Matilda

Dahl, Roald. Matilda. Illustrated by Quentin Blake. Viking, 1998. Tr. $ 16.99, ISBN-10  0-670-82439-9

What’s it about?

Five year old Matilda Wormwood is a genius, but not to hear her self-centered, dishonest parents and her megalomaniac headmaster tell it.  When Matilda develops a startling gift, the ability to move small objects with the power of her mind, she uses it to help her beloved teacher Miss Honey, who has a terrible secret.

Find out more:

Five year old Matilda is a genius, but her cruel, shallow parents think she is a horrible child. Her father is a crooked used-car salesman who takes pride in his dishonesty, as long as it earns him a profit.  Her mother cares only for bingo and television, and doesn’t understand why anyone would read a book. Matilda finds her way to the library, and begins to satisfy her thirst for reading, and by the time Matilda goes to school, she bowls over her teacher Miss Honey with her astonishing intelligence.  Not only can Matilda read, she has read many adult classics. Not only can Matilda multiply, she can multiple strings of random numbers almost instantaneously.  Not that the terrifying Headmaster cares—she’s heard nothing but negative things from Matilda’s father. Not that her parents care, as Miss Honey discovers when she visits their house. Miss Honey does her best to cultivate Matilda’s gifts despite this indifference. One day, when Miss Trunchbull takes over Miss Honey’s class for one period, her abuses become too much for Matilda, who discovers a mysterious new gift, the ability to move objects with her eyes.  She confides in Miss Honey, and Miss Honey in turn tells Matilda the truth about why she lives in a run-down cottage without plumbing. Matilda becomes determined to make things right for Miss Honey with her newfound ability—and she does, through a hilariously effective prank.

 Roald Dahl writes timeless books, books that are very humorous as well as adept in describing human nature, albeit in very extreme, exaggerated characters and situations. Dahl has a gift for infusing humor into even very bleak circumstances. Matilda’s parents, for example, are contemptible. Dahl acknowledges this, and proceeds to poke fun at them and their ilk, commenting gleefully on Mrs. Wormwood’s “unfortunate bulging figure, where the flesh appears to be strapped in all around the body to prevent it from falling out (27).” Another character with no moral compass is the monstrous Miss Trunchbull. This woman is openly abusive to her students, even the smallest and most vulnerable. She openly hates children, and verbally excoriates them any chance she gets. The extreme nature of Miss Trunchbull’s crimes are explained by Matilda: “Never do anything by halves if you want to get away with it. Be outrageous. Go the whole hog. Make sure everything you do is so completely crazy it’s unbelievable (117).” Even though many of the adults are nasty, there are some sweethearts that restore the reader’s faith in humanity, such as librarian Mrs. Phelps and, of course, Miss Honey.  This delightful book is accompanied by Quentin Blake’s outrageously funny sketches.

Genre label: Humor, with a dash of fantasy

Reading level: 5^th grade

Interest level: Grades 4-6

Read-alikes:

Lemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events

Sachar’s Sideways Stories from Wayside School

Subjects: Genius, Reading, Teachers, Child abuse, Ethics, Telekinesis

Characters:  

Matilda—a five-year-old genius with nasty, apathetic parents—and a burgeoning gift of telekinesis

Lavender—Matilda’s best friend at school

Miss Honey—Matilda’s kindergarten teacher, a sweet woman who fosters Matilda’s genius

Miss Trunchbull—a beastly, abusive headmaster who hates children

Mr. Wormwood—Matilda’s father, a slimy crook

Mrs. Wormwood—Matilda’s indifferent mother