“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” by Roald Dahl
Genre: Children’s Fiction, Fantasy
Source: Gift
Other books: Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator
Summary from Goodreads:
The gates of Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory are opening at last . . . and only five children will be allowed inside.
Yes, yes, yes. This is exactly why I love kid’s books. Charlie is an incredibly relatable character. You feel his struggles. Not everyone is able to relate to being as poor as the Buckets but Charlie’s anger and frustration about other “undeserving” kids getting the golden tickets is spot on. I know I was angry about it. Dahl was able to paint those children as perfect spoiled brats.
I was surprised at how magical the factory was because I am an adult. What appeals to children doesn’t necessarily appeal to adults. I think I was just in as much awe as I would have been had I read this at 8 or 9 years old. My eyes widened and I started drooling at the descriptions of all the candy. I was definitely a bit disappointed when I came back to reality and remembered that the candies described don’t actually exist. Very sad day.
The story is a bit quirky. Willy Wonka is really out there but he’s not as off putting as Wilder and Depp’s versions of him are. It’s weird and a bit bizarre but somehow I found it all to be pretty charming. I was happy and content with the story.
The bottom line? It’s an absolute classic of children’s literature. Highly recommended.
This book was read as part of my Roald Dahl Challenge.
Feel free to join in and relive the magic of his books.
This was read as part of Book Hoarders Anonymous.
Stop by and chat with us about the book!
I need to get my review together (eep! only a week left in May!), but for some reason I had a really hard time connecting with this book. I am really glad you loved it, though!
Awww, sorry you didn’t like this book as much as I did.
I love this book! ROald Dahl creates a world that I would love to be a part of! The characters are quirky and fun and it would be fun to jump into the book. Great review!
Love Roald Dahl. ❤
I always loved this book better than the movies…and the movies are pretty great!
I may have watched the movies when I was too young but they always freaked me out a bit! haha
I loved this book as a kid (probably one of the few who read it before they saw the movie) but I’m on the fence about reading again, afraid the magic would be lost.
I started reading to my daughter two years ago but she wasn’t interested and I wasn’t about to push.
http://www.ManOfLaBook.com
You might be surprised at how magical it still is!
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I loved this book! I totally agree about the candy though. Even though they now have Wonka gobstoppers and stuff available, they can’t live up to what Dahl described them as, that is for sure! Lovely review.
Exactly! Wonka’s candy is okay but I want the super, awesome over the top stuff.