Charlie Bucket, the main character in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Welsh author, Roald Dahl, leads us on a journey into the land of chocolate through a series of adventures and misadventures.

There are many lessons to be gleaned from the tale and children of all abilities can learn something from thinking about the story played out by each of the main children in the story.

I think Mr. Dahl gives a strong case for cause and effect by what happens to the children in the book who embody overeating, being overly materialistic, watching too much tv, and chewing gum excessively. (I think it is also meant that adults substitute in their own bad habits in place of those of the kids.)

The story begins in a European town that houses a chocolate factory. The owner, Willy Wonka, wraps 5 golden tickets inside 5 chocolate Wonka bars for sale. Those who open their bar and have a golden ticket are invited on a tour of Mr. Wonka's chocolate making factory.

That is where all the trials and tribulations begin as the children act out their obsessive characteristics and get in lots of trouble. But our hero, Charlie Bucket, who is a child who embodies virtue ends up rising above their troubles when put to the ultimate test, and reaps a just reward.

It is a heart-warming story and a fine adventure. The book has also been made into the movie "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory." It has won numerous awards such as the New England Round Table of Children's Librarians Award in the USA in 1972; and the Millennium Children's Book Award in the UK in 2000.

This story has my highest recommendation!

Details - 176 pages paperback; Puffin; Reprint edition (August 16, 2007); 7.6 by 5 by .6 inches in size; ISBN-10: 0142410314; ISBN-13: 978-0142410318

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The book: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
DVD
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Review by Susan Kramer

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