What a fun book! My children just ate it up. Charlie Bucket’s golden ticket adventure is full of excitement that had my children begging for just one more chapter. The character Charlie demonstrates is admirable. There are many beautiful lessons interwoven throughout the book through the unique cast of characters. One of my favorites is the lesson learned through the Oompa Loompa’s song about television. It was a 1964 prophetic glimpse at the dangers of the screen. Profound!
This book is great for all ages. My children were 8 and 10 when we first read it, but it would have been suitable years ago. We started with the Big Friendly Giant at least 3 years ago – and in hindsight, I would have flip-flopped them.
Gene Wilder’s 1971 Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is a great accompaniment to the book. You might want to check out the movie when you are done with the book! We have not watched the newer version yet.
You can find other family friendly movie recommendations on our Family Movie Night page.
The most important thing we've learned,
So far as children are concerned,
Is never, NEVER, NEVER let
Them near your television set —
Or better still, just don't install
The idiotic thing at all.
In almost every house we've been,
We've watched them gaping at the screen.
They loll and slop and lounge about,
And stare until their eyes pop out.
(Last week in someone's place we saw
A dozen eyeballs on the floor.)
They sit and stare and stare and sit
Until they're hypnotised by it,
Until they're absolutely drunk
With all that shocking ghastly junk.
Oh yes, we know it keeps them still,
They don't climb out the window sill,
They never fight or kick or punch,
They leave you free to cook the lunch
And wash the dishes in the sink —
But did you ever stop to think,
To wonder just exactly what
This does to your beloved tot?
IT ROTS THE SENSE IN THE HEAD!
IT KILLS IMAGINATION DEAD!
IT CLOGS AND CLUTTERS UP THE MIND!
IT MAKES A CHILD SO DULL AND BLIND
HE CAN NO LONGER UNDERSTAND
A FANTASY, A FAIRYLAND!
HIS BRAIN BECOMES AS SOFT AS CHEESE!
HIS POWERS OF THINKING RUST AND FREEZE!
HE CANNOT THINK — HE ONLY SEES!
'All right!' you'll cry. 'All right!' you'll say,
'But if we take the set away,
What shall we do to entertain
Our darling children? Please explain!'
We'll answer this by asking you,
'What used the darling ones to do?
'How used they keep themselves contented
Before this monster was invented?'
Have you forgotten? Don't you know?
We'll say it very loud and slow:
THEY… USED… TO… READ! They'd READ and READ,
AND READ and READ, and then proceed
To READ some more. Great Scott! Gadzooks!
One half their lives was reading books!
The nursery shelves held books galore!
Books cluttered up the nursery floor!
And in the bedroom, by the bed,
More books were waiting to be read!
Such wondrous, fine, fantastic tales
Of dragons, gypsies, queens, and whales
And treasure isles, and distant shores
Where smugglers rowed with muffled oars,
And pirates wearing purple pants,
And sailing ships and elephants,
And cannibals crouching 'round the pot,
Stirring away at something hot.
(It smells so good, what can it be?
Good gracious, it's Penelope.)
The younger ones had Beatrix Potter
With Mr. Tod, the dirty rotter,
And Squirrel Nutkin, Pigling Bland,
And Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle and-
Just How The Camel Got His Hump,
And How the Monkey Lost His Rump,
And Mr. Toad, and bless my soul,
There's Mr. Rat and Mr. Mole-
Oh, books, what books they used to know,
Those children living long ago!
So please, oh please, we beg, we pray,
Go throw your TV set away,
And in its place you can install
A lovely bookshelf on the wall.
Then fill the shelves with lots of books,
Ignoring all the dirty looks,
The screams and yells, the bites and kicks,
And children hitting you with sticks-
Fear not, because we promise you
That, in about a week or two
Of having nothing else to do,
They'll now begin to feel the need
Of having something to read.
And once they start — oh boy, oh boy!
You watch the slowly growing joy
That fills their hearts. They'll grow so keen
They'll wonder what they'd ever seen
In that ridiculous machine,
That nauseating, foul, unclean,
Repulsive television screen!
And later, each and every kid
Will love you more for what you did.
~ Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
“‘What day is it?’ asked Pooh. ‘It’s today,’ squeaked Piglet. ‘My favorite day’ said Pooh.” This quote by A.A. Milne was one of my favorites when my children were small. Oh how I cherished each and every day! I still do.
It was an early March morning, one I remember so vividly. We spent the morning gathered around the breakfast table reading the Bible, memorizing scripture and skimming the surface of liquids and solids. Once the wiggles set in, I knew it was time to head outdoors. I gathered up my then two and three year old, and we set off on an adventure. We had two ponds behind our house. As we approached the first one, we noticed its edges were just beginning to reveal the effects of the Rocky Mountain spring thaw. The frozen center held tight to the anticipation of the inevitable spring just around the corner. We explored craw daddies along the shoreline, tossed rocks onto the frozen center to determine the weight it would take to break, and watched the Canadian Geese land and skate across the ice like skilled figure skaters. The example of the solid pond slowly returning to its liquid state was a beautiful demonstration of our ability to learn science through nature study. I was content with the day’s lesson and decided we would continue to keep monitoring the pond until it fully thawed.
Months later on a cold Colorado January night, our patience, perseverance and faithfulness were rewarded, as hooting lured us outdoors. The synchronization of the moonlight and leafless trees, made the invisible – visible. A season of barrenness revealed the bounty that was always within – a great horned owl! Majestic, awe inspiring and mysterious – this beautiful creature had us captivated. The condensation that once formed a cloud as we exhaled, ceased as we held our breath in anticipation. Moments later a distant mate answered the call, and a harmonious courtship ensued. We stood their shivering only to be released from our trance as the owl silently took flight and disappeared into the dark.
From that night forward, we became increasingly proficient at spotting our resident owls. We would begin to anticipate their hooting courtship each January. Yet, their babies remained unseen. The evergreens do not reveal their contents in the winter as do their deciduous counterparts. Patience, perseverance and faithfulness were once again rewarded, this time in the final hours. Fast forward five years. All of our belongings have been packed into boxes, as we anticipated a move to the Midwest. We went outside to soak up all we could of springtime in the Rockies. As the children ran with their oldest sister under the pine trees, they discovered a tiny, white, down feather… and then another. Much like the owl pellets that drew our attention to the trees years ago, the white down seemed to be an invitation to look up. Not far from the scattered down, high up in the evergreens, they discovered two fuzzy white owl babies! It felt like the grand finale to a five year study! God is so good and He always finishes what He starts. Was our curiosity quenched with the satisfaction of a completed lesson? Hardly! It had simply ignited an unquenchable fire that will last a lifetime.
