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Charlie Bucket #1

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

roald dahl

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This full-color 40th anniversary edition of Roald Dahl’s most popular novel features vibrant spot art by Quentin Blake on candy-colored pages enhanced by candy-filled borders. A scrumptious read-aloud edition of a classic!

Young Charlie Bucket can’t believe his luck when he finds the very last of Mr. Willy Wonka’s Golden Tickets inside his chocolate bar. He wins the trip of a lifetime, a magical tour around Mr. Wonka’s mysterious chocolate factory. Once inside, Charlie and the other four winners—Augustus Gloop, Veruca Salt, Violet Beauregarde, and Mike Teavee—witness amazing rainbow drops, lickable wallpaper, and even a chocolate waterfall. But what happens when the children, one by one, disobey Mr. Wonka?

176 pages, Hardcover

First published January 17,1964
Series
Charlie Bucket
Literary awards
books i loved best yearly (bilby) awards, north dakota childrens choice award, 

This edition

Format
176 pages, Hardcover
Published
May 24, 2005 by Knopf Books for Young Readers
ISBN
9780375834608
ASIN
0375834605
Language
English
Characters More characters

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About the author

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roald dahl

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Roald Dahl was a British novelist, short story writer and screenwriter of Norwegian descent, who rose to prominence in the 1940's with works for both children and adults, and became one of the world's bestselling authors.

Dahl's first published work, inspired by a meeting with C. S. Forester, was Shot Down Over Libya. Today the story is published as A Piece of Cake. The story, about his wartime adventures, was bought by the Saturday Evening Post for $900, and propelled him into a career as a writer. Its title was inspired by a highly inaccurate and sensationalized article about the crash that blinded him, which claimed he had been shot down instead of simply having to land because of low fuel.

His first children's book was The Gremlins, about mischievous little creatures that were part of RAF folklore. The book was commissioned by Walt Disney for a film that was never made, and published in 1943. Dahl went on to create some of the best-loved children's stories of the 20th century, such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda and James and the Giant Peach.

He also had a successful parallel career as the writer of macabre adult short stories, usually with a dark sense of humour and a surprise ending. Many were originally written for American magazines such as Ladies Home Journal, Harper's, Playboy and The New Yorker, then subsequently collected by Dahl into anthologies, gaining world-wide acclaim. Dahl wrote more than 60 short stories and they have appeared in numerous collections, some only being published in book form after his death. His stories also brought him three Edgar Awards: in 1954, for the collection Someone Like You; in 1959, for the story "The Landlady"; and in 1980, for the episode of Tales of the Unexpected based on "Skin".

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Community Reviews

Rating(4 / 5.0, 98 votes)
5 stars
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98 reviews All reviews
Profile Image for Kimberly .
IDK_No
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 25,2025
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The latest in my recent teaching of Dahl books...

Yes I get that it's a beloved children's novel, and the whole weird Roald Dahl thing. And much has already been said of the problematic Oompah-Loompah problematic African pygmies thing (really it's much more offensive in the books about them being shipped in crates from their land, unlike the film adaptations where they're just unexplained magical creatures).

But what really bothered me is the lesson that the way to get out of poverty is to win the lottery. It's not even just that Charlie's family is poor, they are outright starving before he wins the golden ticket. I know I know, it wouldn't be a whimsical story to get into government social programs and capitalistic exploitation. But the subtext really is there: Get out of poverty by winning the lottery.

A funny book for kids of course, but even for a children's novel don't analyze it too much!

Admittedly, maybe I'm overthinking this
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MeasuredTailor
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 25,2025
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This was pretty fun! I really like both epic movies. Charlie does not commit a crime like the gene wilder version and the oompa loompas songs are different. But this was very fun short read. All I can say is Ronald Dahl wants kids to read again and I agree wholeheartedly!
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Draconov666
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 25,2025
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I'm sitting here on the couch watching Violet turn violet and fill up with juice before being sent off to the de-juicing room. The sun is going down, and it's almost bedtime out here, at least for the kids. My night is just beginning. I've been halfway following along with the movie and thinking about how awesome it was to be a kid- to dream of chocolate factories and eating a lifetime supply of chocolate with no fear of diabetes or a heart attack.

This was the first book I read all the way through with the kids, and then we were immediately back at the library to pick up the sequel, which I never read as a kid. It has a really weird beginning. Not quite the same as this one. But I'm having the time of my life reading classic children's book out loud and feeling young again.

My oldest son is 7 and he's on he fourth book in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. He's flying through them! He now takes a book to school, in the car on short rides, to bed at night, and anywhere else he can. Hashtag parenting win. I hope he sticks with it.

Mike Teevee just got blasted into a million pieces and showed up on television. What a wild trip that was, he says. Almost time for Charlie to.... spoiler alert... we'll, you know what happens next. You should know. Everyone knows. Gene Wilder is awesome.

I thought I read a lot of Roald Dahl as a kid, but there are a lot of books I missed apparently. I did star as the father of James in my high school's production of James and the Giant Peach. I had one line, I think. I just said "Oh no! A rhino!" I'm pretty sure that was it, and then I died. Trampled by a rhinoceros.

You get nothing! You lose! Good day, sir!

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JackJCB
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 25,2025
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i read this book at the age of approximately 8 and immediately transferred all of my hopes and dreams into discovering, touring, and inheriting a whimsical chocolate factory.

i've never quite gotten over that, so...

let me know if you have any leads?

part of a series i'm doing in which i review books i read a long time ago
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KingofMemes69
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 25,2025
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Read this book ages ago and my children loved this story. We have also watched the movie many times. storytelling at it's best.
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7ordinarydays
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 25,2025
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I love Roald Dahl' s style of writing and his dark humour. Aron my son loved it and was giggling at the jokes. He got so excited when he knew the oompa loompas were going to sing.
Although I enjoy the book I find Mr.Wonka quite sinister and personally find the whole story very odd. I find it very odd that they all think it's alright for Willy Wonka to enslave all the oompa loompas feeding them just coca beans. I can't help thinking that Willy Wonka is to blame for the collapse of the surrounding areas ie The Bucket Family's struggles. As he does not employ staff that spend within the surrounding area. I understand it is just a story and yes he gives the factory to Charlie in the end but still with the oompa loompas! I just think Willy Wonka is no different than the greedy fat cats of this day and age. Or was Roald Dahl trying to tell us that?!
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ishitagupta
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 25,2025
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I am a grown up woman yet I prefer reading middle grade books. Why I am reading this kind of genre? Am I crazy? Am I not in the mood to read deeper books? My answer was NO. Simply because, reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory doesn’t give not only light read but it gives lessons that sometimes adult like us seems to forget.

It was really fascinating and somehow hilarious that this kind of children books were the one gave me realizations that I admittedly forget of how important great values are. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl was not just a light, sometimes funny read but it has a secret message that was waiting for us to reveal.

And after reading this, middle grade books are in my list of my favorites.

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PlOtRuN
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 25,2025
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I LOVE LOVED this book! My 8 yr old just finished it and I wanted to chat with him about it so I decided to read it too and I cannot believe I've never read it... It's sweet and funny with a few morals and empathy thrown in there in just 162 pages.

Charlie Bucket was a half starved boy living in a family of 7 and one measly income when suddenly he finds the most sought after famous Golden Ticket. He then goes with Grandpa Joe to the chocolate factory where his luck is about to change and gets to meet the funniest, greediest of characters.

(The kids and parents in the book still, sadly, frustratingly, exist.. Meet them everyday.. Discipline your horrible, nasty kids PPL!!) I think this is the moral...?
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