Charlie & the Chocolate Factory [Hardcover]

Roald Dahl (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Deliciously madcap mayhem and out-of-this-world fantasy--this is what you'll find within the casing of this boxed set of two of Roald Dahl's most brilliant creations: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator.

For decades, delighted readers of all ages have explored Willy Wonka's fabulous chocolate factory, met the Oompa Loompas, and sampled the chocolate river along with Augustus Gloop. And later, they have zoomed off into the stratosphere in the most remarkable elevator ever created. Now, a new generation of readers barely needs to pause between the first and the second of Roald Dahl's masterful volumes. Hardcover editions of each title, illustrated of course by the incomparable Quentin Blake, are tucked in a handy cardboard sleeve, ready for the next set of hungry eyes. Sadly, the convenience of the set is counterbalanced by the poor quality of the paper used for the books. Classics like these deserve thick, creamy, opaque pages; not the flimsy, rough, semitransparent sheets used here. (Ages 7 and older) --Emilie Coulter --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers (August 20, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679819401
• ISBN-13: 978-0679819400
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,224,246 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

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 favor 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.The BFG is dedicated to the memory of Roald Dahls eldest daughter, Olivia, who died from measles when she was seven - the same age at which his sister had died (fron appendicitis) over forty years before. Quentin Blake, the first Children's Laureate of the United Kingdom, has illustrated most of Roald Dahl's children's books.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Still love this set, March 22, 2002

By 

Mike "Squirrel Nutkin" (Fairfax, Virginia USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Roald Dahl/Charlie Boxed Set (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator) (Hardcover)

There are few books I actually WANT to pick up and read again just for the heck of it, and in this package you actually get 2! Many people have never even heard of the Great Glass Elevator, so this is a great way to expose them to it. I must have read each of these books a dozen times over the years and I never tire of them. As I grow older I am also seeing more and reading more into them then I ever noticed before, making each read more interesting than the next. Of course, if you plan on reading Chocolate Factory, be sure to have plenty of choclates around, you can't hardly help yourself.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Love the story but strongly dislike the illustrations, April 12, 2007

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Roald Dahl/Charlie Boxed Set (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator) (Hardcover)

Let me just start off by saying that I love Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. After seeing the movie version with Gene Wilder, I had to read the book, so I rented the ORGINIAL edition from my library and fell in love with it. Then I rented the sequel Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator and enjoyed it just as much.
My only complaint with this edition is the illustrations by Quentin Blake. Let me just be bluntly honest: they are horrible! They look as if a five year old drew them! I don't like the way any of the characters look, especially Willy Wonka. In Blake's illustrations they all look just poor, mediocre, stupid and dopey. They don't add to the book or enhance your visualization of the characters but detract from it. I don't expect Alan Lee-like drawings, just something a bit more better drawn and closer to the characters in the book.
The critic on Amazon calls the illustrator "the incomparable Blake." I'd like to choke when I read that. Incomparable? Yeah right. Just compare this one with the ORIGINAL illustrations by Joseph Schindelman and you'll see that Blake is definitely a big step down in quality. Joseph Schindelman, to me, really captured the goodness and innonence of Charlie and the delightfulness and lovablness of Willy Wonka in his illustrations, and more importantly, they match Roald Dahl's descriptions well. They look more like people and more like you imagined them to look like. When I think of Willy Wonka and Charlie, my mind goes back to the illustrations of Joseph Schindelman; there just better done and more like characters. They are much more charming than the stick figure we have with long nose and bug eyes in Blake's Wonka.
And this guy is a teacher? It looks to me like he needs to be taught a few art lessons. I bought this edition only because I love the story so much and had to have a copy, but now I'm really hoping to get the original edition with Joseph Schindelman as the illustrator.
Last word: somebody needs to fire this guy Blake. He's ruining Road Dahl's books!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sweeeeeee-eeet!, June 3, 2003

By 

peggyjo67 "PJ" (USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Roald Dahl/Charlie Boxed Set (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator) (Hardcover)

When I received my box set --my eyes nearly burst from the sockets. These books are absolutely PERFECT!

A must have for Roald Dahl fans -for sure. You have not experienced the Chocolate Factory until you have READ the book. For those that seem to thrive off the movie (and I love the movie, don't get me wrong) but the book -ahh, now you are going to get into the sinister mind of Dahl through these pages of delights. The character and their punishments are just a little more .....well, you be the judge and read the book!

Let's just say, Dahl is quite brutal but poetically just.

Charlie and the Glass Elevator is a bonus in this set!!

I highly encourage book lovers and Dahl fans alike to get this set --you will only find yourself as a child again enjoying the mystery and magic of Charlie's sweet adventure. These scrumptious delights will entertain even adults.

If you haven't read "Matilda" (which I classify Dahl's best work) you have truly deprived yourself. "The Witches" another of Dahl's handwork. These are only the icing on the cake of his works!

(the books are TOP quality and well worth the price -and then some)