Book summary

Darkly humorous, slightly creepy, and ultimately the tale of a nice guy who just might finish first, CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY is one of the prolific Roald Dahl's most popular works. Life changes for a poor but kindhearted boy named Charlie Bucket when he manages to win one of five golden tickets that allows him, and a guest of his choice to tour the chocolate factory of an eccentric and reclusive candy inventor named Willy Wonka. On the big day Charlie and the other visitors are warned to obey all of Mr. Wonka's strict, but rather strange, rules for behavior. What will happen if they disobey? And why has Mr. Wonka allowed them to tour his factory in the first place? Illustrated with B&W drawings, CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY introduces readers to such unforgettable characters as the hardworking Oompa-Loompas, the extremely spoiled Veruca Salt, and, as readers will soon discover, the aptly named Violet Beauregarde.

Media reviews

"[Dahl] has done it again, gloriously. Fertile in invention, rich in humor, acutely observant, he depicts fantastic characters who are recognizable as exaggerations of real types, and situations only slightly more absurd than those that happen daily, and he lets his imagination rip in fairyland."