Story Summary: A poor boy wins a chance to visit a mysterious and magical chocolate factory along with four other children. Strange things happen to the children as they tour the factory and their bad behavior gets the better of them!
My Opinion: There was an old movie made of this book and I didn't like it as a kid so I didn't think I'd like the book. However, after reading "The Witches", I thought I should take a look at Charlie. It was actually pretty cool. It wasn't as good as "The Witches", but a different sort of fun. Roald Dahl has such a crazy imagination! So many strange and funny things happen in the book. I laughed a lot and I found the ideas very interesting. Imagine, for example, that all four of your grandparents slept in the same bedroom of your house and never left their beds. How funny!
What did I learn from the story?
Roald Dahl tries to teach us something about good and bad with the five children in this book. For example, Veruca Salt is very spoiled. I think we can all relate to knowing children who are spoiled and most of the time we either just don't like them or we are jealous of them. It is interesting for me to remember what it was like to be a child and to remember a child's perspective on what is good and bad. Again, I can't wait to share this book with my young son. I wonder what parts will make him laugh. I wonder what he will think of the characters.
This is a great book and well worth reading. Good fun!
