Matilda

Roald Dahl

“Occasionally one comes across parents who take the opposite line, who show no interest at all in their children, and these, of course, are far worse than the doting ones.”

“Make sure everything you do is so completely crazy it’s unbelievable.”

I have been planning to read all of Dahl’s work for some time. The only thing stopping me is my pickiness. I want a full box set, which has been difficult to find. So I was beyond happy to see Matilda and a few other of Dahl’s titles on Time’s 100 Best YA list.

If you haven’t read Matilda, please do yourself a favor and read it! If not Matilda, check out one of Dahl’s other books. I am positive they are all wonderful and found at your local library.  Matilda was a short read and jam-packed with outlandish situations I could never dream up–I loved it. I borrowed a digital copy from my local library using Overdrive.

Matilda Wormwood is a brilliant perfect five-year-old. She taught herself to read and do mental math…something I am still struggling with. She has read almost all of the classics and speaks perfectly with the best manners a fictional child has ever had, but The Wormwood’s despise their child. They are a rather nasty family, Matilda starts to understand their dysfunction as she reads. She knows she is too small to defend herself, so she pranks her family.

Matilda starts school a year late and is placed with the younger uneducated children. She is wise beyond her years and her teacher, Miss Honey, quickly notices. Unfortunately, Matilda is unable to escape the maltreatment from adults at school because the headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, terrorizes the students.

Miss Trunchbull is an interested character. She is a former hammer-throwing champion who hones her skills by flinging children out windows. After a run in with Matilda’s father at his used car business, she starts to watch Matilda with a close eye. With unexplained whimsy, Matilda is able to better not only her life but those around her.

If you enjoy Children’s Lit, Roald Dahl, pictures in your books, and or heart-warming stories this is the read for you. If you are a tad uncomfortable reading about humorously mild yet concerning abuse of children, do not read Matilda. Matilda is a story that will make you smile and keep you on your toes, a great read for a young or old reader!

 

Have you read Matilda? Are you familiar with Roald Dahl’s work?