Matilda is such a beloved story, I remember it from my childhood and its crazy to think it is 30 years old!
Matilda is a little girl that loves to learn, she is the youngest daughter of Mr and Mrs Wormwood. She has an older brother too. Her family don’t like learning, they sit and watch the tv all the time, her dad is crooked and mum just likes to play bingo everyday. When Matilda asks for a book, her dad goes mad saying she has everything she could possibly want they have a tv why do you want books?
So Matilda goes to the library and starts reading all the books she can get her hands on. Soon she wants to go to school, so her dad sends her to a horrible school where the headmistress is an awful person who doesn’t like children at all. But luckily her teacher is lovely and she soon sees that Matilda is a remarkable girl.
Meanwhile Matilda finds out she has powers, she can move things with her mind! This comes in handy later in the book when the headteacher becomes more of a brute than usual and is mean to the lovely teacher that is also her niece.
It’s safe to say this story has a happy ending.
This story is a true children’s classic, loved by young and old alike.

Out of all the Roald Dahl books Matilda has always been one of my favourites, only really landing behing The Twits. This new edition showing what may have become of Matilda is brilliant, and re reading now has left me wanting to dig out my old copies of his various books. Many thanks for affording me the oportunity to read it again.

Matilda is 30! How is that even possible?! Matilda and I became friends 29 years ago and her story remains one of my all time favourites. I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve read it over the years but I can say that it gave me hope that circumstances can always improve, taught me that girls can be powerful and resilient, and that it is perfectly okay to be a book nerd, and proven if you’re really lucky you’ll find your very own Mrs Phelps and Miss Honey. I spent my childhood on the lookout for my Miss Honey.

I never had friends that enjoyed reading when I was growing up so Matilda became that for me. We even had a shared favourite book, The Secret Garden. I loved this story so much that the year after I first read it I wrote a multi page poem about the infamous chocolate cake incident for school. Not many things survived my childhood but I still have my treasured 1989 paperback copy of Matilda and that poem.

I found an amazing article by Mara Wilson about Matilda at 30 here: https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/10/mara-wilson-matilda-and-me-at-30. I love that there are multiple 30th anniversary editions of Matilda, each showing her thriving in a different way. Naturally this means that I have to buy one of each because, you know, marketing and obsessive book love and I have to have them all!!!

I need to press pause for a bit and tell you how much I adore all of Quentin Blake’s illustrations in Matilda and the rest of Roald Dahl’s books. As a kid I read about a bazillion books and while I always remembered the names of the titles and authors, the only illustrator whose name I knew was Quentin’s. Roald and Quentin made a perfect team, with Quentin highlighting all the phizz-whizzing quirkiness of Roald’s imagination. Even now I compare every illustrator I come across to Quentin; I can’t help it.

I don’t think you can truly put into words the impact a book has had on you like Matilda had on me but I know I wouldn’t be who I am today without it. While reading it this time I wondered where its characters would be today. I expect I’ll change my mind each time I reread this book from now on but here’s what I came up with this time:

The Wormwoods

Michael Wormwood eventually reconnected with his brilliant sister and they stay in regular contact. After some turbulent times as a teenager where he made some choices he’d prefer to forget including stealing cars, Michael turned his life around and now mentors troubled teens.

Mrs Wormwood is now a frumpet in an aged care facility where she cheats at Bingo and watches her programmes. She did try to sell Avon for a while but potential customers took one look at her caked on makeup and shut the door in her face. She never made a single sale. She bleached her hair one too many times so she’s now bald and her face has a look of perpetual surprise due to botched plastic surgery.

Mr Wormwood remains a grunion. The Wormwoods lived in Spain for a few years until his schemes were discovered and they were run out of the country. After trying and failing to implement new scams in numerous other countries Mr Wormwood eventually found work at a sawdust mill. His boss is a woman. He has a phobia of hats.

The Kids

Fred, Matilda’s friend who owned Chopper the parrot, became a veterinarian.

Lavender remains adventurous and now spends her days touring the world, conquering one extreme sport after another. She has lucrative sponsorship deals and whenever she’s photographed you can be sure her hair is a different colour, but never lavender. She has a pet newt and remains in contact with Matilda.

Hortensia now owns a pub and is known to regale her customers with wild, detailed yarns about her formative years under the watchful glare of the Trunchbull and her experiences in The Chokey. No one knows whether to believe her or not but she’s a born storyteller so they always come back for more.

Ollie Bogswhistle double crossed the wrong people and wound up serving time. He’s currently a prison snitch and after being on the receiving end of one too many punches he now sports a full set of dentures.

Julius Rottwinkle has a fear of heights and flying, among many other phobias. He attends therapy frequently. He hasn’t eaten liquorice since he was a child.

Nigel Hicks has extraordinary balance. He wrote a book espousing the health benefits of not showering very frequently but for some reason remains single.

Prudence, emboldened by being able to spell a ‘difficult’ word in Miss Trunchbull’s presence, went on to become a spelling bee champion.

Amanda Thripp never cut her hair again, an achievement that has made her the Guinness World Record holder for having the longest hair. She only ever wears her hair in pigtails.

Rupert Entwistle works at the Natural History Museum but his passion is cryptozoology. He had a secret crush on his next door neighbour Lavender for many years and follows her adventures on social media.

The other Rupert, Matilda’s classmate with the golden tresses, became an accountant and carries a calculator wherever he goes.

Eric Ink has a most unusual party trick; he can waggle his ears at will. He loves cosplay and due to his large pixie shaped ears he never needs to worry about adding prosthetic ears to his costumes.

Wilfred overcame his fear of being upside down when he went bungee jumping.

Bruce Bogtrotter became a competitive eater during high school and is now a well known food critic. His favourite food is chocolate cake and travels the world in search of a more delicious cake than the one Cook baked for him. He’s yet to find one.

The Crunchem Staff

Cook, may she rest in peace, quit her job shortly after selling her prized chocolate cake recipe to the highest bidder and then proceeded to lose every cent betting on the horses.

After Mr Trilby became the Head Teacher of Crunchem Hall Primary School the students and teachers breathed a collective sigh of relief. He became the most loved Head Teacher that ever ran the school. Sure, that’s not saying much, but he was wonderful. Honest!

Miss Plimsoll remained a teacher until she retired. She never had another student as brilliant as Matilda.

The Trunchbull was never heard from again. A school without children was established several years after she disappeared. While record numbers of applications were received for the school’s teaching positions, the school itself surprisingly went bankrupt within its first year and was forced to close. There is an old lady in Arkham Asylum that constantly mutters about chalk but no one knows who she is.

The Heroes

Mrs Phelps went on to inspire countless young minds to adore reading. A number of her patrons became well known authors and you’ll find her name in the dedications and acknowledgement sections of several bestsellers. Mrs Phelps has since retired and now travels the world, Kindle in hand. She spends each Christmas with Matilda and Miss Honey.

Miss Honey found her relatives in Australia and has visited them a few times during school holidays. She adopted Matilda but only because she needed offical paperwork to prove what they already knew; they were family. Miss Honey went on to become many students’ favourite teacher and won numerous awards for her pioneering method of using music in her classroom. Her home is full of books. She loves nothing more than pottering around in the garden at The Red House and lives a peaceful, quiet life.

Matilda has led a full life. She couldn’t decide which university course to study so she completed them all and was able to study for free because of the scholarships she was awarded. She has travelled extensively, following in the footsteps of the characters in the books of her childhood. She has worked as a librarian, lovingly sharing her passion for books with a new generation. She has also published a number of books, both fiction and nonfiction. She gets excited when she finds a book she hasn’t read. After consulting with Matilda behind the scenes many leaders have implemented her ideas to solve worldwide problems. Matilda is a wonderful mother and a loving partner, and Miss Honey remains one of her favourite people. Above all, Matilda is happy.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Puffin, an imprint of Penguin Random House UK, for the excuse to read this book yet again. As soon as I saw the 30th anniversary edition on NetGalley I got so excited about Quentin Blake’s amazing covers I had to see them immediately!

I was 9 when I read this book. My brother was dating someone with a 4 year old and I started reading it to her as a bed time story. When she fell asleep, I carried on reading.
It’s such a wonderful story that brings joy to anyone who reads. Her story will forever wiggle its way into everyone’s hearts.

My thanks to Penguin Random House U.K., Puffin and NetGalley for the opportunity to read in advance the 30th Anniversary edition of ‘Matilda’.

These beautiful editions have covers illustrated by Quentin Blake imagining Matilda at 30 as the Chief Executive of the British Library, an astrophysicist, and a world traveller. The ebook contained all three cover illustrations, Blake’s description of her British Library occupation, and the original story.

I was already an adult when ‘Matilda’ was first published and somehow I had never managed to read it. So this was my first encounter and I immediately fell in love. As a precocious reader myself I could certainly relate to her, though happily I had parents who encouraged me.

The tale was just magical with such brilliant illustrations throughout. I certainly didn’t feel too old to be discovering Matilda for the first time and was bubbling with joy as I read. My first act after finishing was to order my own hardback copy. My choice: astrophysicist.

I feel in love with this book at the age of 9 and 30 years on I still feel the same. Re-visiting my childhood which was lovely. Reading this book kicked started my passion for books. I just cannot get over it was released 30 years ago.
You are never too old to read Roald Dahl-
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House UK for giving me the opportunity to relive my childhood again.

I can't believe "Matilda by Roald Dahl" is Thirty years old this year. Blimey I feel Old!!!!

I remember opening this magical book thirty years ago. I used to read this book to my little sister Zeee in my sisters bedroom and the whole room came alive every time I read it to her.
This became Zee's favourite book to this day.

So reading Matilda again bought back all those childhood special memories with Zee back to life. This was one of Roald Dahl's best book and always been my Favourite as well.

So this book has made a Perfect Birthday present to my little sister Zee who is 33 this month.

It's Lovely to see it revived again so new children can read this magical book and live the story.

Big Fat 5 Stars for this magical book.

Big Thank you to Penguin Random House UK Children’s Puffin, Children's Fiction , and Netgalley advance copy of Roald Dahl’s Matilda, the 30th birthday edition.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Random House UK Children’s and Puffin for the chance to read this novel.

Matilda has been one of my favourite books since childhood. I read it multiple times when I was younger, watched the movie multiple times when it was released and it is always the joint favourite with The BFG when I’m asked my favourite childhood story.

It was great to be reading this deliciously funny book again with an adult perspective. As soon as I began reading the memories came rushing back, from the wonderful illustrations to sitting laughing at Matilda’s acts of revenge against the adults who have wronged her. There was also some great moments of nostalgia in rereading this book. Who would have thought back then that the line “We’ve got a lovely telly with a twelve-inch screen” would become so funny and dated? My kids wouldn’t be happy with a television that size in their bedrooms now, let alone in the front room.

The unique prose of Roald Dahl is as brilliantly funny now as it was 30 years ago. I enjoyed the chance to reread this classic story and although it may have been written for children, it is a great read for all ages.

Loved reading Matilda again. She's a feisty, intelligent girl and now 30 years on we find out what became of her. I can't wait to read the new books. Loved the cover reveals as well.

What a great timeless classic. I loved it as a child and now my 2 and 4 year old love it too. You will never get bored of this one. Illustrations are brilliant.

I've never read a Roald Dahl novel before but I remember watching the movie Matilda when I was little and I was curious what the source text is like.

Unfortunately, the writing just wasn't for me. I liked the overall story, but I don't think that I'm going to read any more novels by him in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of Roald Dahl’s Matilda, the 30th birthday edition. The rating and review are my own thoughts and opinions, and have not been influenced by receiving this book to read.

Matilda Wormwood, what a girl! Or what a women, it is her 30th birthday!

This is by far my favourite Roald Dahl story, filled with humour and a plucky little heroine ready to right the wrongs of the world. Whether you were a child in the nineties or whether you are reading this to your own children I think that Matilda has a charm that can eclipse the generations.

Tap back into your childhood and give this a read, then watch the amazing film adaptation and then if you’re feeling fancy go and check out Tim Minchin’s Matilda musical on the West End!

We already stock this timeless classic, but if we didn't this gorgeous edition would have pride of place. One of the perfect children's books, it will continue to find audiences for generstions...

Matilda is one of my favourite Roald Dahl books. Unfortunately I couldn't read this because I couldn't get it to download onto e-reader. I will keep trying and see if I can manage it would love to read this again can't believe Matilda is 30.

Just as I remember it! Goes to show this is a timeless children's classic - this will definitely be one I read to my child. I love the new covers too

Love this book. Such a classic. So enjoyable for all ages. Such a big part of my childhood. I loved re-reading this to my son.

Matilda always had and always will be my favourite childhood book. It fills me with nostalgia from start to finish. I have since started to read it to my 2 year old daughter (in small chunks) in hopes it ignites the same warmth as it caused me 20 years ago

How can Matilda be 30?? I remember getting this book the day it was released and adoring it, really loving it and wishing I had her powers. Reading again is a wonderful stroll down memory lane and this exceptional book still stands up!

A wonderful trip down memory lane for a childhood favourite!

It was also fun to imagine just what this bright, young, inspiring girl would be up to now. I personally think she would be the Chief Executive of the British Library.

Roald Dahl had such a way with the written word that no matter who the target audience was - children or older - he managed to speak to you in a way that invited you into his story or into his life.

Many thanks to Roald Dahl, Penguin Random House UK Children’s, and NetGalley for an ARC of the 30th Birthday Edition of this classic story in exchange for an honest review.

I was so looking forward to reading this as I had loved Roald Dahl's Matilda with a passion. However, to my horror this was not a kindle file, but a PDF which I am unable to read. My disappointment is huge, I would loved to have read about Matilda, how she had turned out and how life for her is in her thirties! But this is not to be, sigh....I am so envious of those who are in a position to read this.