, there is the colourful and eccentric Mr Willy Wonka who can be quite rude at times while having no time for bad manners or bad behaviour. Their outrageous misadventures teach real-world lessons in empathy and respect.
However, if you are greedy for more it is packed with Dahl’s trademark uniquely dark humour and his Gobblefunk language. Young readers will learn some new words to add into their vocabulary such as Hornswogglers, Snozzwanglers and Wangdoodles (luckily for me, I have Roald Dahl’s dictionary so know that Hornswogglers, Snozzwanglers and Whangdoodles are all deadly creatures that prey on the Oompla-Loompas).
The writing is pure Dahl, witty, funny and very engaging. The chapters are a good length for young readers, great for junior readers to keep their wonder, interest and enjoyment right to the end.
As it is Roald Dahl book, it really wouldn’t be complete without the playful illustrations by the wonderful Quentin Blake. These artworks littered throughout the pages are charming and add to the fun of the story.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a fun fantasy story with some excellent messages around greed and selfishness as well as kindness. Definitely worthy of 5 golden tickets. I can highly recommend this book to anyone who loves chocolate, fantasy, or just a good fun read. This is a book that can be enjoyed by children and adults alike. At over 60 years young (it was first published in 1964), this timeless story still sparkles decades after its first print run – and with very good reason. It’s a sugar-coated joyride that leaves you hungry for more. The fact that children are still enjoying the story today shows just how timeless and fun it is.
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £9.99 (Paperback) / £4.99 (Kindle)
For more information, visit www.roalddahl.com. Available to buy from Amazon here.
