Before there were amorous zombies, sleuthing twelve year-olds, or even a teacher who traipsed around in his underwear, children turned to Roald Dahl for their literary entertainment. I thought it the perfect time to zip through time and relive one of my childhood favourites, in hopes that I might soon introduce my son to the wonders of Willy Wonka and his glorious factory. Dahl opens by presenting the reader with Charlie Bucket and his family, confined to a small cottage on the outskirts of town and as poor as can be. Charlie's one true love is to receive a bar of Wonka's chocolate on his birthday, which he savours for a month. When news comes that the famous Willy Wonka will open his factory up for five children to tour, the world goes mad. Five golden tickets have been placed in random bars of chocolate, leaving everyone to buy and tear through the wrapping in hopes of finding that glistening entry pass. One by one, tickets emerge when children purchase bars upon bars: first Augustus Gloop, then Veruca Salt, Violet Beauregarde, and Mike Teavee. Much press coverage is made of these four, though there remains a single ticket left out there, waiting for a pair of grubby hands to grip it by the corner. On a gamble, Charlie uses a coin his discovers and purchases a bar of chocolate that does, miraculously, hold the final ticket. After choosing to attend the factory with his Grandpa Joe, they set off. Arriving at Wonka's delectable abode, all the children and their chaperones enter and begin learning of the wonders of chocolate making, from the rivers of chocolate to the rooms filled with nut-cracking squirrels, through to experimental chewing gums that will replace the need for meals. All this is overseen by a collection of small people, the Oompa Loompas, whose poetic verses are as exciting as their appearance. One by one, the children flock to something they cannot do without, slowing falling prey to the machinations of the tubes, trapdoors, temptations, and televisions within the factory, leaving Charlie and Grandpa Joe alone as the tour comes to a close. Wonka's revelation of this fact leads him to make an offer to Charlie that is more than any child might dream and turns the future of Wonka's factory on its head. Surely, Dahl will expound on that in the sequel, on which I will firmly place my hands like a gluttonous child looking for a golden ticket. Oh, to be a child again!

I will never forget growing up with Roald Dahl's books around me. Many of his stories are household classics for me, as is the 1971 movie of this book, where Gene Wilder brought Willy Wonka to life. As an adult, I can see some of the themes that Dahl seeks to instil in his readers, about fate, greed, gluttony, and patience. Told in such a fabulous manner as to entertain rather than inculcate, Dahl does not go for the pizzazz and hoopla of some drivel authors use now to lure readers into their novels. I am quite sure everyone wonders about an Oompa Loompa on occasion, which is enough to make me want to return to these books on a regular basis. One cannot criticize Dahl's work without upsetting a generation or two of readers, in its simplicity and complex themes offered up simultaneously. I would venture to say, the reader and listener (adult and child, alike) will take something from this book and find magic in the formulation. Brilliant in its crafting and heart-warming in the delivery.

Kudos, Mr. Dahl for touching so many lives with your creativity and awesomeness.

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Read for Reading Sprint 2019 in Buddy Reads.



After going through one-third of incredibly boring The Magic Toyshop, this was a treasure! I remember being in school and seeing kids watching the movie in our special video classes and wondering when will I be big enough to understand it. I have loved this ever since I watched it and I did have a physical copy of it which I treasured and with the help of which I learned all the songs, but it got lost in shifting 9 years ago. So I felt right at home when I read it now.

I love Charlie. He is the sweetest and the most caring little boy. I love the connection and the love the family had in spite of no money and growling stomachs. I finished it in one sitting. I think the morals in here are very good and children should definitely read this! The fact that it focuses on spoiled children makes it even better/ The end was different from the movie. I loved the movie’s version and here, I was like: That’s it? But amazing read :)



Now excuse me, my mouth is definitely watery and I need some chocolate ;)

"And now," said Willy Wonka, "we're going to see something extra special... my Metaphorical Candy Room!" He flung open the doors, and the five children peeked inside. Augustus Gloop beamed with delight.

"That's the BIGGEST BOWL OF SKITTLES I'VE EVER SEEN!" he yelled.

"Indeed it is, indeed it is," said Willy Wonka proudly. "Three point three million of them! One for every Muslim in the United States! But, before you eat any, I must warn you... some of them are POISONED!"

"How many?" asked Violet Beauregarde.

"Only three," said Willy Wonka. "But you wouldn't want to take chances, would you?"

Augustus, who had been on the point of helping himself to some skittles, pulled his hand back.

"What's that over there?" asked Charlie. The children turned round. Behind them was an even bigger bowl of candy!

"Ah, those are my Deplorable Mints," said Willy Wonka. "One for every racist, bigot, white supremacist and neo-Nazi in the country! Don't they look delicious!"

They certainly did. Augustus reached out his hand again.

"Unfortunately," said Willy Wonka, "I have to admit that some of THEM are poisoned too. Very few of course. But we can't be too careful, can we?"

"So we aren't getting any candy?" asked Augustus. He looked terribly disappointed.

"Not until you understand p-values," said Willy Wonka. "Hurry up! We'll be late for the Statistical Sweets!"

رواية لطيفة جداً وشهية!

Es una historia muy bonita y creativa.
Me gustó mucho, me hizo pasar buenos momentos y me dió unas valiosas enseñanzas. De niño hubiera estado obsesionado con la historia, pero no es el caso.
Esta edición traía el primer capítulo del siguiente libro. Me aburrió enseguida, así que lo evitaré, creo.
La narrativa no es simple, creo que es bastante única y poderosa. Es de las mejores narrativas que he leído.

La narración de Roald Dahl me da cien años de vida. Era como transportarme a mi niñez.
Este era yo cada que abría el libro:

AMAZING BOOK!! this is the best Roald Dahl book I have ever seen! it has loads of imaginative chocolates that I desperately want to eat and the book, best one like no other book in the world. I am telling you that you need to get that book straight away right now and when you read it you'll think it is totally bizarre!

Pues donde partir xd primero aclarar que esto no va a ser ni una reseña ni una opinión del libro sólo soy alguien que quiere escribir sus recuerdos sobre el primer libro que recuerda haber leído y el cual plantó la semillita que me permitió conocer la maravilla de leer.

Este es el primer libro que recuerdo haber leído por mi cuenta, osea de pequeñitos mi mami siempre nos incentivo la lectura. Nos compraba de estos cuentos de historias Disney para colorear, en total tenían como 8 páginas cada uno y con suerte dos líneas de texto por páginas xd incluso en esos tiempos, cuando se cortaba la luz en invierno, nos hacía que crearamos cuentos cada uno y así pasábamos el rato

Charlie Bucket is a really good kid – thoughtful, other-centered, concerned for the welfare of his family, dealing uncomplainingly with tough times – and therefore he is eminently well-suited to serve as a sympathetic protagonist for Roald Dahl’s 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. This classic of children’s fantasy, for all the beauty of its more lyrical passages and its flights of fancy, draws much of its depth and resonance from its gritty, tough-minded qualities. Like the Brothers Grimm in Germany centuries before, Dahl knew that children wanted to be told the truth, and didn’t want their stories sanitized and “safe.” No sugar-coating, please - not even in a story about a chocolate factory.

Dahl was born in Wales and spent most of his life in England; he flew fighter planes for the Royal Air Force during the Second World War (an experience that no doubt nourished the writing of his memorable short story “Beware of the Dog”). After the war, he began his writing career, alternating between books aimed at children and books directed toward a more general audience. His works of children’s literature, particularly those with strong fantasy elements, seem to have had the most impact, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is perhaps the best known of all his novels.

As Charlie and the Chocolate Factory begins, Charlie and his family – his mother and father and his four grandparents, all of whom live together under one roof – are facing dire circumstances. Mr. Bucket’s humdrum factory job is not enough to provide for the family; the Buckets are constantly hungry, and their ramshackle house can’t even keep out the winter cold. Their situation, in short – while exaggerated and stylized – is not too much unlike what might have faced quite a few British households in those days of the 1960’s, when changes in the British economy left some families behind, particularly in the country’s older industrial cities.

Charlie’s hunger is exacerbated by the fact that the Buckets’ hometown is also home to a vast chocolate factory owned by the mysterious Willy Wonka. The factory, long closed to the people who used to work there, is still somehow producing chocolate; and soon the world is shocked by the news that Willy Wonka will open his factory to the five lucky children who happen to buy a Wonka candy bar that contains a Golden Ticket!

Naturally, Charlie – like every other child on Earth who hears this news – hopes to find a Golden Ticket; and even though the Buckets can’t afford it, they pool their meager resources and buy Charlie a Wonka’s Whipple-Scrumptious Fudgemallow Delight. “The room became silent. Everybody was waiting now for Charlie to open his present” (p. 27). Will Charlie eventually find a Golden Ticket that will gain him admission to Willy Wonka’s mysterious candy factory? No spoiler alert needed here, I think. It’s rather like asking whether a glass slipper will be important in the life of Cinderella.

Charlie’s Grandpa Joe, a steadfast companion in spite of his age and physical infirmities, immediately volunteers to accompany Charlie on the visit to the chocolate factory; and on the appointed day, at the appointed time, they meet the other four lucky winners and their parents – and an unfortunate lot they are. There is Augustus Gloop, a compulsive overeater; Violet Beauregarde, a comparably compulsive gum-chewer; Mike Teavee, an inveterate viewer of vapid and violent television programs; and Veruca Salt, a thoroughly spoiled girl who is always demanding more and more from her wealthy and indulgent parents. The reader senses at once that these four perfectly despicable children will serve as foils for the sympathetic and likeable Charlie.

Presenting their Golden Tickets, and gaining admission to the chocolate factory, the five children finally get to meet Mr. Willy Wonka. And as this character has become so important in world popular culture, it seems a good time to share Dahl’s description of Willy Wonka, with his black top hat, plum-coloured tailcoat, pearl-grey gloves, and gold-topped walking cane:

Covering his chin, there was a small neat pointed black beard – a goatee. And his eyes – his eyes were most marvelously bright. They seemed to be sparkling and twinkling at you the whole time. The whole face, in fact, was alight with fun and laughter.

And oh, how clever he looked! How quick and sharp and full of life! He kept making quick jerky little movements with his head, cocking it this way and that, and taking everything in with those bright twinkling eyes. He was like a squirrel in the quickness of his movements, like a quick clever old squirrel from the park. (pp. 57-58)

At once old and young, wise and seemingly naïve, Willy Wonka is a complex liminal figure of the kind that so often appear in fairy tales – and therefore he is the perfect guide to take the children, and us, into the world that he has created.

Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, in accordance with the conventions of children’s fantasy literature, is a magical place. It is not a real-world chocolate factory like the one that once offered tours in Hershey, Pennsylvania; rather, it is a vast underground complex, where one travels by boat down a river of chocolate, from the Chocolate Room to the Inventing Room to the Nut Room to the Television-Chocolate Room – or can travel even faster, in all directions, via a Great Glass Elevator!

And in the process of these peregrinations, the disagreeable children mentioned above eventually face the consequences of their bad behaviour – always because of choices that they make while in the chocolate factory. When one child falls into the chocolate river and gets pushed up a chocolate pipe, Willy Wonka blithely assures the child’s mother, “Keep calm, my dear lady, keep calm. There is no danger! No danger whatsoever!...A most interesting little journey. But he’ll come out of it just fine, you wait and see” (p. 75). His cheerfulness during these passages from the novel is at once endearing and disturbing.

And Willy Wonka’s employees, the Oompa-Loompas – “tiny men…no larger than medium-sized dolls” (p. 68), rescued by Willy Wonka from starvation in their home of Loompaland and brought to work at the factory – serve as a sort of chorus; each time a child undergoes some sort of reversal as a result of their greed or selfishness, the Oompa-Loompas are there to sing a song about the vice that has undone the child, as when they sing about the habit of gum-chewing:

“Dear friends, we surely all agree
There’s almost nothing worse to see
Than some repulsive little bum
Who’s always chewing chewing gum….
So please believe us when we say
That chewing gum will never pay;
This sticky habit’s bound to send
The chewer to a sticky end.” (pp. 99-100)

Charlie Bucket, of course, is smarter than the other children, and more perceptive; in the Television-Chocolate Room, he watches a group of Oompa-Loompas working silently in space suits around a matter-transference device, and experiences "a queer sense of danger. There was something dangerous about this whole business, and the Oompa-Loompas knew it" (p. 125). It should be no surprise, therefore, that – in accordance with the conventions of classical comedy – the resolution of the story, for Charlie, is much happier than it is for his disagreeable traveling companions.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has been filmed twice – once in 1971, as Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, with Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka; and once in 2005, under the novel’s original title, with Johnny Depp in the Wonka role. The latter film has the big-name director (Tim Burton) and the big-budget special effects; but the older film, to my mind, captures better the spirit of the novel, with Gene Wilder expressing the offbeat qualities of the Wonka character in a powerful and nuanced manner. Next time you view the 1971 film, watch for the moments when naughty children are about to do something that will put them in trouble, while Wilder’s Wonka says, “Oh, no, please, don’t,” in a thoroughly bored monotone. He knows good kids from bad ones; he’s seen all this before.

And I like coming back to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory around Grandparents Day, because of the character of Grandpa Joe. Memorable grandparent characters are relatively rare in literature; but Grandpa Joe, Charlie’s loyal companion and wise counselor, embodies what a good grandparent should be, and may remind many readers of their own favourite grandparent. The book’s narrator tells us that the 96½-year-old Grandpa Joe “was delicate and weak” and spoke very little during the day, but then adds that “in the evenings, when Charlie, his beloved grandson, was in the room, he seemed in some marvelous way to grow quite young again. All his tiredness fell away from him, and he became as eager and excited as a young boy” (pp. 9-10). Any grandparent, I think, can relate to the way Dahl conveys how seeing one’s grandchildren can make one feel young again.

Grandpa Joe gives his last 10-cent piece to Charlie, in order to give Charlie one more chance at finding the Golden Ticket. He insists on going into the chocolate factory with Charlie, and helps Charlie through the often hair-raising adventures that occur there. He is, in short, the kind of grandparent that every child deserves; and now that I am a grandparent myself, he is the kind of grandparent that I try to be.

It may seem strange that the novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory can be creepy and uplifting at once; but then again, it seems strange that chocolate and peanut butter taste so good together.

این کتاب یه روز خیلی گرم تابستونی وقتی کلاس سوم یا چهارممو تموم کرده بودم از کانون پرورشی فکری بندر ترکمن گرفتم. با اینکه بندرترکمن الانم به زور شهر محسوب میشه ولی یادمه کانونش اون موقع مجهز و خوب بود. یادمه اون موقع ها همش به مسوولهای کانون میگفتم که بهم کتاب بدون عکس معرفی کنید ولی مسوولهای کانون تقریبا هیچکدومشون اهل کتاب به اون شکل نبودن و کارشون فقط یه جور شغل بود و برای همین بیشتر همون کتابهای عکس دار رو بهم میدادن. خلاصه من برای اینکه هردفعه کتاب خوب پیدا کنم ساعتها بین قفسه های کتابهای بخش نوجوان میگشتم و یه بار اتفاقی این کتابو پیدا کردم. یادمه وقتی اومدم خونه لباسهامو درنیاوردم و رفتن توی اتاقم و به پشتی ایستاده تکیه دادم و همشو یه نفس خوندم. اصلا باورم نمیشد یه کتاب میتونه اینقدر قشنگ باشه. یادمه تمامی جزییاتی که توصیف میکرد رو توی ذهنم تصور میکردم و تا سالها بعد یا حتی ذهنم هم خیلی اون جزییات توی ذهنم هست.
راستی امسال که رفتم ایران رفتم کانون سر زدم، هنوزم باز بود ولی خیلی محقرتر از قبل شده بود. باورم نمیشد که حتی خیلی از کتابهاشون همون قدیمیها بود و کتابهای خوبشون هم انگار همه رفته بود. انگار نه انگار که بیشتر از بیست سال گذشته بود.

My six year old niece, Daisy came to visit for a few days this week, and she decided she wanted to read this book to me. We both thoroughly enjoyed it, and it's definitely one of my favourites by Roald Dahl.

This tale starts with little Charlie, living in utter misery in something like a hermit’s hut, with four elderly people laying all day in the same bed. This is quite dreadful in itself, but hold on, it’s just an aperitif.

Next, little Charlie and a bunch of other children win a devilish marketing sweepstake and are invited to visit Mr. Wonka’s super-secret-chocolate-factory. A ticket to paradise possibly, since everything in there is just a “garden of earthly delights,” complete with chocolate bars and sweets, caramel eclairs, ice-cream, vanilla fudge delights, bubblegums, double-decker cakes, warming candies, toffee rolls, mint balls and rivers of hot cocoa… “everything in this room is eatable.” The cherry on the cake would be an edible Katy Perry in her fluffy bikinis: “Bon appétit, baby.”



But I suppose none of these poor kids has heard of Hansel and Gretel or of the dangers of nibbling on the hag’s gingerbread shack. Truth be told, since this is a morality tale, except for Charlie perhaps, all the other kids are insufferable sinful brats. Each child epitomises gluttony (Augustus), greed (Veruca), pride (Violet), sloth (Mike), and decidedly deserves eternal shame and damnation. In the end, underneath the comical and sweet fourth-graders’ novel, there is an undercurrent of cautionary, grotesque, even creepy imagery. The happy ending is a bit far-fetched.

Tim Burton’s 2005 adaptation is quite respectful of Roald Dahl’s story (Deep Roy’s performance as the Oompa-Loompas is priceless). In comparison, the 1971 movie is second-rate.

I have to confess, liked the movie more than the book itself and that rarely happens. The movie was colourful, had more depth and storyline to it.

Charlie lives with his parents and grandparents in poor conditions because his father’s salary is not enough to meet the expenses of the household. Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory is the biggest in the world and produces the most amazing chocolates ever.

Willy announces that 5 children with their parents or guardians will be allowed to visit his factory. The sole purpose of this trip was to look for his successor who would take over the factory after he is gone.

Willy Wonka is a genius, crazy, a dark personality and very absurd in his ways of doing things. Oompa Loompas are my most favourite who work in the factory. They sing and dance whenever a child went beyond par and because of that was eliminated from the final prize. Only Charlie was the one who passed all the tests and Willy made him his successor.

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