Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator (Library Binding)

by Roald Dahl (Author) "THE LAST TIME WE SAW CHARLIE, he was riding high above his home town in the Great Glass Elevator..." (more)
Key Phrases: booster rockets, Grandpa Joe, Grandma Georgina, Grandma Josephine (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Picking right up where Charlie and the Chocolate Factory left off, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator continues the adventures of Charlie Bucket, his family, and Willy Wonka, the eccentric candy maker. As the book begins, our heroes are shooting into the sky in a glass elevator, headed for destinations unknown. What follows is exactly the kind of high-spirited magical madness and mayhem we've all come to expect from Willy Wonka and his creator Roald Dahl. The American space race gets a send-up, as does the President, and Charlie's family gets a second chance at childhood. Throw in the Vermicious Knids, Gnoolies, and Minusland and we once again witness pure genius. (Ages 9 to 12) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
Dahl’s phenomenal popularity among children speaks for his breathless storytelling charms. -- Publishers Weekly --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Baby-Preschool
  
• Library Binding: 176 pages
• Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers; 1 ed edition (September 12, 1972)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 039492472X
• ISBN-13: 978-0394924724
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (106 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,111,952 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An interesting follow-up to a classic, August 25, 2001

By	Simon (Brampton, ON) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator (Paperback)

I remember in 2nd grade when our teacher read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to the class. It had such an effect on us that when we spotted Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator in the school library, we were all scrambling over each other to get it (I got it first). Looking back, while this book is still good, it lacks the central focus and charm that the original had. I did not expect the focus to be on the chocolate factory, since the title clearly says 'Great Glass Elevator'. However, the elevator only features in the first-half the book when everyone gets launched into space. This might have been a good idea for another book, but here it seems odd and rather dragged-out. With the second part of the book, the gang returns to Earth and mess around with Wonka-vite, an age-restoring miracle drug that gets badly abused. This part is much better, since we get to learn a bit more about the factory. Overall, I would have been much more pleased if Dahl had made the book longer and divided it into several seperate short stories. Together, the two seperate plots don't connect at all. Grandma Georgina also proved to be a bitter character and not sympathetic at all. Also, I hope that there is a version out there that still contains the original drawings in the book. Nothing against Quentin Blake, but the original sketches were classic.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Made me Laugh!, July 6, 2000

By	"saj888" (Baltimore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator Audio (Audio Cassette)

This book made me laugh a lot. To understand it better you should read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. This time, Willie Wonka has taken Charlie's whole family into outer space in the great glass elevator. The grandparents made me laugh the most, especially when they yell at Mr. Wonka. Mr. Wonka is his craziest ever in this book! They have to save the space station from being squashed by aliens, though! Watch out for Willie Wonka in this hilarious book.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars very funny, June 6, 2002

By	Alice Fielding "kangarunitarian" (Norman, OK USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator (Paperback)

This is a funny, funny book! The story is not as good as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but this book is MUCH funnier.

I've read from some of the other reviewers' comments that their children didn't really like this book because the dialogue was over their heads. That may well be true--I read this book for the first time as a teenager. I read it out loud to my parents and all three of us were practically rolling on the floor!

I think this is a great book, for what it's worth.