Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Charlie lived in an apartment with his mom, dad and grandparents. His family was very poor and they could barely put together enough money to afford food. One day, however, there was news of a competition in which five golden tickets would be put inside of five different Willy Wonka’s chocolate bars. The winners of the competition would receive a trip to the chocolate factory. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is the story of Charlie’s attempts to win the competition. More than anything else, Charlie loved Willy Wonka’s chocolate so everyone in his family had expected him to win when he received a chocolate bar for his birthday. Unfortunately, he didn’t win but one lucky day his luck changed. Charlie had been wistfully walking down the street when he found a dollar bill on the curb. He spent it at a nearby convenience store and he was astounded and overjoyed when he discovered the golden ticket inside of his chocolate bar. Charlie, accompanied by his Grandpa Joe, was whisked into the incredible world of the chocolate factory in which they and the four other winners were entertained by Willy Wonka and the factory workers who were known as the Oompa-Loompas. While in the factory, Charlie encountered many incredible things like a chocolate river, a machine that could put people into a television and nut-cracking and surprisingly vicious squirrels. I would recommend this hilarious story for someone who loves light-hearted and hilarious stories where surprise and laughter always lurk around the next corner.

Danny the Champion of the World

Ever since Danny’s mother died, Danny and his father had to live by themselves in a small caravan in the woods next to Danny’s dad’s auto repair shop. More than anybody else, Danny loved his father but then, one night, he discovered that he had a dark secret. Danny the Champion of the World is the story of how this secret affects the lives of Danny and his father. The secret was that Danny’s father was a poacher and before Danny was born he and Danny’s mother used to go out to the woods together and poach pheasants. Danny’s father, however, had made a vow that he would not go poaching again until Danny was old enough to not panic when he realized that his dad was gone. Once Danny’s Dad had explained this, Danny immediately became hooked on poaching. He was even more delighted when he found out that his grandfather had been one of the greatest poachers ever and that he had discovered the best ways of catching a pheasant. After injuring himself while poaching one night, Danny’s father became more and more determined to continue poaching. Together, Danny and his father attempted to pull off the greatest poaching spree that anyone had ever seen, but would they succeed? I would recommend this story for anyone who likes hilarious father-and-son adventures in which you never know where the story will take you.

Matilda

When Matilda was 2, it was obvious that she was special because that was the age at which she learned how to read. At the age of 5 her parents didn’t even care that she already knew her multiplication tables because they didn’t believe her. In Matilda, the main character is misunderstood by her parents, who refuse to believe that she is special in any way. Matilda’s parents, upon hearing from one of her father’s customers about a school that she owns, immediately enroll their daughter. Matilda immediately began to hate the principal, Ms.Trunchbull, because of how horrible she was to her students. However, she did like her teacher, Ms. Honey, who was very kind to her and who seemed to share her interests. When Matilda discovered that she had an incredible ability that she didn’t know about herself, she immediately set out using it to protect her school from the horrible Ms.Trunchbull. Matilda’s gift was astounding but the question that all readers of this story ask themselves is whether or not it is enough to defeat terrifying and powerful Agatha Trunchbull. I recommend this hilarious and intense story for anybody who likes a story of not giving up even when the prospect of success is incredibly bleak and achieving your goal will be incredibly hard.

James and the Giant Peach

James lived with his horrible Aunts Spiker and Sponge who exploited him by making him do their chores while they made fun of him despite how hard he tried to please them. James is the main character in James and the Giant Peach, which is the story of how a young orphan tries to gain freedom and feel what it is like to have real friends. One day, James met an old man who told him a secret about a bunch of magical seeds that he possessed. The man gave the seeds to James, but James dropped the seeds and he couldn’t follow the man’s instructions because the magical seeds had ended up deep underground. However, the seeds did have an effect. The peach tree that had been in the back yard grew a massive fruit that was the size of a small house. One day, James found a small tunnel on the bottom of the peach that he followed until he found a small door that led to the inside of the peach stone. James entered through the door and was amazed by the fascinating creatures that he found inside. There was a massive (and very kind) spider, a jovial and mischievous centipede and a handsome old grasshopper who was an excellent violinist. James embarked on an incredible voyage with these creatures, where he encountered many strange things like cloudmen, vicious sharks and, of course, a very “peachy” voyage. I would recommend this story for everybody who is a fan of adventures in which you never know where the next event will take the story.

Josh Stiefel is a fifth grader at Yeshivat Noam. He’s been known to devour books. He also likes apple kugel.

Josh Stiefel