This is the very first book I had ever read. And then I read it again for a class book report. Not being a very good reader at all and, for the most part, faking it all through school - I loved everything about this story. I was disappointed with the Gene Wilder movie and much more disappointed that Tim Burton had made assumptions about Willie Wonka that I didn't believe were true in his movie. Older now, with children of my own, I've purchased this book and the Glass Elevator for my daughter who devours books unlike I ever had and, thankfully, more like her mother does. She's heard the story read to her in class, but she is enjoying it on her own now.