Matilda

by
Roald Dahl
Illustrator: Quentin Blake

Matilda is not yet five years old and already she is an exceptional child although her narrow-minded parents don't think so! When Matilda goes to school at Crunchem Hall she meets the frightening and bullying headmistress, Agatha Trunchbull and witnesses her terrible temper.

It is the warm-hearted Miss Honey who recognises Matilda's remarkable talent and sets out to help her. Matilda discovers that she has a very special power that allows her to deal with difficult grown-ups.

This modern fairy tale is about a girl who is determined to create her own place in the world through strength, courage and a delight in creating mischief.

Publisher: Puffin

Quentin Blake

Children's Laureate 1999-2001
Quentin Blake was born in 1932 and read English at Cambridge, before attending Chelsea Art College. He has won many major prizes for illustration, including the Kate Greenaway Medal (1980) and the Red House Children's Book Award (1981) for Mister Magnolia. He is also the winner of the Hans Christian Andersen Award for Illustration and in 1990 was voted 'The Illustrator's Illustrator' by Observer Magazine. A tireless promoter of children's literature – and a long-time collaborator with roald Dahl – Quentin Blake was awarded the OBE in 1988 and in 2005 he was awarded a CBE for services to Children's Literature. In the most recent New Year’s Honours list he has been knighted.

Quentin was the inaugural Children's Laureate (1999-2001), an experience he recorded in his book Laureate's Progress. During his time in the role, he celebrated children's books and children's book illustration with a range of projects and exhibitions, and conceived the idea for the House of Illustration, the world's first centre dedicated to the art of illustration in all its forms.

Visit Quentin's website