Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

Roald Dahl is the author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and is one of the UK’s favourite children’s authors. He has written a wealth of children’s books that have been enjoyed by generations, including James and the Giant Peach, The Witches, The BFG, Matilda and many more. The success of the books has meant that several have been made into films and shows,

If you enjoy reading the book, you can also take a series of trips that will help you discover more about the author and also about chocolate factories! To discover more about Roald Dahl, the man and his books, take a trip to the wonderful little Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre in Great Missenden in Buckinghamshire. Here you can see the original writing hut where Dahl did his writing, with the huge board that he wrote balanced on his armchair with an arc curved out around his abdomen. The shed was moved piece by piece from the garden to the museum. The museum has recently been refurbished and has lots of interactive displays for children to enjoy. You can also visit his grave in the nearby churchyard of St Peter and St Paul’s Church in Great Missenden.

If you take a trip to Cardiff Bay, you can visit the Norwegian church where Dahl and his sisters were christened (their parents were Norwegian) and also see Roald Dahl Plas, named after the author, where the splendid Welsh Assembly Building and Wales Millenium Centre, with a performing arts centre are to be found.

Dahl did not enjoy his school days. He started school from ages 7 to 9 at The Cathedral School in Landaff where he describes in his book “boy” the frequent visits to the local sweetshop. He later moved to Repton Boarding School in Derbyshire and it was here that he and his school-friends would enjoy the boxes of chocolates sent from the nearby Cadbury’s factory for boys to sample and comment on. This was to spark the idea for Dahl of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, as Dahl’s ambition was to invent a chocolate bar that Mr Cadbury himself would praise. During Dahl's young years, chocolate companies would try to steal each other's secret recipes. Dahl brought his idea to life with the publication of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in 1964, telling the story of poor Charlie Bucket who finds a golden ticket in a chocolate wrapper and wins a trip to see inside Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory.

For a great day out, you can take a trip to Cadbury World in Birmingham and see the chocolate factory and learn about the history and development of the chocolate industry, the manufacturing process, have fun in the interactive displays and visit the World’s Biggest Cadbury Shop.

About an hour’s drive from Birmingham is Alton Towers, a theme park that is a major UK tourist attraction and here you can visit Roald Dahl land, a £8 million pound ride, where you can see the fantastic landscape, travel in a boat around Willy Wonka’s factory and see the Oompa-Loompas and take a ride in a glass elevator.

Fans of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory can enjoy film versions of the book which bring it to life, the original 1971 musical, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, directed by Mel Stuart, featuring Gene Wilder and the Tim Burton version of the film released in 2005, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, featuring Jonny Depp.

There are also video games based on the book, with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 1985 video game being released for the ZX spectrum and the 2005 video game which is suitable for various platforms, including Xbox, Playstation2, Nintendo Gamecube, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS, Gameboy Advance and Windows.

If you want to imagine some of the confectionery that Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory might have produced, why not have a look at this website. You might find some great ideas if you are having a party with a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory theme.