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Information
Information on identifying editions is from Richard Walker’s “Roald Dahl – A Guide to Collecting His First Editions”.
- First editions:
- Jonathan Cape, 1988, UK.
- Illustrated by: Quentin Blake
- To identify: Used standard single statement (‘First published’ followed by the date with later printings stated underneath) and published with a jacket priced at £8.50.
- Viking, 1988, USA.
- Illustrated by: Quentin Blake
- To identify: Used a number line and published with a jacket priced at $13.95.
- Jonathan Cape, 1988, UK.
- Other editions:
- Viking, 2020, USA.
- Illustrated by: Sarah Walsh
- Viking, 2020, USA.
- Recent news:
- Lego Roald Dahl Characters in UK - September 10, 2017
- Remember the child stars from Matilda? They all look very different now - June 9, 2017
- ‘Being cute just made me miserable’: Mara Wilson on growing up in Hollywood - September 24, 2016
- ‘BFG’ to ‘Matilda’: How Roald Dahl Books Became Big Movies | Variety - June 30, 2016
- Related books:
- Matilda’s Fantastically Fine Notebook
- Matilda’s How to be Brave
- Matilda’s Jokes For Awesome Kids
- Matilda: Be Outrageous – Big Ideas from a Small Girl
- Roald Dahl 15 Book Box Set
- Roald Dahl’s Matilda Wonderful Sticker Activity Book
- Roald Dahl’s Matilda’s How to be a Genius
- Roald Dahl: Three Tales of Magic and Mischief
- Roald Dahl’s Creative Writing with Matilda: How to Write Spellbinding Speech
- The BFG, Matilda, and George’s Marvelous Medicine
- The Book of Children’s Classics
- The Kingfisher Book of Great Girl Stories: A Treasury of Classics from Children’s Literature
- The Marvelous Matilda Sticker and Activity Book
- The Puffin Roald Dahl Collection 3
- The Roald Dahl Centenary Boxed Set
- The Roald Dahl Collection
- Movies:
- Matilda (1996)
- Theater:
- Matilda (musical), 2010, Stratford-upon-Avon, UK (currently running in the West End and touring US & AU/NZ)
- Audio Books:
- Matilda read by full cast
- Matilda read by Jenny Hanley
- Matilda read by full cast
- Matilda read by full cast
- Matilda read by Kate Winslet
- Matilda read by Ron Keith
- Matilda read by Jean Marsh
- Matilda read by Joely Richardson
- Matilda read by Hella von Sinnen, Peter Fricke, Laura Maire, Johanna Burg, Gerd Köster, and more
- Matilda read by Miriam Margolyes
- Matilda read by Christian Ganon
- Roald Dahl Audio Books read by David Walliams, Stephen Fry, Kate Winslet, Chris O'Dowd, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Peter Serafinowicz, Miranda Richardson, Richard Ayoade, Douglas Hodge
- Roald Dahl Audio Books (10 CD Collection) read by Simon Callow, Miriam Margolyes, Geoffrey Palmer, James Bolam, Andrew Sachs, June Whitfield, Timothy West, Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry, Martin Jarvis
- Radio Shows:
- Matilda (2009)
- TV Shows:
- Jackanory (1965)
- Buy this book:
Description
Matilda is a sweet, exceptional young girl, but her parents think she’s just a nuisance. She expects school to be different but there she has to face Miss Trunchbull, a kid-hating terror of a headmistress. When Matilda is attacked by the Trunchbull she suddenly discovers she has a remarkable power with which to fight back. It’ll take a superhuman genius to give Miss Trunchbull what she deserves and Matilda may be just the one to do it!
Reviews
- “I like Matilda…” by Vicki Weissman (New York Times)
Awards
- Federation of Children’s Book Groups Award (UK 1988)
- Voted “Nation’s Favorite Children’s Book” in BBC Bookworm Poll (UK 1998)
Articles
- “The dangerous transphobia of Roald Dahl’s Matilda” essay by Eliot Glenn
Criticism and Analysis
- Roald Dahl: The Master Of Darkness And Light
- Written by J. L. Gargett
- Description: “…The first essay discusses The BFG and Matilda in some detail, asserting that Dahl’s work for children deals in disturbing ideas…”
- “Child Giftedness as Class Weaponry: The Case of Roald Dahl’s Matilda“
- Essay by Clémentine Beauvais published in Children’s Literature Association Quarterly
- “Chocolate and Honey: Disenfranchised Teachers and Children in Harry Potter and Matilda“
- Essay by Jaquelin Elliott published on The Book Wars
- “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Resistance and Complicity in Matilda“
- Paper by Kristen Guest published in Children’s Literature Association Quarterly
- “Ideology in Children’s Literature: Critical Discourse Analysis of the Adult-Child Power Relation in Roald Dahl’s Matilda“
- Thesis by Annelies Martens
- “Patriarchal Practices and Resistance in Roald Dahl’s Matilda“ (PDF)
- Thesis by Erisa Anggraeni
- “Wish-fulfilment and subversion: Roald Dahl’s Dickensian Fantasy Matilda“
- Paper by Dieter Petzold published in Children’s Literature in Education
Fun Stuff
Merchandise
- Elsewhere on the web:
Teacher Ideas
- Matilda – Educators’ Guide
- PDF guide for educators to using Matilda in the Classroom, including chapter-by-chapter lessons plans and tie-in to Broadway musical
- Matilda – Lesson Plans
- Several lesson plans for various chapters in the book, which develop various skills through wordplay, drama and many other methods
- Matilda – Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary
- Includes excerpt from the text and interactive worksheet
- Matilda – Sorting Out Homophones
- Lesson plan where students learn how to identify homophones in a reading passage and how to best use the Visual Thesaurus to help them decide on the appropriate homophones to complete quotations from the book
- Quick Student Workbooks
- Designed to get students thinking critically about the text they read and provide a guided study format to facilitate in improved learning and retention