INTRODUCTION Guys! No need to think about it for a long time, buy this book immediately or take it from the library and read it. Just don’t read it in class, because the teacher will take the book away and read it herself. (Unless, of course, the director takes the book from her.) This book was written by the English writer Rowd Dahl. This is probably the funniest English writer of the last seventy years. And he is incredibly loved by English, American and all sorts of other children. Because his books have been circulating all over the world for a long time. And only his first book came to us. You will not like all the characters in this book. I'm afraid there are far from angels collected on these pages. But the main character, Charlie, is our man. He is absolutely poor and terribly honest. As for chocolate, there is so much of it on the pages of this book, and it is described so deliciously that while reading you will feel like people whose belly is filled with a whole box of chocolates. So, open the cover of this box... that is, books. And feel free to read it. If you come across unfamiliar names of candies and sweets, contact your parents and grandmothers. They remember them and will explain them to you. Your E. Uspensky