Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a classic children’s novel written by Roald Dahl and first published in 1964. The book is beautifully illustrated by Quentin Blake.

What is the book about?

This book tells the story of Charlie Bucket, a poor boy who finds a special ticket in a chocolate bar. The ticket lets him explore Willy Wonka’s amazing chocolate factory. Charlie and four other children with tickets discover many secrets and magical things in the factory. However, they must be careful to make the right choices otherwise they could face problems.

Why is it a good book?

The story has several valuable and interesting themes. One of these themes is ‘good things come in small packages.’ At first Charlie looks small and weak but he has a lot of inner strength. Mr Wonka and the chocolate bar are also small but they each have the power to change Charlie’s life and make his dreams come true. ‘Poverty versus wealth,’ is another theme and it shows us that things are sometimes different from how they look. The story shows us that money can be bad if people do bad things with it. For example, one of the four children’s father is very rich and does bad things to get his child a golden ticket. Although Charlie is very poor and does not have enough food, he is good and kind. He only wants enough money to live. In the end his goodness and kindness make him rich.

Recommendation

I enjoyed reading this book for many reasons. It teaches a lot of important life lessons, such as having kindness and inner strength. These lessons are easy to relate to because we all face different types of tests in life. However, if we are positive, kind and don’t give up, things could get better. The book made me laugh when funny things happened to some of the people. The happy ending also made me smile to see good things happening to good people.

Publisher︰Rily Publications Ltd
ISBN︰9781904357018
Author︰Roald Dahl