"Matilda"by Roald Dahl Puffin Books: 1988 illustrated by Quentin Blake
I love books by Roald Dahl but not all of them equally. This one is my favorite. I read this one in the United States and I saw the movie based on this book in the States too. Then while I was in Home Plus, I saw this book sitting on a shelf and I grabbed it. Ah, I will read it again. Then after I read it, I looked on the Internet for the movie and I found it to my surprise and watched it again. Well, I am ready to put in on my book journal. I opened the cover to put down the details and then I started to read it again. Finally, after finishing it, I found the movie on You Tube and watched it again. Please forgive me reader, I really love this book. The movie is great too, but the book is better but both are wonderful.
I think many girls reading this book identify with Matilda. I grew up in a family that did not really know I was around. When I was missing, no one noticed. When I asked for a book, my mother thought I was a bit odd although we did not have the same television viewing habits as Matilda's parents had. Her parents watched it all of the time. We did not. It was an aunt who taught me to use the public library and I walked several miles to the library alone just to use the library and carried the books home to read them in trees. Note to the reader, no one ev
er looks up into trees so no one ever saw me. I was not allowed to stay in my room during the day and beside I shared one with my sister.I wish I could say I was as smart as Matilda is and that I taught myself to read. No, I learned to read in school but once I started there was no stopping me. I just loved looking at Matilda going through all of the books in the public library and the librarian who helped her. I had a librarian who helped me. The illustrations really caught the niceness of Matilda and the way she was so hungry for knowledge.
Finally, she started school and she meets a wonderful teacher, Miss Honey. As smart as Matilda was, she was well liked by her fellow students but not by Miss Trunchbull, the kid-hating headmistress. Dahl makes it all sound so believable. There is magic in the world and the author is the one to record it.
Matilda does get a family that deserves her although I did not. Still, there is enough wonderful magic in the story that it gives the reader the hope that all will turn out well for everyone in the end.
It's hard to believe that Dahl used to be a fighter pilot during World War II and a spy for the British but he led a very exciting life. He must have led an exciting inner life too. I will be reviewing more Dahl books as time goes by.
I had "Jamie and the Magic Peach" but I lost it. Here in Korea, children come up to me and stare and sometimes say hello. We, Americans, are almost always teachers. One very special little boy came up and he was so delightful that I gave him the book. I hope he is able to read it someday.
