CB: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory #1: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Ages 8+

Willy Wonka's famous chocolate factory is opening at last!

But only five lucky children will be allowed inside. And the winners are: Augustus Gloop, an enormously fat boy whose hobby is eating; Veruca Salt, a spoiled-rotten brat whose parents are wrapped around her little finger; Violet Beauregarde, a dim-witted gum-chewer with the fastest jaws around; Mike Teavee, a toy pistol-toting gangster-in-training who is obsessed with television; and Charlie Bucket, Our Hero, a boy who is honest and kind, brave and true, and good and ready for the wildest time of his life!

"Rich in humour, acutely observant, Dahl lets his imagination rip in fairyland." —The New York Times 

Roald Dahl (1916–1990) was born in Llandaff, South Wales, and went to Repton School in England. His parents were Norwegian, so holidays were spent in Norway. As he explains in Boy, he turned down the idea of university in favour of a job that would take him to "a wonderful faraway place." In 1933 he joined the Shell Company, which sent him to Mombasa in East Africa. When World War II began in 1939, he became a fighter pilot and in 1942 was made assistant air attaché in Washington, where he started to write short stories. His first major success as a writer for children was in 1964. Thereafter his children's books brought him increasing popularity, and when he died, children mourned the world over, particularly in Britain where he had lived for many years.

Quentin Blake's first book, Patrick, was published in 1968 and was followed by classics such as Mister Magnolia, All Join In, and Clown. He is best known for illustrating Roald Dahl’s books. A patron of the Association of Illustrators, he was awarded the Kate Greenaway Medal in 1980 and the international Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2002, and was the inaugural British Children’s Laureate from 1999 to 2001.

Recommended for ages 8-12.