Matilda
by Roald Dahl, Quentin Blake
Fiction, Classics, Fantasy, Middle-Grade, Young-Adult, Humor
“The Trunchbull” is no match for Matilda! Matilda is a little girl who is far too good to be true. At age five-and-a-half she’s knocking off double-digit multiplication problems and blitz-reading Dickens. Even more remarkably, her classmates love her even though she’s a super-nerd and the teacher’s pet. But everything is not perfect in Matilda’s world… For starters she has two of the most idiotic, self-centered parents who ever lived. Then there’s the large, busty nightmare of a school principal, Miss (“The”) Trunchbull, a former hammer-throwing champion who flings children at will, and is approximately as sympathetic as a bulldozer. Fortunately for Matilda, she has the inner resources to deal with such annoyances: astonishing intelligence, saintly patience, and an innate predilection for revenge.
Recommendations from Common Sense Media
Age Recommendation: 8+
What Parents Need to Know:
Parents need to know that Roald Dahl‘s Matilda is about a brilliant, magical little girl who’s miserable at home with her nasty, clueless parents and oppressed at school by her mean headmistress, Miss Trunchbull. However, Matilda finds a loving, kindred spirit in her teacher, Miss Honey, who values her pupil’s amazing brain power. Miss Trunchbull inflicts mental cruelty and physical abuse on the students, including name-calling, tossing children out of windows, locking them in a closet lined with spiky nails, and spinning them around by their hair or ears. These exaggerated acts of malice are part of the fantasy, though, along with Matilda’s magical mental tricks. This novel was made into a dark yet delightful 1996 movie, and it’s available as an audiobook read beautifully by actress Kate Winslet.
Educational Value: 2/5
Children will learn some quick facts (titles, author names, and some plot summaries) of great books that Matilda reads, including Burnett’s The Secret Garden and Dickens’ Great Expectations. They’ll also learn what times tables are, and how to spell a few words, such as “what” and “difficulty.”
Positive Messages: 4/5
Intelligence can matter more than brutal power, even when power is wielded by a large adult over a small child.
Positive Role Models: 2/5
Miss Trunchbull abuses Miss Honey and her students, and Matilda’s relationship with her parents is one of mutual dislike. However, Miss Honey is a wonderfully warm and encouraging teacher. She’s also very brave in her way, and she has the adult perspective to express how adult cruelty affects children. Matilda is a special young hero, avenging adult crimes with her marvelous brainpower. Of course, this is all in the context of Roald Dahl’s fantastical imagination, so the physical abuse is cartoonish, and little children can’t really do magic, yet there is much to admire in the genius of Matilda Wormwood.
Violence & Scariness: 3/5
Miss Trunchbull throws children out of windows, picks them up and swings them around by their hair or ears, and locks a child in a tiny room with spikes protruding from the walls. She also has pushed a young girl’s head underwater as punishment. Though no one is really injured in this fantastical novel, some sensitive youngsters may be upset by the Trunchbull’s cruelty.
Language: 1/5
There’s a lot of name-calling directed from adults to kids, or between adults, including “stupid,” “glob of glue,” “ignorant little twit,” “gangster,” “useless bunch of midgets,” and more.
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