Charlie & The Great Glass Elevator (Novel Study)

By Keith Whittington

Charlie & the Great Glass Elevator is about the continuing adventures of Charlie Bucket and Willy Wonka, and starts where Charlie and the Chocolate Factory left off. Charlie, Mr. Wonka, Charlie's parents and his grandparents set off on a fantastic but frightening journey into space. The purpose of this trip is to return to Earth with great speed and force in order to create a huge hole in the Chocolate Factory roof. Entering a space hotel, teasing a U.S. President, battling the dreaded vermicious knids, saving a shuttle and its occupants, and traveling to Minusland are some of the adventures the crew of the Glass Elevator experience. This Novel Study provides a teacher and student section with a variety of activities, chapter questions, crossword, word search, and answer key to create a well-rounded lesson plan.

• Language: English
• Publisher: CCP Interactive
• Release date: Jan 1, 2008
• ISBN: 9781553192961

Book preview

Reviews for Charlie & The Great Glass Elevator (Novel Study)

[howifeelaboutbooks · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I remembered this story more than the Chocolate Factory, and loved how totally off the wall it is. Dahl is such an imaginative author!

[gilroy_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Rolled right from the first to the second book of this series. I thought the original Charlie book was a touch out there. This one makes that first one read like a sane storyline. Shoot, this makes Monty Python seem normal. OMG!I've had trouble even developing thoughts on what direction this book went. Quickly down hill, that's for sure. WEIRD is not even a good word. Dahl had to be on some major substances when he wrote this book.Thought process: If the Buckets were mostly eating cabbage soup, wouldn't they have had propulsion from all that gas released when it finished digesting?

[sr510 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

There are those who claim that Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator is a sequel to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and ought to be considered part of the canon of the first book. Let's just say I disagree.

[andrew1theqm · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

2.5 A let down for me after Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

[marie2830-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This sequel was really cute, but at the same time... You sit wondering what the HELL is going on. It is very trippy and weird, but that is the spirit of Dahl i guess. :)

[sueincyprus · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Sequel to 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory', and best read after that as it would be very odd as a stand-alone. It's bizarre enough anyway - and, in my view, a bit disappointing in that it tells us very little about what happens to the Bucket family after Charlie's windfall at the end of the first book.Instead, much of this book takes place in space, where some most unpleasant aliens are encountered. There's some humour, inevitably, and the pace is good; but once this section has passed, and the elevator returns the family to the chocolate factory, it goes downhill fast (in my view).However my four-year-old grandson loves everything by Dahl, and although he's heard this at least twice before, asked me to read it to him after finishing 'Charlie and the Chocolate factory'. I'm sure quite a bit went over his head, but it didn't matter.

[engpunk77 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Unable to read; Charlie & the family are flying in the great glass elevator through space and onto weird fictional planets--ugh!

[jmredgate · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love how Roald Dahl can make a political commentary into a children's book. Also loved how relavent it still is. Reads like it was written yesterday.

[sirroger · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This one is not a classic. It's kind of funny, but mostly just silly. Not a lot happens, and the whole back-and-forth age potion thing is kind of dumb. I did enjoy the silly president, though.

[juliaellen_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

While it is good in its own right, it is a disappointing sequel to such an impressive predecesor.

[stipe168 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

underated sequel to charlie and the chocolate factory. takes place in space, and has all the dahl wit and charm attached to it. willy wonka is on of the greatest literary inventions ever.

[hackmac_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

As usual, Roald Dahl's story-telling prowess shone once again in this sequel to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I'm in awe at Roald Dahl's natural talent to write books. Really, he's amazing.

[shmuel510_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

There are those who claim that Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator is a sequel to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and ought to be considered part of the canon of the first book. Let's just say I disagree.

[booklove2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is quite a departure from the first book. Into the atmosphere! It reminded me of Douglas Adams. You can't beat the first book, however. This one doesn't have much to do with the Chocolate Factory, so I'm sure that is why it isn't as much of a hit. Those knids are vicious. The grandparents are also along for the ride... bed and all.

[katieloucks · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Wish they made a movie about this!!!!

[kings8_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I like how this book was written

[echobrain_1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

It's almost cheering to realise, upon reading this sequel to the utterly fantastic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, that Roald Dahl was human after all and was perfectly capable of writing some utter rubbish. This really is poor stuff with a very weak plot that makes little sense, even in Dahl's twisted universe. Why is it that no-one in the USA government recognises Willy Wonka after the worldwide event of the Golden Ticket chasing in the previous book?? To be honest, the humourous and even allegorical representation of the US government and military is this book's only saving grace.

[deldevries · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fantastic story. The audio version has a special appeal due to the drama in the reader's voice and tone. This is a great book when you need a laugh at ridiculousness that sometimes is pretty close to real life (at least in August 2017).

[flouncyninja · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Charlie and the Space Aliens became Charlie and the Really Grumpy Grandparents midway. The fun and humor from the first book seemed completely lacking in this sequel. Perhaps if the grandparents didn't complain so much, the story could have flowed more easily, but instead I found myself not wanting to continue after the glass elevator made it back to the factory.

[takeitorleaveit_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

read this one separately and well after I Read the original. I read this in 5th grade during my aloof stage. i didn't like my 5th grade class. I kept very much to myself and my thoughts that year. it was the year i became hysterical and started analyzing everything around me. this book was right up my alley, about a boy and his role model flying high in the sky alone with nothing to do but fiddle with gadgets and discuss the deep blue earth below them.

[natalieleclerc · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

ganenteid to make you laugh till your gasping for breath

[imperfectcj · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I read this aloud to my kids. They loved it almost as much as they loved Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but I wasn't as impressed. This one took a kind of strange sci-fi turn, which is fine, but I like it better when the story focuses on foodstuffs.

[grapeapril75-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fantastic book for kids! So imaginative and creative. Easy read that children will find delightful!

Roald Dahl is always brilliant! His stories and rhymes are fun and entertaining! Some of my all time favorites!! Such a great way to entertain children and get them interested in reading!

[sarafwilliams-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Oh no... this is proof most authors should stick with one book and not go on creating duologies, trilogies or whatever. Because Charlie and the Great Glass Elevater, my friends, was totally unnecessary. After giving the first book a big 5 star rating, I instantly picked up this one and was dissappointed.
It's not that the story isn't good, it's just that in comparison to the first one it doesn't even come close in terms of greatness. Whilst the first one is a wonderful story, this one is just trying to be as weird as possible. This could have easily been resumed and put into the first volume.
I didn't find their time in space enjoyable to read, neither was I overly excited about the descriptions about the aging pills.

[nosajeel · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Although not as good as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the Great Glass Elevator still is entertaining and has much the same sensibility. It begins exactly where the Chocolate Factory ended, with Willy Wonka and the entire Bucket family in the great glass elevator--and three of the grandparents still in bed where they stay for most of this book as well. It begins with a science fiction adventure as the glass elevator goes into orbit, encounters deadly space creatures, and saves a bunch of astronauts. The second half centers around Wonka-vita and Vita-Wonk, drugs that can make you multiples of twenty years younger and twenty years older. In Chocolate Factory fashion the grandparents take various combinations of these, ignoring all directions and common decency, end up temporarily punished by bearing the consequences of their actions, but eventually all recover. As in the first book, Charlie is the decent enthusiastic one. It ends with them all heading off to meet the President of the United States.

What makes this book less special than Chocolate Factory is that it does not have the same timeless, mythical style but feels a little more dated in a time and place (especially with the many scenes with the U.S. President). And Charlie is a more static character, beginning and ending the book with much the same understanding and wonder but not really learning or discovering much along the way. And Grandpa Joe is more absent. So it is less a sequel in which everything develops further and more a spinoff that takes a bunch of familiar characters on a new adventure. But it is certainly a great adventure.

[benuathanasia · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I don't have nearly enough suspension of disbelief to make most of Dahl's work palatable. This is no exception. It's ridiculous without being funny and stupid without being interesting.

[snukes-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I want an elevator like this. All the same, not as good as the first.

[dukefan86 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this follow-up to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory way back in elementary school, though it didn't have quite the charm of "Chocolate Factory." It reminds me of the Harry Potter series that way, in that I enjoyed all of the Potter books, but the very first one had a special charm in introducing me to that special world.

[amberthehuman · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Well, that was racist. Nonetheless, onto more Dahl!

[snapdragongirl · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the sequel to the book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Charlie and his family get into the glass elevator of Mr. Wonka. He takes them up high in the sky intending to go through the roof of his chocolate factory. However, an accident occurs and the elevator are sent into outer space. They meet up with the Space Hotel “U.S.A.,” a recently built hotel floating in orbit around Earth. But a group of shape-shifting aliens attack.After fighting off the aliens, the elevator returns to the chocolate factory. Mr. Wonka gives Charlie’s grandparents Wonka-Vite to reduce their age, which only leads to further disaster. This book is not as good as its predecessor, but it does have its charms. There are a good deal of puns and jokes, making this a similarly light read. The first part reminded me of a youth version of some of Douglas Adam’s books – sci-fi taken humorously. Although it is humorous, I feel the plotline is a bit weak. While Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is one complete story, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator is more of a few anecdotes about the characters from the first book. However, it is still a worthwhile read.