#2 in Children’s books
Matilda
- 240
- Pages
- about 4.5 h
- Reading time
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Our view
Dahl gives a brilliant small girl a set of dreadful adults and lets her get even, first with pranks and then by stranger means. The comedy is broad and the satisfaction of seeing bullies beaten is complete, but the cruelty of the headmistress is drawn with a dark humour that some parents find strong for younger children. A fine read-aloud at 240 pages, especially for children who feel cleverer than the adults around them.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
Matilda is a 1988 children's novel by British author Roald Dahl. It was published by Jonathan Cape. The story features Matilda Wormwood, a precocious child with an uncaring mother and father, and her time in a school run by the tyrannical headmistress Miss Trunchbull.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.6 across 1,447 ratings. With that many, the reader vote carries 91% of the weight and the score stays at 8.5 — the Children’s books average of 7.9 barely moves it.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 8.7 | 276 | 19% |
| Hardcover | 8.5 | 1.2K | 81% |
Frequently asked
What age is Matilda for?
Matilda sits on the Children shelf in the sources we use, which by convention means roughly ages 5–10. This is a guide from the book’s category, not a publisher’s age rating. It has 240 pages — longer than 63% of the ranked books in Children’s books.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Children’s books — with scores between 8.0 and 8.1, closest to this book.
