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Jul 29, 2011

Bird Brian rated it:

This book was written by Roald Dahl. Wait a sec... isn't he the same guy who wrote James and the Giant Peach? Yeah he is. And that's all you need to know, to figure out his angle. He's another one of those guys who likes to write about kids in fucked up food situations. Just a year after James..., Dahl couldn't be satisfied with just one boy and one peach; he had to write this little gem, about a whole group of kids having crazy things happen to them with food, like the one kid who gets sucked More...

59 comments like (41 people liked it)

Jul 26, 2011

Sandybanks rated it:

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 More...

11 comments like (31 people liked it)

Nov 18, 2011

Jeanette rated it:

If you ever want to cheer yourself up, go back and read a book you loved and read over and over as a child. For me, this is one book that will always be better than any movie they make from it. Nothing Hollywood does with special effects will ever be as magical as what Roald Dahl did with just plain old words.

It has been MANY long years since I last looked at this book, but it all came back to me as soon as I turned to the first page and saw the illustrations. I was immediately ca More...

2 comments like (8 people liked it)

Apr 21, 2011

Manny rated it:

Since the Swiss make the best chocolate figures in the world, I thought I would pick up a few to take with me to England. I was originally only intending to buy a couple of chocolate rabbits, engagingly goofy-looking with big buck teeth and natty bow-ties, but the selection was so enticing that I eventually walked out with four rabbits, a chicken with a marzipan waistcoat and a chocolate chalet. I explained to the nice assistant that they would be accompanying me to London later that day, and sh More...

6 comments like (16 people liked it)

Jul 28, 2011

Cary rated it:

Finally, Im done reading this book. Ive been wanting to read this ever since I learned that the movie of the same title was based on this book. ANother reason why I want to read this is because it is also included in the BBC big list along with another Children's Classic, Charlotte's Web which was also adapted into a movie.

The story is about the adventure of Charlie Bucket and four other children who won the Golden Ticket and was given the privilege to spend a day inside the largest More...

7 comments like (5 people liked it)

Mar 25, 2009

Valerie rated it:

I'm reading this to my daughter for the first time, and I'm remembering how much I love this book. The way it's written is just so engaging - even something like this paragraph describing the family's poverty just sucks you right in:

Mr. Bucket was the only person in the family with a job. He worked in a toothpaste factory, where he sat all day long at a bench and screwed the little caps onto the tops of the tubes of toothpaste after the tubes had been filled. But a toothpaste cap-scr More...

10 comments like (4 people liked it)

Feb 04, 2011

Austin rated it:

Roald Dahl is the burrowing fox of children's literature. His mind burrows deeper and deeper into a story possibility and discovers within it a world of miniature wonders. He takes you on a voyage into mental and physical inner space--inside the labyrinth-like chocolate factory, into the underground tunnels of the fantastic Mr. Fox, inside a giant peach (in James and the Giant Peach) through a tunnel, one notes, that looks to James like a foxhole.

Willy Wonka, the fictional proprieto More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jan 16, 2012

Roy added it

I've seen the film version of this story starring Gene Wilder a few times as well as Johnny Depp's more recent interpretation of the famous fictional factory owner. But it was not until 2012 that I finally read the book. I've been reading children's books aloud to my daughter at bedtime from practically day one. They have grown in sophistication over the past 5 years but have shared a trait in common. Up until now they have all been short enough to read in a single sitting. I wanted a parti More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Sep 22, 2011

Michaela rated it:

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a personal Roald Dahl favourite of mine, it captures the fantasy world of the most mysterious chocolate factory that every child wishes they could visit..

The story begins with a young boy named Charlie Bucket, Charlie is a kind and caring child from a poor family. He lives with his mum, dad and both sets of grandparents in a small wooden house on the edge of town. Charlie would listen to stories about Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory from his gran More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 29, 2007

Frederick rated it:

My second-grade teacher read this aloud to the class five years after this novel was published. She held up the book to show us the great line drawings as she read. I'm not sure if current editions have those particular line drawings, but there was lots of cross-hatching in the drawings. [These drawings were by Joseph Schindelman, and most current editions do NOT feature these. They've replaced them with drawings by another artist -- Fred's note, 8/29/07.] Tim Burton's movie reflected the drawin More...

4 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jun 12, 2008

A.L. rated it:

Loved it! Good morals. Wonka was totally different than his movie counterparts - in BOTH movies! Dahl's Wonka was neither strangely mellow like the first movie, nor creepy and self-obsessed like the second. I actually liked Mr. Wonka's childlike joy and energy mixed with a compassion for others. He is right. We should all throw out our television sets! I can see why the official Roald Dahl website states that he was not fond of the movie!
And the Oompa Loompas - totally better in t More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jan 26, 2009

Amanda B. rated it:

I have read this book previously in middle school, but I wanted to see if I could read it again and find interesting components to the book which I had not realized before. This book is about Charlie Bucket which is a poor young boy who is curious about Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. He stumbles upon a golden ticket accidentally after having searched for one. Once he obtains the ticket he goes into the chocolate factory along with four other children and their chaperones. In the end, Charlie More...

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Jan 08, 2009

Gette added it

I m sure most of us have seen Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by now. While I won t expound much on the book, I still recommend it over the movie. Why? The movie is wonderful for eye candy and candy in general, but the wonderful wit of the characters, especially Willy Wonka, is too easily missed in the glare of colours. [return][return]In a nutshell, boy (Charlie Bucket) from very poor family finds one of the five golden tickets that entitle the holder entry and a tour of Willy Wonka s Choc More...

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Dec 23, 2008

Justine rated it:

It's kind of sad that I read this book and the entire time I was comparing it to both (wonderful) movies. Charlie Bucket is one of the best Dahl children and Dahl proves himself to be a moralist of the most satisfying kind. In Charlie and the Chocolate factory, comeuppance and just desserts are dished out with relish and the poor hungry kid wins out in the end. A couple observations.

~Dahl does not pull any punches with the sad, poor kid. There's actually a chapter titled "Charli More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 23, 2012

Ryan rated it:

His fun with words, his whimsical humor, his untamed imagination, have all been enormously influential, not just to my writing but to all aspects of my life. Nowhere in his work is there such a perfect marriage of those above. Dahl gave it his all, and it shows. The man's a dab hand at literary fireworks: his prose shimmers and dazzles on every page, excites, delights, confounds, and, underneath it all, holds a serious message about behaving and the consequences you could face if you were very b More...

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Dec 27, 2011

Jason rated it:

The next book for Vincent was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Being only vaguely acquainted with the movie and totally unfamiliar with the book or author (though I did not like what I saw of the movie version of The Witches), Vince wanted it (he loves the movie) and it was something new for me.

Summary
Charlie Bucket is a poor boy who lives with his parents and grandparents (both paternal and maternal). He finds a “golden ticket” that promises him a tour through the chocolate fac More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Oct 26, 2011

Cleveland rated it:

Charlie and The Chocolate Factory
By: Roald Dahl
!!!!!!!SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!
Charlie and The Chocolate factory is written by Roald Dahl. Dahl wrote this in 1964 England, and based it off of his experience with chocolate in his schooldays. It is considered a Fantasy fiction children’s novel. This book describes the hardships of poverty, turned upside down by luck and true belief that anything is possible. It also displays pristine imagery which never gets dull, from the truly magica More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Oct 20, 2011

Jami rated it:

Summary: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is about a young boy named Charlie Bucket. He lives with both sides of his grandparents, his mom and his dad. They are all poor and have very little money. Charlie's Grandpa Joe would tell him stories about Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory which made him really want to go inside and look around. He later finds out in the newspaper that Willy Wonka is going to let 5 lucky kids into his factory they just have to be lucky enough to get 1 of the 5 gold More...

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Sep 28, 2011

Julia rated it:

The five stars are from my eight year old self. Because I can remember like yesterday sitting in infant class for the last lesson before home time, and our teacher reading this out to us. Actually, I think he was a frustrated would be thespian, because he used to act out the story. Everything about this story captivated me. Pauper Charlie hunting for and then when least expecting it finding a 'golden ticket' to enter the mysterious Willy Wonka's Chocolate factory - Grandpas Joe & George & Grandm More...

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Sep 26, 2011

Thom rated it:

A delightful book. A joyous and imaginative romp of a read. I found myself smiling on many occasions at the inhabitants and characteristics of the world Roald Dahl has created in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. To read it truly brings back the fun in reading and I especially urge those who are surrounding themselves with much more serious literature (college students like myself in particular) to pick this up and be reminded of why reading was such fun as a child.

It only took me a More...

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Sep 19, 2011

Amanda rated it:

A childhood favorite that can be just as entertaining to an adult, Dahl sure knew how to make these books. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was my favorite amongst his books because it was so magical and laced with self-esteem boosters. As we read of Charlie’s search for the golden ticket we feel hope and when he finds it the reader comes to the same realization that Charlie does, something so small can hold a lot of meaning. Throughout the book Dahl gives instances where bigger is not always b More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 15, 2011

Shelina rated it:

Book Review: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

Charlie Buckton, a well behaved young boy who lives with his poverty stricken family has a change of fate through a lucky chocolate bar. With five other children, the book takes us through the unconventional adventures in 'Willy Wonka's' wierd and wonderful choclate factory.

The way the book is written, almost brings the characters to life. You fall in love with Charlie, and may take a dislike to some of the othe More...

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Sep 12, 2011

Karolina rated it:

I love Charlie and The Chocolate Factory! I think this book is appropriate KS2 pupils to read independently. Pupils at KS1 may also enjoy having it read to them. It a fantastic, imaginative and engaging story of a boy named Charlie Bucket who like many children does not come from a privileged background. At the beginning of the book we meet Charlie with whom the reader sympathises immediately as he is a lovely boy and does not have enough money to buy food, clothes and sweets. By the end of the More...

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Sep 06, 2011

Shoeb rated it:

‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ By, Roald Dahl.

As a child I was very fond of Roald Dahl books. One of my favorites was ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’. I clearly remember enjoying having this book read to me in year 4 by my primary teacher and I also remember reading it over and over again by myself that very summer.

It’s a story about a young boy from a very poor background called Charlie Bucket who lives with his parents and both his grandparents in a tiny house More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Sep 04, 2011

Jacinta rated it:

Roald Dahl is possibly one of the most famous children's writers of all time! I found it very interesting to learn that he did not start out to write for children but actually wrote short stories for adults which contained various twists and turns just like his children's novels do. He is also considered one of the most successful writers at blurring the lines between children's literature and that which is aimed at adult readers.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has been a huge hit with b More...

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Aug 05, 2011

Sara rated it:

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl stars Charlie a poor boy who wins a ticket to tour the mysterious Willie Wonka chocolate factory. The other children on the tour all have distinct flawed personalities which are tested on the tour to disastrous results.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is much like the movies that have been produced which was my daughters only complaint. She wished that she'd read the book first. It took a couple chapters before she really got into it More...

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Jul 01, 2011

Cynthiagreene rated it:

This book was on BBC's list of 100 books to read before you die. I'm trying to read as many as possible on the list, and couldn't remember if I had read this as a child or not, so I decided to read (or re-read it) as an adult, just to be sure. I do remember having read other Dahl books as a child but as I was reading this I think I missed this growing up because I only remembered the movies.
I've seen both the 1971 and the 2005 film versions of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory More...

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Jun 09, 2011

Francisco rated it:

In this thrilling tale, Charlie, a poor little boy who lives with a poor family gets a chance of a lifetime! It all starts with the raffle of a trip in the Wonka Chocolate Factory for whoever finds a golden ticket. Conveniently, Charlie asks for a Wonka bar for his birthday. As suspense builds up, he is sadden to see that he did not find the golden ticket. On his way to school, he finds a dollar and decides to try his chances again on a Wonka bar. This time he wins! He finds a golden ticket in t More...

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May 13, 2011

Laura added it

I wanted to read the book, especially after seeing the most recent movie. Somehow I never read his books as a kid. Anyway, so after reading about Mr. Willy Wonka I must say that the book doesn't give a lot of description. Dahl's style seems to let the reader imagine and he doesn't give too much evidence for how Wonka reacts to the kids' misfortunes. He gives lots of hysterical parental reaction but either silence or laughter from Wonka usually. I kept thinking this book would be great for tryin More...

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Apr 18, 2011

Jennifer rated it:

This is an amazing book, and despite the humor, wordplay, beautiful imagery, and delicious descriptions of fine candy-making, it's actually a pretty raw read. The first half, before things turn around for Charlie, is drawn with terrible realism. Dahl's blunt descriptions of the family's starving to death in the midst of plenty reads like a controlled, but furious renunciation of the capitalist fallacy that the deserving will simply pull themselves up by their bootstraps. The Buckets have been More...

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