I had a few Roald Dahl books as a child, including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, James and the Giant Peach, but the first one was one of my favourite books. Now, my children love his books too.
My ten year old has a large collection of his work, but these days, I am not too impressed. I find a lot of the humour rather silly and annoying, but I suppose I have just grown out of it. My kids rave about The Twits, but I just find it stupid, the kind of slapstick humour I feel too old to read about.
Roald Dahl has definitely proved his longevity as a classic childrens' author, with many of his novels being made into very successful films too. But I would like to concentrate this opinion on my favourite of his books - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
It is quite an easy read and I would recommend it for six to eleven year olds, although it can be enjoyed by all ages. The story is about a boy called Charlie, who wins a trip round the chocolate factory, along with four other children - Augustus Gloop, Veruca Salt, Violet Beauregarde and Mike Teavee. They go on the tour, led by the eccentric Willy Wonka. The factory has many strange rooms and as each child shows its faults, they are punished in a suitable way.
It is quite a moralistic story, but also includes little touches that children will delight in. The hero is little Charlie, who proves to be well-behaved and deserving enough to survive the rigours of a trip through the factory. You will have to read the book to truly appreciate it. I am not a big fan of Roald Dahl these days, but this book is great.
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I like the film, but I have not ever read the book.
Arbrette 28.03.2003 03:02
I agree with you, it can get sort of irritating, but I still enjoy it every now and then!! I just skip bits and move on to bits I really do enjoy, like what happens to Grandpa!!
Squidget 23.02.2001 13:08
I have given this just a helpful Karen as I believe you can do much better on the book. Maybe if there was a category for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory you may have written more?
Advantages: ideal kids book if you end up reading to them- its fairly short. and wicked Disadvantages: movie memories may cloud the imagination. minor point though
Feb 21st, 2001
very helpful by (38%):
helpful by (62%):
