When I think of my favorite childhood movies, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is high on that list! What’s better than a world made of candy: a river of chocolate, candy wallpaper, three-course meals in chewing gum form, and chocolate bars transported by television waves? Maybe winning the whole thing with a Golden Ticket!
Amazingly, I had never read the book that inspired not one, but two movies with amazing actors. I was excited to use this as my read-aloud book for the month with my 6 year old who loves all things silly and extraordinary. Oompa Loompas, boats made of boiled candy, and crazy things happening to the kids filled that bill completely! But more than anything, this is a tale of overcoming hardships, valuing what’s important in life, and following directions.
I give Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 5 out of 5 stars. As I wrote earlier this month, I’m not usually one to read a book after seeing the movie(s) because I usually get disappointed with the differences. However, I was surprised again to find a book so similar to it’s movies! Where the original Gene Wilder movie had differences to the book, the Johnny Depp remake was spot on and vice versa. I also enjoyed seeing that the Oompa Loompa songs were actually written in to the story! I could hear the chanting as I read them out loud!
I would recommend this book to readers of all ages. It is a great read-aloud for parents and kids of all ages. It is a middle grade book (grades 4-8) and has a ATOS level of 4.8. This is also a great read for anyone who enjoyed other Roald Dahl books like The BFG or Matilda – his writing is uniquely entertaining!
I chose Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for the Friends and Fiction Book Club April prompt “under 200 pages”. It’s only 180 pages and we made a quick read of this, finishing it in just (3) 45 minute reading sessions. We were excited to find out this is actually the first of two novels in the Charlie series – we will be reading Charlie and the Glass Elevator soon. I’m also looking forward to watching both the Gene Wilder and Johnny Depp movies with my son soon – seeing this book through his eyes has been amazing! Drop a note in the comments – which movie version is your favorite?
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What I’m Reading
- Current print book: Born a Crime, Trevor Noah
- Current audio book: When You Trap a Tiger, Tae Keller
- Book I’m most looking forward to: Spare, Prince Harry The Duke of Sussex
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