Sibeal Pounder’s Wonka is a sweet and very silly story for 9 year olds about a young Willy Wonka arriving in the big city with twelve silver coins and a head full of chocolate ideas.<\/p>\n
Willy grew up on a tiny narrowboat with his mum. They were so poor she saved all year for the cocoa beans to make him ONE chocolate bar on his birthday. She also had a secret about chocolate she promised to tell him one day.<\/p>\n
Seven years later he steps off a fishing boat (well, dives off a crane) ready to open a shop at the Galeries Gourmet. By nightfall he has nothing left. A shoeshine boy, a squashed pumpkin and a fine for daydreaming have taken the lot.<\/p>\n
Yes, a fine for daydreaming. There’s a sign. Willy is a dreamer, so you can guess how that goes.<\/p>\n
Things get worse at Scrubitt and Bleacher’s guesthouse. Mrs Scrubitt has something slimy moving between her teeth and offers him a glass of worm water. She also has a very long contract with some very small print.<\/p>\n
Willy can’t read it. So he signs, and soon he’s stirring vats in a steamy washhouse with a room full of other guests who made the same mistake. The only one looking out for him is Noodle, the grumpy servant girl who tried to warn him.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile three famous chocolate makers called Slugworth, Fickelgruber and Prodnose have their eyes on him. Their shop windows are full of rows and rows of exactly the same plain chocolate.<\/p>\n
It’s a book that loves a daft moment. Willy pulls a teapot out of his hat, then some carrots, and then something inside it neighs. It’s full of grown-ups who are gloriously revolting too. If your reader enjoys a baddie you can really boo, Mrs Scrubitt licking gloop off her worm-water glass will do nicely.<\/p>\n
Under the silliness there’s a gentle thread about his mum. He carries her old chocolate wrapper in his pocket and talks to her as he walks in. It’s lovely rather than sad.<\/p>\n
If this one goes down well, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is waiting in the library. Charlie Bucket gets one small bar of chocolate a year on his birthday too, and he makes it last for more than a month.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sibeal Pounder’s Wonka is a sweet and very silly story for 9 year olds about a young Willy Wonka arriving in the big city with twelve silver coins and a head full of chocolate ideas. Willy grew up on a tiny narrowboat with his mum. They were so poor she saved all year for the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":10116,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"lr_next_read_post_id":7065,"lr_next_read_anchor":"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory","lr_seo_hook":"A penniless dreamer, a greasy landlady and a contract with tiny print."},"book_tag":[27],"age_group":[24],"book_type":[1044],"book_author":[1133],"class_list":["post-9785","our-books","type-our-books","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","book_tag-fantasy-books","age_group-books-for-9-year-olds","book_type-paid","book_author-sibeal-pounder"],"yoast_title":"Wonka by Sibeal Pounder | Little Reads","yoast_metadesc":"A penniless dreamer, a greasy landlady and a contract with tiny print. For ages 9+. 3,000+ books in the Little Reads app. 7-day free trial.","acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n