Summary

The book begins with a quick description of what happened in the previous book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Charlie and his family, including his parents and grandparents, were going to live at the famed factory. At the start of the story, Charlie, Willy Wonka, Mr. and Mrs. Bucket, Grandpa Joe (who had gone on the adventure with Charlie in the first book), Grandma Josephine, and Grandpa George and Grandma Georgina were in the Great Glass Elevator.

The three grandparents, besides Grandpa Joe, who never left their group bed and were often referred to collectively as the Old Ones, were getting worried about Wonka's contraption, the Great Glass Elevator. Wonka dodged questions about how it worked, which did not instill a whole lot of faith in the grandparents about its safety. Charlie assured them that Wonka was a friend, stated that he...