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!
Rereading Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was such a delight! Not only did I get to spend time with one of my favourite characters of all time, Charlie Bucket, but I came across the quotation above. I could not agree with Roald Dahl more about the incredible power and potential of reading. As the latest brain research confirms, the ability to read and imagine is essential. It uses parts of the brain that remain idle during more passive viewing.
Brain research aside, it is the character of Charlie Bucket and his beloved Grandpa Joe (“Yippeee!”) that warms my heart. This humble, impoverished boy is so deserving of all the adventure and abundance that come his way. This is especially true when contrasted with peers like Augustus Gloop, Veruca Salt, Violet Beauregarde, and Mike Teavee, the unfortunate products of indulgent parenting and consumer excess.
Charlie’s rags-to-riches story is a triumph for goodness that warms heart, mind, and soul. Creative and fantastical in every way, I will never forget the first time I heard this story and the excitement when I first read it over for myself. This excitement, this enchantment, does not wane. At least for me. What about you?
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