Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator

Book review by Stephany Aulenback, Common Sense Media
Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 6+

Not up to the original, but entertaining.

Roald Dahl Science Fiction 1972
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Parents say

age 10+

Based on 4 reviews

Kids say

age 7+

Based on 8 reviews

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A Lot or a Little?

The parents' guide to what's in this book.

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What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that this book has vividly described, highly whimsical events, accompanied by clever sketches, but the story is a pale shadow of the original. It has highly descriptive -- and, at times, invented -- language, and references to the Cold War.

Community Reviews

kgolus
kgolus Adult
March 15, 2020
age 10+

High peril and death?

We read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory aloud to our 6- and 8-year-old kids, then quickly started this one because they liked that one so much. Bad idea! This book is not suitable for the same age range. Everyone ends up fine in the Chocolate Factory, but not the case here. I stopped when the chapter ahead included the entire world (through TV and radio) watching and listening to the screams of a space crew getting murdered by aliens who are also hunting Charlie and his family. Before that, peril was already higher than I was comfortable with and the characters didn’t have much charm. It seemed like he was banking on people liking Willy Wonka, Charlie, and his family enough from the first book that them being dull/useless in the second wouldn’t matter.

This title has:

Too much violence
1 person found this helpful.
artistmara
artistmara Adult
November 30, 2022
age 15+

racist presentation of character(s)

I am a teacher and began this book with a student after reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I really wished I previewed it and returned it. Around chapter two is the use of the word idiot. I regret continuing on. Around chapter 5, is a very racist depiction of a Chinese character who speaks with an accent in which he mispronounces and misuses English words in a silly way that demeans the culture. It is a very stereotyped, racist presentation and clearly outdated in the world we live in today. I had to put the book down and have a discussion with my student about racism because I felt morally obligated after reading that aloud. Our discussion was the great teachable moment of the experience but the book is trash. Plus there are explosions and slapstick violence described in the book.

This title has:

Too much violence
See all 4 parent reviews

What's the Story?

When we last saw Charlie, at the end of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, he was sailing through the sky with his family in Willy Wonka's Great Glass Elevator. At the beginning of this sequel, the flying Elevator accidentally hurtles into outer space, where a Commuter Capsule is shuttling its passengers to the Space Hotel U.S.A.

The Capsule's astronauts mistake the Elevator's passengers for aliens. But there are real aliens inside the Space Hotel--slimy Vermicious Knids. Mr. Wonka, Charlie, and his family escape just in time, but some of the Capsule's passengers not so lucky--several of them are killed. For a while, it looks like the aliens will get them all. But Mr. Wonka uses the Great Glass Elevator to get everyone safely back to earth, where the President, a bit of a buffoon, invites them to the White House.

Is It Any Good?

This zippy tale is enjoyable enough, but it doesn't live up to the promise of Roald Dahl's first tale of Charlie Bucket's adventures with Willy Wonka. The main problem is that the story just isn't as timeless as the first. Surely adults will recognize the sly satire of the American space program and the Cold War of the early '70s, but children probably won't.

What is timeless, though, is Dahl's irreverent wit and irrepressible imagination. Children will be charmed when Mr. Wonka uses bad nonsense poetry to convince astronauts and the gullible authorities back on Earth that he is an alien invader. Readers will also be thrilled by the real aliens, the inventively named Vermicious Knids, who are horrifyingly stretchy egg-shaped creatures with disgusting "greenish-brown skin of a shiny, wettish appearance." If your children haven't come across Charlie and the Chocolate Factory yet, make sure they read it first.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about aging. What do the grandparents learn from their experience with Wonka's pills?

Book Details

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