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32nd out of 4,987 books
—
22,001 voters
Matilda
For hundreds of kids, "The Trunchbull" is pure terror. For Matilda, she's a sitting duck.
Paperback, 240 pages
Published
May 28th 1998
by Puffin Books
(first published January 1st 1988)
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This is my third book by Roald Dahi (1916-1990). I did not plan to read this because I’ve already read his more famous (earlier) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964) and his boyhood memoir, Boy: Tales of Childhood (1984) which are both included in the 501 Must Read Books that I am trying to read completely. However, the Filipinos group here in Goodreads selected this book as its bestseller read for this month, September 2011 so I had to buy and read this one too.
This book's main...more
This book's main...more
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5 stars from my little girl, Jess (age 7).
SPOILERS!
Comments while reading:
"Matilda's parents are sooo stupid!"
"What is a 'used car salesman'?"
"How does putting sawdust and oil in a car's gearbox make it run smoother?"
"The funniest parts are when Miss Trunchbull hurled the kids out of the classroom, and when the newt fell on her."
"How come Miss Trunchbull ma...more
SPOILERS!
Comments while reading:
"Matilda's parents are sooo stupid!"
"What is a 'used car salesman'?"
"How does putting sawdust and oil in a car's gearbox make it run smoother?"
"The funniest parts are when Miss Trunchbull hurled the kids out of the classroom, and when the newt fell on her."
"How come Miss Trunchbull ma...more
Tanu Das
rated it
I am strongly opposed to censorship. Some of my favorite books are banned ones and I hate hypocrites who think they have the right to decide about which book is appropriate and which are not. Still the first thought that came into my mind after finishing this book was: I am not letting my cousin read this .
Mathilda is basically a child prodigy; she is 4 years old and a voracious reader. That is amazing, I know! But, Mathilda is not the only character. There are the tyranni...more
Mathilda is basically a child prodigy; she is 4 years old and a voracious reader. That is amazing, I know! But, Mathilda is not the only character. There are the tyranni...more
Dante
rated it
I like this story. But I'm not sure how to classify it. Can it be called a novella?
The plot, basically
Matilda is a very, very intelligent kid. She is just 4 or 5 years old, but she already has a very advanced mind. She loves reading books and seems to be a math genius. Unfortunately, she has a very mean and problematic family. Her parents hate her, and they neglect her all the time.
She goes to school and meets the terrifying Miss Trunchbull. Miss Trunchbull ru...more
The plot, basically
Matilda is a very, very intelligent kid. She is just 4 or 5 years old, but she already has a very advanced mind. She loves reading books and seems to be a math genius. Unfortunately, she has a very mean and problematic family. Her parents hate her, and they neglect her all the time.
She goes to school and meets the terrifying Miss Trunchbull. Miss Trunchbull ru...more
I have to wonder about Roald Dahl's childhood. His evil adult characters had to have come from his own nightmares. The kids always win against the grownups, though. Maybe that's why Dahl's books are so popular. Isn't it every kid's dream to get back at the big people who get to control your life just because they're big and you're little?
Some of Dahl's grownups are so absurdly cruel, it emphasizes the fact that there are a lot of adults who should not be allowed near children. (I'm t...more
Some of Dahl's grownups are so absurdly cruel, it emphasizes the fact that there are a lot of adults who should not be allowed near children. (I'm t...more
Denize Teo
rated it
·
review of another edition
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Mr Tony and M5 students
Recommended to Denize by:
Dad, and mom
This book is about a girl who is just 4 and is already a genius. Her parents dislike her and call her names. Her teacher, Miss Honey, thinks that Matilda is a very bright girl and can advance to the next grade. But the headmistress, a fierce and angry bull, named Miss Agatha Trunchbull, stopped Miss Honey. Miss Honey told Matilda's parents about her. But did not care. Matilda always thought that Miss Honey was a great teacher, and visited her too. She then realised, that Miss Trunchbull, is h...more
Matilda is an extrodinary 5 year old girl with amazing mental powers with her eyes and brain. She lives to do anything to get rid of the school's principal and finds a new family with a teacher in her grade while her family is moving. She is willing to always try her best and shares her thoughts to everyone. She gives hope to others and she finds happiness.
ONE OF THE BEST AUTHORS EVER!
Her parents were very mean. Miss Trunchbowl, the headmistress was mean, too. Every day when Matilda's mother went to Bingo, Matilda went to the library. Miss Phelps was the librarian. I liked Miss Phelps. She was nice to Matilda. She picked books out for her. First she picked books out of the children's section, and Matilda read them all. And then she went to the grownup books. When she arrived at kindergarten she could do all the tables up to 12, and she could add numbers like a flash of lightn...more
This book was almost *too* stimulating, too gloriously gratifying, when first I read it at a tender age: it's repulsively trite of me to say this, but I felt that it had been written expressly for me.
Just a few of its attractions:
- a fiendishly, freakishly precocious protagonist, whose precocity is depicted as a source of both value and supernatural powers. We're supposed to love Matilda *because* she's smart (a welcome relief from the nerd-bashing and suffocati...more
Just a few of its attractions:
- a fiendishly, freakishly precocious protagonist, whose precocity is depicted as a source of both value and supernatural powers. We're supposed to love Matilda *because* she's smart (a welcome relief from the nerd-bashing and suffocati...more
Oh Roald Dahl, you make my life complete. Matilda is one of those books for me. One of the books in my bookshelf, tattered and worn, pages falling out, that I will always go back to, no matter what the occasion. Dear, darling Miss Honey, Matilda's first grade teacher, is ever child's dream, and now that I'm older, every adult's dream as well. Miss Honey lives in a two room cottage with no running water, a camp stove, and wooden boxes for seats. She eats margarine instead of butter! Would t...more
I LOVED the excellent word choice and the detail in this book. I felt like I could have pushed a print button and the vivid image in my mind could have been made into a tangeable picture.
This is a funny yet heartfelt moving story about a small girl who comes from a hellish family but shows a tender heart and an optimistic personality. Very inspiring! While reading this, I can’t stop thinking I wish I had a brain like her especially the ability to read all those great novels in a very early age. Unlike Matilda, my mom was the one doing the reading job when I was 5 years old...LOL!
Every one should read this no matter what age…
Every one should read this no matter what age…
'Matilda' by Roald Dahl is an excellent read. It engages the reader from the very beginning. Matilda is an intelligent and very gifted child, however, her gifts are unappreciated by her parents. They are very unloving towards her and it seems as though Matilda is a nuisance to them in life. Although Matilda is quite neglected, the story is not told in a serious manner, it is a humorous novel. When her parents refuse to buy her a book, she begins to visit the local library. After two years, she h...more
Matilda is a child genius. at five and a half she is reading charles dickens and can multiply in her head higher than most adults. when she goes to school Miss honey, the kindergarten teacher, goes to the headmistress to get Matilda catapulted right into a higher form. this would be a brilliant plan, except for one problem: the headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, is a full-blown, mean-as-can-be MONSTER of a woman. she has been known to throw little girls out of windows. She is the only thing blocking...more
This is my favorite Roald Dahl book. Matilda has a pretty yucky home life and school isn't much better for her. She discovers a talent she didn't know she had that turns everything around. Pretty funny and a dose of sweet revenge.
Matilda was a great story. I read it a loud with my class and we all thought it was pretty funny. I love to read those Roald Dahl books. They're great!
Another whimsical, twisted tale from the brilliant mind of Roald Dahl. The movie doesn't do it justice. The man is genius!
she is super smart and she plays good tricks on her parents. REALLY GOOD!!!!
Roald Dahl is one of my favorite children's authors. What a wonderful book!
gorgeous! mathilda is the most intelligent girl i have ever met.
very good and well written. 2nd fav roald dahl book
this book is funny and good for anyone big or small.
well-written short read. a true Roald Dahl!
Leanne
rated it
oh, yah.
Three cheers for...Grrrrrlll powAR!!!
Roald Dahl is a genius when it comes to writing quality children's books with strong heroes and heroines, hilarious scenes, engaging writing, and wonderfully thought-out plots. Miss Trunchball is the perfect epitome of malicious evil and Matilda is a strong, brave, likeable genius that kids will root and care for.
Matilda is sick and tired of living with her ignorant, negligent, mate...more
It feels a bit...unusual...reading and reviewing this just a few days after finishing Switch Bitch, a small collection of Dahl's short fiction for adults. I mean, it's a huge non sequitur, jumping from bawdy tales of Uncle Oswald to, well, any of Roald Dahl's books for children. But reading Dahl's adult fiction (slightly disappointing; I didn't care for a few of the stories) made me feel a bit nostalgic for some of his kids' books--specifically, some of his non-Wonka works. Charlie and the Ch...more
This ties with The Witches as my favorite Dahl book. It's full of magic, vivid characters, and a small child's colorful view of the world.
Matilda is a sweet and clever little girl who is surrounded by dreadful adults. Her parents are selfish and dishonest people who neither understand nor appreciate Matilda. Her mother leaves 3-year-old Matilda at home alone so that she can go gambling, and her father brags about cheating customers at his used-car lot. Matilda's schoolmistress, 'The...more
Matilda is a sweet and clever little girl who is surrounded by dreadful adults. Her parents are selfish and dishonest people who neither understand nor appreciate Matilda. Her mother leaves 3-year-old Matilda at home alone so that she can go gambling, and her father brags about cheating customers at his used-car lot. Matilda's schoolmistress, 'The...more
Emma
rated it
Recommends it for:
All children, some adults, anyone with a good imagination
Recommended to Emma by:
Mum bought me it
Shelves:
kids-books,
all-time-best
Matilda... well what can I say. This is embarrassing but... I AM Matilda. At least I was, when, aged eight, I read ten library books a week and was obsessed with every single book I could get my hands on. I adored Roald Dahl, and I adored this book.
Roald Dahl has got a brilliant, unique voice which I think most adults (in my experience) just don't get, but kids naturally love and understand. His stories are full of relatable charaters but magic, wonder, gooey gross stuff (kids love ...more
Roald Dahl has got a brilliant, unique voice which I think most adults (in my experience) just don't get, but kids naturally love and understand. His stories are full of relatable charaters but magic, wonder, gooey gross stuff (kids love ...more
This book " Matilda" written by Roald Dahl is a fictional but interesting book. The main characters in this story are Matilda, Miss Honey and Miss Trunchbull.
Matilda is a genius: by age four she has read all the books in the children's section of her local library, and moved on to Dickens, Austen, and Hemingway. She can also do advanced math in her head and has a sophisticated understanding of the world. Unfortunately her crooked car-dealer father and bingo-holic mother, TV...more
Matilda is a genius: by age four she has read all the books in the children's section of her local library, and moved on to Dickens, Austen, and Hemingway. She can also do advanced math in her head and has a sophisticated understanding of the world. Unfortunately her crooked car-dealer father and bingo-holic mother, TV...more
Gette
added it
Matilda is a precocious 4 year old, daughter of Mr & Mrs Wormwood. Her gormless parents are completely blind to the genius of their child, chosing to heckle her for not wanting to watch TV at dinner like the rest of them.
Matilda soon discovered books. In a short span of time and with the help of a motherly librarian, she went through all the classics. At some point, she solved a mathametical problem for her ungrateful father, who then accused her of so much untruths that she extracted ...more
Matilda soon discovered books. In a short span of time and with the help of a motherly librarian, she went through all the classics. At some point, she solved a mathametical problem for her ungrateful father, who then accused her of so much untruths that she extracted ...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What literary character do you identify with the most? | 20 | 178 | Feb 02, 2012 05:11pm | |
| WHY I CHOSE THIS BOOK | 11 | 48 | Dec 31, 2011 08:44am | |
| 3 reading log | 3 | 20 | Dec 20, 2011 02:16am |
Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short story writer and screenwriter of Norwegian descent, who rose to prominence in the 1940s with works for both children and adults, and became one of the world's bestselling authors.
Dahl's first published work, inspired by a meeting with C. S. Forester, was Shot Down Over Libya. Today the story is published as...more
More about Roald Dahl...
Dahl's first published work, inspired by a meeting with C. S. Forester, was Shot Down Over Libya. Today the story is published as...more
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“I'm right and you're wrong, I'm big and you're small, and there's nothing you can do about it.”
—
275 people liked it
“Matilda said, "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...”
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201 people liked it
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