“These two very old people are the father and mother of Mr. Bucket.”

From Ronald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

The Bucket family is poor; very, very poor.  Charlie lives with his parents and both sets of grandparents (Grandpa Joe, Grandma Josephine, Grandpa George, and Grandma Georgina) in a small shack.  What the family lacks in finances, they more than make up for in love.  When it is announced that Willy Wonka (creator and owner of huge candy company) will be opening his ultra-private factory up to five contest-winning children and their guardians, the world goes crazy.  To win, children just have to find one of five golden tickets wrapped around a chocolate Wonka Bar; sales of the chocolate quickly goes through the roof and through a bit of random luck, Charlie is one of the five winners.  Grandpa Joe joins Charlie on the tour and the two Buckets are quickly introduced to the less-than-well-behaved other winners.  As they begin the tour, Mr. Wonka gives a few simple rules that the visitors must follow.  Willy Wonka leads the group through various areas of his amazing and unbelievable factory, but the other children begin to break Wonka’s rules as their barely-contained misbehavior is forgotten.  Every moment that Charlie spends with Mr. Wonka is an adventure, but it leaves Charlie wondering what is really going on at the factory.

This classic story is filled with a level of captivating wonder that it is no surprise that the story has remained so popular.  The story is fairly simple, but Dahl manages to create a complex story that keeps readers riveted until the very end.  The characters are very unique, but also relatable in their behaviors; this allows the reader the opportunity to reflect without feeling the need to squirm. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a book that has stood the test of time because it manages to be both fun and heartfelt.