This one has to be one of my favorite stories. Such a fun, quick and easy read. Roald Dahl's writing style is super entertaining. Can't wait to read more by him.

Jess, my 7 year old little girl, gives it 5 stars.

Comments while reading:

“How come someone is called ‘Gloop’? And ‘Salt’? Isn’t that the thing that we use for cooking?”

“What is ‘spoiled’? Oh, okay, I’m NOT spoiled.”

“Huh, Grandpa Joe is 96 years old?! How come that he’s even older than my grandpa?”

“How come Charlie’s dad can’t work at the toothpaste factory anymore? What does ‘bankrupt’ mean?”

“Will Charlie ever get the golden ticket?”

“Yes! Charlie found it!”

“Mr. Wonka looks like a clown!”

“How come Oompa-Loompas only eat mashed up caterpillars? EEW!”

“Augustus Gloop got sucked up into the pipe because he was GREEDY.”

“Will Violet ever be all right again or will she always be a blueberry?”

“I want these:

EATABLE MARSHMALLOW PILLOWS
So I can sleep on it and eat it little by little.

LICKABLE WALLPAPER
It would be great if I can have it in my room, so every time I want an orange or banana, I can just lick it.

LUMINOUS LOLLIES FOR EATING IN BED AT NIGHT
So that I don’t have to use my night light anymore. But what happens when it’s finished?

INVISIBLE CHOCOLATE BARS FOR EATING IN CLASS
So that I can eat it in class! But I don’t think Miss Ayu will like it if I do that.”

“These are just silly! Mr. Wonka likes to invent strange things!

HOT ICE CUBES THAT MAKES HOT DRINKS HOTTER
Who wants to have their hot drinks even hotter?

FIZZY LEMONADE SWIMMING POOL
Won’t your body be tingling and itchy all over if you swim in there? It’s fizzy like Coca Cola, right?”

“But the funniest thing is that SQUARE CANDY THAT LOOKS ROUND! I’m going to tell dad about it and then all my friends at school!”

“I like it when Mr. Wonka says to Mrs. Salt, “My dear old fish, go boil your head!” Mr. Wonka used to be more polite and now he is getting rude.”

“Mike Teavee got very small because he is sent through the TV. No, I don’t watch too much TV like him.”

“This song about watching too much TV is too LONG. Just skip it.”

“I don’t think anything bad will happen to Charlie, because he’s good. Also, it is written in the front of the book that he is THE HERO.”

“What? Charlie got the whole factory? That’s because he’s GOOD.”

“I want a chocolate candy and I want more books by Roald Dahl!”

This is one of my most memorable books. I didn't read, it was read to me by my fifth grade teacher a wonderful woman who introduced me to the magnificent world of books. Everyday after lunch we would come into class put our heads down on the desk and she'd read to us. It was my favorite part of the day. She also read The Hobbit, and The Bronze Bow. Later in life I picked up Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and reread it. The story held up. I was transported not only back to the world of Charlie with his father who screwed on toothpaste caps for a living and his grandparents who never got out of bed, but also back to the those afternoons in class with my head down on the desk. Roald Dahl had a great imagination and was a master at translating to the page.
Later, when I became a cop in my home town, I responded to a call where I had to commit my fifth grade teacher on a seventy-two hour hold. She had Alzheimer's disease. She no longer recognized anything in our world.
David Putnam author of The Bruno Johnson series.

Oompa Loompa Doompety Doo
Movie's better but the book is great too

Não li. Ouvi. A minha filha, com 12 anos, anda fascinada com o universo de Roald Dahl. Tudo começou com Matilda. Ofereci-lhe este para alimentar o bichinho. Agora é ela quem me contagia. Leu-o em voz alta, nas últimas semanas. Partilhou comigo o espanto, as gargalhadas, a esperança, a doçura em que os mais novos são exímios. Partilhar um livro com um filho conforta e aconchega, cria pontes para o diálogo, faz de nós cúmplices e iguais, independente da idade. Mergulhar neste livro pela linda voz da minha filha foi uma experiência arrebatadora. Mães, pais, aconselho vivamente!

I think I'm developing a love for Roald Dahl's books at 23 years old. I never read any of his books when I was younger, so I decided that I want to read more iconic children's books. These books are so fun to read! Never would I have though to like these children's books so much. Also, I believe this book was adapted into a movie(s) in such a great way. A bit literally though, when I compare the book with the movie(s). Can't wait to read more of Roald Dahl.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Charlie Bucket #1), Roald Dahl

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a 1964 children's novel by British author Roald Dahl.

The story features the adventures of young Charlie Bucket inside the chocolate factory of eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was first published in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. in 1964.

The book has been adapted into two major motion pictures: Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory in 1971, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in 2005.

The book's sequel, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, was written by Roald Dahl in 1971 and published in 1972. Dahl had also planned to write a third book in the series but never finished it.

تاریخ نخستین خوانش: ماه جولای سال 2002میلادی

عنوان: چارلی و کارخانه ی شکلات‌سازی؛ نویسنده: رولد دال؛ مترجم: فتح الله جعفری جوزانی؛ تهران، روشنفکران و مطالعات زنان، 1375، در159ص؛ مصور، شابک 9645512476؛ موضوع: داستانهای نوجوانان از نویسندگان بریتانیا - سده 20م

عنوان: چارلی و کارخانه شکلات‌سازی؛ نویسنده: رولد دال؛ مترجم: شهلا طهماسبی؛ تهران، نشر مرکز، کتاب مریم، 1376، در 175ص؛ مصور، شابک9643052702؛

عنوان: چارلی و کارخانه ی شکلات‌سازی؛ نویسنده: رولد دال؛ مترجم: محبوبه نجف خانی؛ تهران، نشر افق، کتابهای فندق، 1384، در 238ص؛ مصور، تصویرگر کوئنتین بلیک؛ شابک 9789643692186؛

عنوان: چارلی و کارخانه ی شکلات‌سازی؛ نویسنده: رولد دال؛ مترجم: مهناز داوودی؛ تهران، محراب قلم، 1390، در 132ص، شابک9786001030703؛

عنوان: چارلی و کارخانه ی شکلات‌سازی؛ نویسنده: رولد دال؛ مترجم: علی هداوند؛ تهران، کارگاه فیلم و گرافیک سپاس، 1393، در 132ص، شابک9786006767123؛

داستان درباره ی کودک فقیری است، که بسیار به خوردن شکلات علاقه دارد، اما چون فقیر است نمی‌تواند، او موفق می‌شود، که کارخانه شکلات‌سازی که متعلق به شخصی به نام «ویلی وانکا» است را از نزدیک ببینید؛ و ...؛

نقل از متن برگردان خانم «مهناز داوودی»: (1 - بفرمایید، این هم چارلی!؛ این دو پیرمرد و پیرزن، پدر و مادر آقای باکت هستند؛ نام آنها پدربزرگ جو و مادربزرگ ژوزفین است؛ این دو پیرمرد و پیرزن، پدر و مادر خانم باکت هستند؛ نام آنها، پدربزرگ جورج و مادربزرگ جورجینا است؛ این، آقای باکت است؛ این، خانم باکت است؛ خانم و آقای باکت، یک پسر کوچک به نام چارلی دارند؛ این، چارلی است. حال شما چه طور است؟ احوال شما چه طور است؟؛ خب امیدوارم که حال شما خوب باشد. تمام افراد این خانواده، یعنی شش نفر بزرگ سال (آنها را بشمار!) با چارلی باکت کوچولو، در یک خانه ی کوچک چوبی در کنار یک شهر بزرگ زندگی می کنند. این خانه برای این افراد خیلی کوچک بود و آن ها به طور زجر آوری در آن عمرشان را سپری می کردند. در آن اتاق، فقط یک تخت وجود داشت. آن تخت به افراد بسیار پیر اختصاص داشت)؛ پایان نقل

تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 18/07/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی

I was planning on writing an extremely argumentative review explaining how sadistically vile Willie Wonka is, and how his god-like complex ruined the lives of four flawed children. But that seems insensitive at the moment.

Instead I shall simply say that Gene Wilder dominated his performance as Willie Wonka. He carried all the outward charm, the charisma and the playfulness, but still managed to portray the suggestions of darkness that permeate this character’s heart. Wonka is far from a good man, though this book remains excellent and an extended allegory for many things.

Full review to come.

'What used the darling ones to do?
'How used they keep themselves contented
Before this monster was invented?'
Have you forgotten? Don't you know?
We'll say it very loud and slow:
THEY ... USED ... TO ... READ! They'd READ and READ

The first time I read this book, when I was a kid, there was only one Charlie and the chocolate Factory movie, and I had never seen it. So I had the privilege to imagine my own Willy Wonka and give a personality of my choice to all the characters. Re-reading it as an adult, I can't help by picturing the actors' faces in certain scenes, so I guess some of the fun has been spoiled for me (even though I adore both movies).


Anything I can say about this book is true for the majority of Roal Dahl's work I read so far: magical, twisted, whimsical, imaginative and full of characters of questioning morals! Seems like this crazy genius couldn't care less about the implications of insulting children - or adults, for that matters - for being fat, ugly or spoiled; or for matching any of his pet peeves (chewing a gum, watching the telly, owning toy guns). I reckon he would be good friends with my 90-yar-old neighbour who yells at kids for owning smartphones. Dahl just said what he wanted, without mincing his words, and boy did I love that when I was a child! I was so used to wholesome, sweet Disney fairytales that this odd little fella was my escape from everything sugary (pun not intended) and full of hidden morals! I mean, are there even kids who choose to learn how to behave correctly when they can learn, instead, how to creatively insult any category of people?

As an adult, I wonder if I would let a child read any of this. But then I remember all the fun I had as a child reading about a fat kid being stuffed in a chocolate pipe and I am almost ready to throw politically correct in the trained squirrels' garbage incinerator. So, the moral of the story, is that there is no moral: pick up this book if you want stunning illustrations, one of the most imaginative and game-changing plots in the history of children's literature, and a sprinkle of fairydust which may or may not turn you into a giant blueberry.

I'm giving the French version of this Rouald Dahl book 3 stars. As a teenager, I read the originally written book again and again. I thought the book lacked some pizzazz, which took me by surprise. what drew me more towards this translation was the desire to see how well the songs have been redone.

Augustus Gloop, the big nincompoop became le gros plein de soupe. All the other rhymes were not up to par. Verruca Salt became Verruca Sait, which for a long time, I thought to be a spelling mistake. As we all know, there is no single word for Chocolate Factory in the English language. That was my second biggest reason for trying this book.

Partly the tepid(but still honourable) score was due to the fact that I'd read the book so many times ago that the magic seemed to have worn away in these pages. Now I'm afraid of rereading Dahl's best work. Would I find The Witches satisfactory? Will I react favorably to the mature The Story of Henry Sugar and other stories? What of his beloved and highly relatable and relevant biographies?

Us readers whose battered, if not cynical, minds have grown up and stopped believed in magic, and want more sanguine fare, we must pause once in a while and ask ourselves that the rut we're all in doesn't grant us a view of the stars. Look at me mangling Wilde. See what I mean?

Returning to Charlie, this book felt like the twin brother of its sequel. The Great Glass Elevator is one of the least inspired books by Rouald Dahl. I've got fairy fatigue. Dahl was twelve times the man I am. I admire him immensely. But by today's standards people don't understand him. Look at what the moviemakers did to Fantastic Mr Fox! Anyway, it is time I took a break, longer this time, of children's books. I've several books that are more interesting than usual, and I had better head back to them.

I have watched both the movie versions of this book, one (Johnny Depp's version) more times than the other (Gene Wilder's version) and I have to say that it is Tim Burton's movie that really stays true to the book and adds a little bit extra to it by showing a bit of Willy Wonka's past as a child.

Coming to the book, it is an absolute joy ride! The thing about Roald Dahl's books is that you really don't need to be a child to enjoy them....you can be an adult and still find his books enjoyable because they allow you to tap into your inner child which, I believe, is always present within us all.

Now if only I could get my hands on one of these :D

As with all of Roald Dahl's stories so far, I've seen the movie before I've read the book.

After catching up on the stories I already knew (Matilda and The Witches) it was now time to also read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory of course.

And what a delight! Roald Dahl really is a masterful storyteller! He makes one dive deep into the story and experience everything as if the reader was actually there.

This is the almost heartbreaking story of a boy growing up in a poor family, who therefore is very nice and considerate in everything he does. I found myself almost crying when Charlie's situation was described and we learnt of all the hardship his family had to go through - and how they still tried to make the best of it! It really lets one contemplate one's own situation and it made me feel very grateful.
Charlie's counterpart are 4 children of the worst sort.
And it's the story about luck (that still doesn't come too easily), justice and lots and lots of mischief and fun.

The story is written simple enough for small children to follow the events while simultaneously having great puns and jokes in it as well. And, naturally, Roald Dahl's magnificent sense of very black humour!

In this case, that humour struck in form of 4 very nasty children and the "lessons" they were taught.
We have one boy who won't stop eating, one girl who is spoilt by her parents and simply behaves like a depraved brat, one girl who chews chewing gum like a cow eats grass (and is very rude to her mother) and a boy who loves nothing beside television.
Especially the last one shows how old the story is, what with the author demonizing television. However, he was differentiating, letting Willy Wonka say that television itself wasn't bad as long as it was just small doses.
And the Oompa-Loompas and their songs - just marvellously funny, emphazising each point about bad behaviour (not just by children)!

I must say that the movie (please note that I can only speak for the new version with Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka) did catch the spirit of things.
The factory with all the fantastic rooms and clever ways of making sweets,


the craziness of Mr. Wonka,


the awfulness of the 4 children,


nice little Charlie


and the sarcastically funny and mischievious Oompa-Loompas!



However, considering Dahl's aversion towards television, I wonder what his opinion of the movie adaptation(s) would be!

Anyway I wanted to show the movie version with regard to the book illustrations because I was quite pleased with the movie (which is not every day), except for some details in between that led to the almost completely different ending (and I'm not sure that it was different in a good way).

This book, like the others by Roald Dahl, has the original illustrations by Quentin Blake and I am very glad that the author seems to have had only this one illustrator. The pictures / style of the pictures are like a trademark and complete the little books.

There is a saying in Germany, coming from a TV ad for sweets (!) that says "What's good for children can't be bad for adults!" and especially in case of Roald Dahl's books that's true! The stories all resound with truth, social criticism, warmth and the best of black humour. They make me reflect on a lot of important issues and I always enjoy them tremendously!