Matilda Paperback – November 1, 2022

Matilda written by Roald Dahl is a story about a gifted five year old girl named Matilda, who lived with terrible parents that didn't know how special their daughter was. Until, one day she goes to school and meets Miss Honey. Miss Honey is a caring teacher who from day one realized just how brilliant Matilda was. There she also meets the horrific headmistress Miss Trunchbull who hates children and treats Miss Honey awful. In the middle of the novel Matilda realized she has powers to defend herself and others too. She uses these powers against the evil principal Miss Trunchbull. The story gets exciting when Matilda finds out Miss Trunchbull had done something really bad to Miss Honey and Matilda decides to get revenge.I would recommend this book to boys and girls ages six through ten.This book is inspirational and filled with laughter. Children who like fun and heartwarming stories will enjoy this story.

All of Roald Dahl's key works contain common features that make his books special and unique. Apart from gripping tales of the unexpected, the key reason for their appeal is in the treatment of the baddies in the story. However, Dahl counters this rollicking, uproarious and wicked humour with deep relationships between the young protagonist and a sensible grown-up in his social circle. This theme features throughout most if not all his works, and was first introduced when he wrote Danny, the Champion of the World (Puffin Novels), maturing when Dahl wrote The BFG, The Witches (Puffin Novels)and Matilda.On the surface, Matilda may be a gripping yarn that revolves around Matilda's environment of Crunchem Hall Primary School and the domain of fearsome Miss Trunchbull, arguably the most revolting villain that Dahl ever created. This harks back to his own dark days as a student. As with all his books, Dahl keeps his audience of young readers in mind. Not only is his style easily accessible and lively, but he sides with his young audience through his writing, He draws the characters of Miss Trunchbull and Matilda's repulsive parents such that they convey revolting personas and you wouldn't want to befriend them. Dahl particularly draws the character of the Trunchbul effectively such that we readers can really feel her as a "holy terror that frightend the life out of the pupils and teachers alike". I admit that this book dwells a little too much on the Trunchbull's torturous punishments, but these only serve to make the Trunchbull more real. A signature twist to make this a tale of the unexpected is when Miss Honey reveals that Matilda's father was a crook who sold stolen cars.However, the understated core of the book should be Matilda herself and her relationship with Miss Honey. His portrayal of this relationship offers distinct echoes of Danny's relationship with his father in Danny the Champion of the World. From the moment that Dahl first introduces us to Matilda's maturity, we know that we are getting to know an extraordinary little girl. In spite of her sensitive and brilliant mind, she is a character who engages our sympathies. Matilda always strives to break free of the thrall of her crooked family, especially her father, who acts and talks like a gangster towards her. Matilda strikes up an acquaintence with Miss Honey and quickly learns of Miss Honey's situation. She is then able to do things in her power to help her and restore her rightful claim to her father's inheritance. This may appear to be self-interest on Matilda's part, but sshe does this because she shows a genuine sympathy to Miss Honey's plight.In short, this swansong in Dahl's long children's novels stands as an undisputed masterwork and demonstrates the maturity in Dahl's children's writing. It's truly a work that shows Dahl at the top of his game, at the pinnacle of his writing career, and sums up all that his children's writing has come to stand for. (Apparently he spent 20 years writing this book.) Although I could have done with less coverage of the Trunchbull's cruelty, this book is still an undisputed Dahl classic that deserves to be up there with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Fantastic Mr. Fox and The BFG.

You should read Matilda by Roald Dahl it will make you feel happy. They talk funny, like calling the principal the headmistress, but that did not bother me. It is a good book. Boys should read it. Girls should read it. Grown-ups should read it. Only people that hate children and are principals that pick kids up by their ears and throw them around should not read this book.Matilda is a nice kid and lives in a big and nice house. Her dad is a bad guy and he buys stolen cars and fixes them up. Matilda’s mom goes out to bingo every day and leaves her home alone. Matilda is a really smart kid. She is smarter than every kid in her school. She has read all the books in the local library. The coolest thing about Matilda is that she can move stuff with her eyes. Really. Listen to this from the book: “She concentrated the whole of her mind and her brain and her will up into her eyes….and then the millions of tiny invisible arms with hands on them were shooting towards the glass, and without making any sound at all she kept on shouting inside her head for the glass to go over. She saw it wobble, then it tilted, then it toppled right over and fell with a tinkle on the table-top not twelve inches from Miss Honey’s folded arms.”Miss Honey is very nice to kids of all ages. She is a very sweet person. Miss Honey is Matilda’s Kindergarten teacher. She wants to put Matilda in a class where she will actually learn something new. Miss Trunchbull would not allow that. So Miss Honey went to the other teachers and got Matilda some books to read. She let Matilda read during class. Miss Honey tries to protect the children. She says in the book: “A word of warning to you all … The Headmistress is very strict about everything. Make sure your clothes are clean, your faces are clean and your hands are clean. Speak only when spoken to. When she asks you a question, stand up at once before you answer it. Never argue with her. Never answer back. Never try to be funny. If you do you will make her angry, and when the Headmistress gets angry you had better watch out.” She tries to protect them but needs Matilda’s help.Miss Trunchbull is the principal of the school Matilda goes to. Miss Trunchbull is very mean to children. She picks them up by their ears and throws them around. She also picks them up by their hair and holds them there until they do what she says. She always screams at children instead of talking. The worst thing is that she does things so crazy that the school kid’s parents will never believe what the kids say and Miss Trunchbull will never get in trouble. But the very worst part is that she is the aunt of Matilda’s teacher, Miss Honey. Matilda always outsmarts Miss Trunchbull. Matilda made the chalk of the blackboard move by using her eyes. She made Miss Trunchbull think the ghost of Miss Honey’s father wrote her a note. It scared her so much she ran away.Roald Dahl wrote the book so it made me think I was really there. When he was 8 the principal hit him with a stick for putting a dead mouse in a jawbreaker jar. He was sent to boarding school and he missed his mom very much. He used his real life experience to make his book so very good.