Charlie and the Chocolate Factory pre-read

My memories of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory are connected very specifically to one person from my childhood: my fifth-grade teacher, Mr. Potter.

I was in Mr. Potter's first class at our school. I remember the gossip about him the summer before fifth grade: none of us had had a male teacher before, and we were all nervous and excited to hear that the new guy used to play football for the Edmonton Oilers. I am from a small town. This was big news. Visions of a huge, scary guy loomed over us all summer. I remember especially that the boys were very excited, speculating that the new teacher would just want to talk football all day, and that we girls were worried that the new teacher would be scary. Gender stereotypes were clearly alive and well.

Mr. Potter turned out to be one of the best teachers I've ever had. He did a lot of great things with our class, and was particularly good at seeing what other teachers, who had known us all for years, had gotten used to and therefore overlooked. For me specifically this included singling me out to model school clothing (something usually reserved for the more popular kids) and nicknaming me Trillium, after the modeling agency, an action that caused me endless embarrassment but in the end was pretty good for my self-esteem. But the most remarkable thing he did that year was read to us from Roald Dahl books.

Every afternoon, about half an hour before the day ended, Mr. Potter would take out a book and read. And when I say read, I mean read. He is probably to this day one of the best readers I have ever heard. He had different voices for every character, and an enthusiasm that drew in even the most anti-book kids in the class. He moved across the room while reading, and most importantly, he didn't hold back. When Matilda's father yelled at her and called her stupid, Mr. Potter yelled louder than I think anyone had dared to yell within the walls of an elementary school before, to the point where once my mother, who volunteered in the school library, ran halfway down the hallway terrified that he had snapped and was shouting at the top of his lungs to some poor student.

Other teachers had read to us, of course, but by the time we got to grade five that had mostly tapered off, probably because of the belief that once kids learn to read on their own there is no longer a need for others to read to them. We were reluctant at first, thinking it was babyish to be read to. But I remember missing it once I got to grade six.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory should be an interesting read because, although I feel I have a good recollection of the plotline, this is almost entirely because I've seen the movie version many times. Dahl's prose style and sense of humour are legendary, and I am really excited to reacquaint myself with this book.

This is going to be fun. See you soon!




P.S. Speaking of reading aloud, here is one of my favourite videos on the subject. Enjoy!