Where’s the chocolate?! Penguin Modern Classics revealed its new cover edition for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on Wednesday, Aug. 6, and it is not what fans typically associate with Roald Dahl‘s beloved 1964 children’s book.
“Celebrating 50 years of Roald Dahl’s groundbreaking #CharlieandtheChocolateFactory,” Penguin Books shared on its Facebook page. “Publishing for the first time as a Penguin Modern Classic, this design is in recognition of the book’s extraordinary cultural impact and is one of the few children’s books to be featured in the Penguin Modern Classics list.”
The cover image features a creepy looking little girl doll wearing a feathered pink outfit as she sits beside her mother. “This new image for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory looks at the children at the centre of the story,” Penguin explained. “And highlights the way Roald Dahl’s writing manages to embrace both the light and the dark aspects of life, ready for Charlie’s debut amongst the adult titles in the Penguin Modern Classics series.”
The girl on the cover is presumably Veruca Salt, a spoiled girl who is one of the five lucky children picked to enter the factory via the golden ticket. The character fits the bill, as she’s described in the book as a 6-year-old girl with curly blonde hair, who wears a pink mink coat as she tours Willy Wonka’s magical sweet factory.
While the character has a significant role in teaching kids to be good eggs (rather than the rotten ones that get tossed away), many Charlie and the Chocolate Factory fans expressed their dismay over the new edition’s front image.
“Where’s Charlie, Mr Wonka, or some aspect of the factory? It doesn’t get to the essence of the story,” one fan responded on Facebook. Another reader wrote, “Quentin Blake should forever be the only cover artist for Roald Dahl.”
The beloved fourth edition cover from 1995 was created by illustrator, Quentin Blake, who frequently collaborated with Dahl on his books. His illustrations, also featured in Dahl’s Matilda, Esio Trot, The BFG, and more, still remain a mainstay with fans.
Tell Us: What do you think of the new controversial cover?
