Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

from goodreads

4 stars

I hate to admit it, but, there are times when my children are nothing but t.v. zombies. We are not constantly cuddling on the couch with stacks of books around us, and the children smiling and excitedly saying, "read us another one Mommy!" There are days when they merely endure the story so they can watch shows on youTube or a movie on the t.v. (We don't have cable so they are kind of limited to what they can watch. Best decision ever, and way cheaper too!)

So, sometimes they have seen the movie before knowing it was a book. My one friend has a rule for her kids. When they read the book they can watch the movie. I think that is a pretty cool rule. It encourages the habit of reading but still lets them enjoy the movies that their friends are probably watching. The only thing with that rule is that sometimes we aren't always aware that some movies are based on books. Example for that is the movie Rise of the Guardians, I realize it was based on a series of books by William Joyce months after we had seen it.

What do you do to encourage reading in your children? Do they see the movie before they read the books too?

Synopsis

Charlie Bucket is a poor boy from a family that is poor in money but rich in love. There is nothing he loves more in the world than chocolate. When Willy Wonka open's his factory for the first time in years Charlie can't wait to see the marvels that are in store.

My Thoughts

This is a fun and whimsical tale. This is the first chapter book I read aloud to my children, ages 7 and 5, and they loved it. It even held the 5 year-olds' attention. I am not sure if they loved it because they reminded of the movie (the Tim Burton version) or if it is the whimsical nature of the story.

I love the songs the oompa loompa's sing. They are like little mini parenting sessions that remind us of the ills of having greedy children. They gently remind us, sometimes not so gently, that what children need are love, rules and ways that they can help others.

Their is almost a magic quality to the book. How did Willy Wonka know that only one child would make it through his factory? How did he know four greedy children would get tickets and one nice one would get one. And how did he know they would be found before the appointed day? The only answer I can come up with is magic.

Dahl's writing is not always to everyone's taste. I started reading Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator to my kids and quite frankly, I don't know if I will be able to continue. It is not the same or as good as the first one. Dahl writes in a world where anything truly can happen, which is refreshing but also sometimes hard to read. I think you have to be in the right mood for some of his books. One of my friends can't stand his writing and has never read any of his books, her husband on the other hand read them all to their children.

So, if you want to try out Dahl's writing give Charlie and the Chocolate Factory a try. I think it will be a good one to ease your way into his writing. And after reading you want to watch the movie, the Tim Burton movie version of this book is pretty good. I find it more believable than the other one made in the 70s. I feel that Burton gets, Dahl and what he was trying to get across.