Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator
By: Roald Dahl
My Rating: Three out of Five Stars
Best for: 10 and up

The ELEVATOR was what deserved as sequel?

I LOVE Roald Dahl’s stories. They’re a treasure and they deserve to be part of every childhood. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is probably #1 on my list.

Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator though? Meh. It’s just okay.

I read it as a pre teen, and I have clear memories of it that are very positive! It makes up the my reading genome, and so I’m grateful for it. I re-read it recently with my 7-year-old, and while my young one enjoyed it, the grown-up me was annoyed.

Here’s what I think:

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was published in 1964. Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator was published in 1972. Why wait nearly a decade? Because of Hollywood.

Gene Wilder’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the movie, was released in 1971. (I think it’s wonderful. Roald Dahl hated it). So how to capitalize on the buzz? Write a sequel! Of course, it should be about Charlie learning the secrets to running his new chocolate factory, right? With more Oompa Loompas, fun candy, life lessons, kind parents and grandparents, and Charlie learning to live with his new wealth?

No. Let’s make it take place in space, and have aliens. And we should make Charlie’s grandparents and parents awful and whiny. Oh, and we should include the President of the United States as a main character. And the Elevator? Of course! That was the most important part of the first book. Let’s make it the star of the sequel, and lets give it unrealistic powers like space flight and indestructability!

So…ya. The magic from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory vanished from it’s sequel. As a stand alone story, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator is fine. It’s silly, over the top, and has plenty of fun moments. But when compared to the greatness of the Chocolate Factory, it’s like taking a big bite of baking chocolate.

Blah.

Let your kids read it, they’ll love it! Best for 10 and under as a read aloud, 10 and up as a read alone.

Happy Reading!