Book Review: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons,

  My Reading Challenge is nearing its end, and now I begin to focus on those books that I have not finished. I will also be creating my next Reading Challenge that will begin September 1, 2016. This will be posted on that date.

  The next book that I decided to remove from my To Be Read pile was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which falls under the "Read a book from your childhood" category. I remember loving the movie starring Gene Wilder when I was a kid, and how I had read the book a few years later in elementary school. I am happy that I took the time to revisit this delightful and whimsical tale.

  Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is written by Roald Dahl and was first published in 1964. It tells the tale of a boy, named Charlie Bucket. He and his family are desperately poor and live in a broken down home. Charlie is always dreaming a better life, but with finances being extremely low, all he has is the love of his family. Living in the Buckets are Grandma Josephine and Grandpa Joe, Mr. Bucket's parents. And Mrs. Bucket's parents, Grandma Georgina and Grandpa George. The four elderly people live their life in a large bed, and rarely move from it. 

  Soon the town is buzzing. The seemingly derelict Wonka Candy Factory has mysteriously sprung to life, and with it a grand announcement: five lucky children will be allowed into the Wonka Factory for a tour, provided they find one of five Golden Tickets that have been hidden in Wonka Bars worldwide. And the winner will receive chocolate bars and candy for a lifetime!

  To Charlie this is an amazing announcement. The poor, little boy loves chocolate. He gets one bar a year for his birthday, and to have enough for a lifetime is exciting. But one by one tickets pop up worldwide only to found by Augustus Gloop (a large, little boy with a voracious appetite), Veruca Salt ( a privileged little girl who demands everything from her parents), Violet Beauregarde (champion gum chewer and know-it-all), and Mike Teavee (would-be gangster and television addict). Little Charlie wishes he could find one. And after several attempts, he finds one in a bar of chocolate.

  Grandpa Joe offers to accompany Charlie on the factory tour. The two Buckets head for the factory on the day of the event. Mr. Wonka greets his guests and they enter a tour of wonders unimaginable. For this factory appears to be far ahead of its time technologically, and even more astounding are Mr. Wonka's mysterious little workers, the Oompa-Loompas. Charlie and Grandpa Joe are very excited by the factory, and get along very well with Mr. Wonka. But the other children and their escorts are having a less-than-fun time. One by one the naughty, little children begin to get into trouble, leaving only Charlie and Grandpa Joe. And how the children get into mischief is often hysterical, making me laugh out loud.

  Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a magical story that captures the imagination even as an adult. I read this with the audio book read by Douglas Hodge. It was a great presentation with sound effects and wonderful Hodge's range of voices. The edition by Penguin-Random House I read from also included whimsical drawings of artist Quentin Blake. Both added depth to Roald Dahl's narrative, making it come to life. 

  I gave this book five out of five stars for its amazing ability to draw me into a story that I knew so well. It was like reading it again for the first time. I highly recommend this book to break any reading slump.

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Because there is always time to read,
   Xepherus3 


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