The famous Roald Dahl children’s book will now be about an equal-opportunity employer that pays above market rates for its cocoa and is an industry leader in Worksafe practices, publisher Puffin has confirmed. The change comes as part of a review of Dahl’s books by ‘sensitivity readers’ to edit out any potentially offensive words.
In the new edition, which Puffin says contains only minor tweaks, Willy Wonka holds a competition to win a golden ticket to tour his factory, with enough golden tickets available for any child who wants one.
As part of the tour, children sit through a two-hour seminar on how to correctly lift heavy boxes, attend a union meeting, and learn about healthy, sugar-free alternatives to chocolate snacks. “Every child gets a free piece of fruit before they leave!” Willy Wonka sings, in an edited version of the Candy Man song.
Puffin confirmed there were a small number of other changes that readers will hardly notice. The tour of the ‘nut room’ in the original has been deemed offensive to those with nut-based allergies and has been replaced with a presentation on the techniques the factory is using to reduce its carbon footprint. The chapter where Augustus Gloop gets sucked into a massive glass pipe has been changed to a diversity and inclusion morning tea.
Given its potential to promote unhealthy habits, the word ‘chocolate’ has been removed throughout.
