Charlie and the Christmas Factory and Other Stories: Inspired by the Characters of Roald Dahl

by Adam Hills (Contributor), Adam Kay (Contributor), Ben Bailey Smith (Contributor)

Why is Matilda worried about being on the naughty list?


What happens when years after the creation of his original marvellous medicine George’s granddaughter Gigi decides to make her own potion? And how does Charlie plan to celebrate Christmas at the chocolate factory?


A magical and hilarious collection from 13 bestselling, much-loved storytellers. Perfect for Christmas Eve, this collection features 12 brand-new short stories based on their author’s favourite Roald Dahl characters.


Discover George’s Marvellous Medicine as told by bestseller, Adam Kay. Laugh yourself silly with Greg James and Chris Smith's take on The Twits. Dive into Hannah Gold's The Fantastic Mr Fox and celebrate Konnie Huq's Danny the Champion of the World.

Genres: Fiction, Childrens, Christmas

533 pages, Hardcover

Published October 24, 2024

About the author

Adam Hills is an Australian comedian and television presenter. Known in Australia for hosting the music and quiz show Spicks and Specks and the talk show Adam Hills Tonight, he became known for his combination of positive uplifting comedy and spontaneity - seeing him receive a number of awards and glowing reviews along the way. In 2012, he hosted a one-off series for Channel 4 airing over 2012 London Paralympics called The Last Leg. Now in its 12th series, the show is one of the most popular shows in the UK. He lives in London with his wife and two daughters.

Reviews

[Sharah McConville · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Christmas anthology contains twelve short stories inspired by the works of Roald Dahl. My son and I read this huge book together and it took us almost half the year to get through! The mixture of stories, by different authors, ranged from good to fantastic so we are giving this book 4 stars, overall.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charlie and the Christmas Factory is a bumper book of stories, inspired by the works of Roald Dahl. The contributors include children's writers as well as those who were originally famous for something else first (Greg James is one example). All of the tales have some illustrations as well, and all have a Christmas twist.

As with nearly any collection of short stories, there are some here which are more satisfying than others. My personal favourites were Charlie and the Christmas Factory; The Crinklemas Phizzwizard and Matilda and the Naughty List.

I loved Roald Dahl as a child, and this book was a nice way to go back and revisit some of the characters which he originally brought life to. If you read this, but haven't read the originals, I would recommend that you go and discover them at their source.

[Nadia Leona Yunis · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing book full of wonderful stories. A must for all Roald Dahl fans - young and old. The contemporary authors have done a brilliant job recreating the stories for the new generation. A story a day will get you through the twelve days of Christmas. And the books cover and illustrations are just so heart warming.

[SalScamander · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you loved the Roald Dahl books, then you’ll love this. It was a fun short Christmas read, with all your favourite stories adapted with settings in the future of each story. Lots of new characters, and fun adventures. I enjoyed reading this.

[Audrey Giacomin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the characters, it is as if Roald Dalh was here again ! And it is so much fun to see the typo sometimes adapting to the story.
Very cute and fun to read at xmas. Some stories are better than others but very nice overall. Would recommend for young adults and adults who want to stay young in mind !

[Toby Sutton-Long · Rating 4 out of 5]

While you can very easily tell this isn't Roald Dahl himself, these twelve authors very successfully capture the magic of the original novels, but with a 21st century twist. An anthology I plan to re-visit one day.

[Shannon Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

These stories are funny and do hold some of the charm that the stories written by Roald Dahl. However some of them did feel lacking but that might just be because they weren't aimed at me. I'll have to read this with my nieces and nephews as they grow.

[Joanne Hazeldine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book to my 8 year old. It was really nostalgic stepping back into the stories that formed such a big part of my childhood, especially the Danny the champion of the world story. Overall I felt the new authors did a great job of writing new stories but keeping the feel of the originals

[Larissa Hawkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is very good and it is lovely to see the different styles of literature.

[Samantha Broome · Rating 5 out of 5]

great little spin off of some of roald Dahl's popular characters. short stories and easy to read

[Jess Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was good some of the time as some stories was good and funny but some was boring.

[Patrickderaaff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Als kind heb ik een aantal boeken van Roald Dahl verslonden. Mijn favoriet is De Fantastische Meneer Vos. Een aantal zijn van 'na mijn tijd', dus verschenen toen ik geen kinderboeken meer las. De GVR en De Heksen heb ik alleen de films van gezien, andere figuren zijn totaal onbekend voor me.

Van de verhalen die ik wel ken hebben de nieuwe auteurs goed de sfeer van toen weten na te bootsen en het is een dikke plus dat het allemaal Kerstverhalen betreft. Een paar verhalen zijn iets minder sterk, maar dat krijg je altijd als verschillende mensen een bijdrage doen aan een verhalenbundel. Al met al is het echter een heerlijk, luchtig en feestelijk Kerstboek voor de mooiste tijd van het jaar.

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