Books That Make a Childhood No.1 Matilda by Roald Dahl

The book I have decided to start off the blog with is a classic, but when I look back to my childhood it is the definitive book that stands out time and time again. After all, if ever there was a champion for any child who loves to read, it is Roald Dahl’s Matilda.

It is always difficult to pin down exactly what it is about a book that you love, when the book is so deeply ingrained in your childhood. I remember reading Matilda again and again almost obsessively,
never tiring of the characters and the story. It is hard as an adult to try and break down and explain the magical experiences of childhood.

But here it goes… first and foremost, I love the intelligence and wit of Matilda, combined with her child’s need for love and affection. Watching her take on the adults in her life and win is hilarious, but the way in which she discovers a new maternal
figure in Miss Honey, is also deeply moving. It is essentially the narrative of two lonely outsiders who find each other, and reminds us that for all the grotesque characters and events, it is a story about love.

On the other hand, the villains of the story are truly spectacular, most notably of course the incomparable Miss Trunchbull. I often used the extract where Dahl introduces Miss Trunchbull when Iwas teaching students about descriptive writing, as it is a masterclass in characterisation.

Dahl makes her actions so extreme that rather than being frightened of her, we find her humorous. After all, the idea of throwing a child out the window by
the pigtails is so ridiculous and removed from reality, it definitely becomes funny rather than disturbing.

Likewise the episode where she forces Bruce Bogtrotter to eat the whole chocolate cake as a punishment. The genius of the punishment makes us laugh, although admittedly if anything were to ever put me off chocolate cake, that just might!

Overall, the message of the book is one that any parent can happily pass on to their child. The TV watching habits of the Wormwood family have produced horrible, vacuous individuals who cheatt heir way through life. Matilda’s love of reading on the other hand, gives her a friend for life, and the wit and insight to take down the bullying adults in her life. She has “a view of life that they had never seen”, and she turns this to her advantage. The book is a
homage to the act of reading, and therefore
definitely deserves a place on this list.

Sounds Right Phonics classes open up a world of literacy for children and adults. To find out more, check out my Facebook page: www.facebook.com/soundsrightphonicsdartford

Comments

Postnatal Depression and Me

Like so many of us, I found the news from the weekend devastating. I did not know Caroline Flack, and I did not watch a single episode of Love Island. But I did watch every performance of hers in Strictly Come Dancing, including the final in 2014. This final stands out to me, not just because of Caroline’s sensational dance performances, but because this was the Christmas where I had literally just found out that I was pregnant with my daughter, Julia. As I watched Caroline absolutely smash the final, I did not know that I had started a journey that was going to have lasting consequences for me, far beyond the day I went into hospital to give birth. I know like many survivors of severe depression, reading about her death has stirred up memories and given me flashbacks to a time when I too felt there was no other way out. Caroline’s death has shown that mental illness is real, and it kills. This is why I finally feel ready to properly share my story with you all. I had suffered from...

Books that Make a Childhood No.3 The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S Lewis

When I was a child I developed a strange habit whenever we went on holiday. Every new hotel room or holiday cottage or caravan we went into, I would always head straight to one place: the wardrobe. Whatever coats or hangers were in there would be pushed to one side, in order to find the back of the wardrobe. And every time I realised that the back of that wardrobe was solid and fixed, I would experience the same sense of disappointment. Narnia had eluded me once more. I am sure I am not the only child who has tried to walk through the back of the wardrobe, for C S Lewis creates a world that is enchanting and alluring, despite all its dangers. Who would not want to go to a land covered in snow, where you can meet a faun, or talking beavers and a magical lion? The detail of his world is breath-taking to a child, and the memories will never leave you. Even now, when I see a lamp post covered in snow, I am immediately taken back to that first scene in Narnia, where Lucy collides with Mr...

Books That Make a Childhood No.4 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K Rowling

I must confess that I was probably already pushing the definition of child when I first read Harry Potter, but it definitely deserves a place in our Books That Make a Childhood series. The scale of the Harry Potter universe now is so huge, that it is very easy to forget it all began with one book that was rejected by numerous publishers and only had 500 copies published. It has become a phenomenon, but nothing comes of nothing, and it all started with one book that made a huge connection with its young readers. I think a lot of its success is due to the fact that J K Rowling is using traditional story archetypes and themes that appeal to both children and adults. The idea of someone who is an outsider in one world, treated with contempt by those around him, suddenly discovering that he is a legendary figure in another, taps into the classic superhero story line. The abilities that make Harry an outcast in the everyday world, suddenly become his means of escape. Harry Potter is primaril...

Sounds Right Phonics Dartford

Search This Blog