Naila Karim★ Scout · Lv 6
todayI read it at eight and again to my daughter at thirty-five. Dahl never misses.
Children's
Matilda
by Roald Dahl
4.9· 2,044 ratings
Published 1988240 pagesEnglishDelicious · Empowering
The books transported her into new worlds and introduced her to amazing people who lived exciting lives.
Why read it
A brilliant little girl is born to careless parents who would rather she watch television than read. But Matilda has taught herself to read, devoured the library, and is about to discover a strange power all her own, just in time to face the most terrifying headmistress in the world.
The premise
Matilda is the story of a gifted, book-loving child who uses her wits, and a mysterious gift, to stand up to cruel adults and protect the one teacher who believes in her. Roald Dahl delivers a joyful revenge fantasy about the power of intelligence, reading, and justice for children who are underestimated. It celebrates the child who refuses to be crushed.
The story behind it
Roald Dahl published Matilda in 1988, near the end of his career, with illustrations by his longtime collaborator Quentin Blake. It became one of his most beloved books and has been adapted into a film, a hit stage musical, and a screen musical. Dahl reportedly revised the story substantially, softening an originally more wicked version of Matilda.
What awaits inside
- 01
Reading as power
Matilda's escape and strength come first from books, a quiet argument for the life of the mind.
- 02
Standing up to bullies
The story gives children the satisfying fantasy of outsmarting cruel and powerful adults.
- 03
The teacher who sees you
Miss Honey embodies the transforming power of one adult who truly believes in a child.
- 04
Justice for the small
Dahl delivers comeuppance to the wicked with gleeful, cathartic fairness.
From the book
Matilda's small revenges on her father, like gluing his hat to his head and putting a parrot in the chimney to fake a ghost.
The classroom confrontation where Matilda uses her telekinetic power and the chalk to terrify the tyrannical headmistress Miss Trunchbull.
4.9
2,044 ratings
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