Chapter 1:
What did Charlie get for his birthday each year? Why didn't he open it right away?
Even if the author didn't tell us, we would know that the Bucket family was poor. List ALL the clues you can find that let's know the Bucket family is poor.
Chapter 2:
What was "the only bright thing" in the lives of the four old grandparents?
Which invention of Mr. Wonka's is your favorite? Why?
Describe Charlie's grandparents.
Chapter 3:
What advice did Mr. Wonka give to Prince Pondicherry?
What happened when he failed to follow that advice?
According to Grandpa Joe, what made Mr. Wonka's factory different from others?
Chapter 4:
Why did Mr. Wonka fire all of his old employees?
What clues did the townspeople have that Mr. Wonka’s factory was once again running?
How does Grandpa know that the spies were successful?
Why was Mr. Bucket so excited when he came home from work?
Chapter 5:
Why might this prize be especially important to Charlie?
Why did Grandpa George say, “There isn’t a hope.”?
Judge Mr. Wonka’s plan from a marketing point of view, do you think it’s right to run ads that encourage young children to buy products they might not be able to afford or that might not be good for them? Explain.
Chapter 6:
Do you think Veruca deserved to win the Golden Ticket? Why or why not?
How do you know that there is a “mad candy-buying spree”
How do you think Charlie feels waiting until the next day when he could open his candy bar?
Chapter 7:
As Charlie opened his candy bar, his parents hoped there might be a Golden Ticket inside. Why did they pretend to be very calm?
Were you surprised that Charlie's candy bar did not have the Golden Ticket? Why or why not?
Chapter 8:
Violet Beauregarde's mother criticized her for not acting ladylike. What do you think it means to be ladylike?
What was Violet's most prized possession?
Mike Teavee admired the gangsters he saw on TV. He especially liked those using guns and knives. If you could talk to Mike, what would you say to him?
Chapter 9
Where do you think Grandpa Joe got the silver ten-cent piece of money?
Charlie and Grandpa Joe burst into laughter. What, do you think, did they find so funny?
Chapter 10:
What happened that caused the Bucket family's situation to worsen?
Why did Charlie stay inside during recess when the other children went out to play in the snow?
Judge the fact that Charlie planned to spend part of the money he found on a candy bar. What would you have done?
Chapter 11:
In what kind of chocolate bar did Charlie find the Golden Ticket?
How did Charlie feel after he found the Golden Ticket?
What kind of man was the shopkeeper? Give evidence to support your opinion.
Chapter 12:
Why did Grandpa Joe ask Charlie if he was “pulling our legs” when Charlie said he had found the Golden Ticket?
Describe the effect that winning the Golden Ticket had upon Grandpa Joe. Give details from the story.
In your opinion, what is the most important aspect of Charlie’s prize?
Chapter 13:
Why did the policeman have to link their arms?
Why was it lucky that the children had brought their parents with them?
How was Charlie different from the other four children?
Describe the crowd.
Chapter 14:
Describe Mr. Wonka.
The author, Roald Dahl, used foreshadowing to give us a hint of things to come. Find where he did this.
Why had Mr. Wonka built his factory underground?
Chapter 15:
What was unique about the Chocolate Room and the way Mr. Wonka churned his chocolate?
What caused the children and their parents to stop picking the edible buttercups?
Chapter 16:
How did the Oompa-Loompas come to live in Mr. Wonka's factory?
What was the staple food of the Oompa-Loompas? Why did this make them especially suited to work in Mr. Wonka's factory?
Veruca Salt begged her father to "get her an Oompa-Loompa." If you were an Oompa-Loompa, how might you feel about Veruca's request?
Chapter 17:
Why did Mr. Wonka want Augustus to stay out of his Chocolate River?
Why did Augustus get stuck in the pipe? What finally shot him like a bullet through the pipe?
Into what did the Oompa-loompas want to turn Augustus? Do you think they were serious?
Chapter 18:
What did Mr. Wonka give to Charlie and Grandpa Joe that he didn’t give to the others? Why?
The author used a pun, or play on words, in Mr. Wonka’s statement: “A poached egg isn’t poached unless it’s been stolen from the woods in the dead of night.” Write two different meanings of the word “poached” that Mr. Wonka was playing upon?
The author used another pun when he referred to Violet as a “has bean.” What is the correct term? Use the expression in the original sentence, which is found on page 86.
Chapter 19:
Why was the Inventing Room “the most important room in the entire factory”?
Why did Mr. Wonka believe that Everlasting Gobstoppers would last forever?
Do you think that a candy manufacturer would really want to sell a candy that would last forever? Why or why not?
Chapter 20:
Why were the children and their parents so surprised when one piece of gum appeared?
Why was Violet the natural one to guess what the little grey strip was?
Describe the great gum machine. What did it look like?
Find the words in chapter 20 that are homographs (words that are spelled the same, sound the same, but have different meaning.) What are the words? Give a definition for each word.
Chapter 21:
Describe the unique aspect of the gum.
Why did Mr. Wonka ask Violet not to chew the gum?
Violet suffered a curious fate in this chapter. Explain what happened to her. According to Mr. Wonka, what did they have to do to Violet to repair her?
Chapter 22:
Who accompanied Mr. Wonka out of the Inventing Room and down the pink corridors?
According to Mr. Wonka, why didn’t they go into all the lovely rooms?
What was special about the Fizzy Lifting Drinks?
Chapter 23:
The author again used a play on words. What did Veruca mean when she said the sweets didn’t look “round”? What did Mr. Wonka mean when he said they did look “round”?
What did Mr. Wonka do when he came to the long flight of stairs? Do you think this was a strange thing for him to do?
Chapter 24:
Why did Mr. Wonka use squirrels to shell the walnuts?
Why do the squirrels peck at Veruca’s head?
Why did the squirrels throw Veruca down the garbage chute?
Whom did the Oompa-Loompas blame for Veruca’s behavior? Do you agree?
Chapter 25:
What made Mr. Wonka’s elevator different from others?
To what did Charlie compare his ride on Mr. Wonka’s elevator?
Would you like to take a ride on Mr. Wonka's great glass elevator? Why or why not?
Chapter 26:
Why weren’t the Oompa-Loompas singing as usual
According to Mr. Wonka, why did the chocolate bar have to be enormous in order for him to send it through the TV?
Predict what will happen to Mike Teavee in the next chapter.
Chapter 27:
What did Mr. Wonka fear might happen to Mike as he was sent by television?
Why did Mrs. Teavee disagree with Mr. Wonka when he said that Mike had come out of the television set unharmed?
According to the Oompa-Loompas, what might happen if parents threw away their television sets?
Chapter 28:
What was surprising about Mr. Wonka’s statement: “But my dear boy, that means you’ve won”?
What did Grandpa Joe fear when Mr. Wonka pushed the “Up and Out” button on the elevator?
Whom did Mr. Wonka see from 1,000 feet in the sky?
Chapter 29:
Summarize what had become of each of the four other children.
Of the four children who were sent home, which one would you rather be? Why?
Which of the four children would you least like to be? Why?
Chapter 30:
What, do you think, was Mr. Wonka’s real reason for sending out the Golden Tickets?
Why was Charlie afraid his mother wouldn’t come along? How did Mr. Wonka solve that problem?
Do you think Mr. Wonka made a good decision in choosing Charlie to own and run the factory? Explain.