Matilda turns 30 on Monday. To celebrate, Puffin Books have teamed up with Sir Quentin Blake to imagine what career everyone’s favourite bookworm would have at the age of 30. Three special editions will be released on 1 October, with new jackets depicting Matilda as an astrophysicist, world traveller and Chief Executive of the British Library.
The lovely team at Puffin Books sent me a copy of the world traveller edition* and I swear it’s one of the most beautiful books I’ve ever received.
It came in a lovely package wrapped in a red ribbon (fans will know the significance), with the quote ‘be outrageous’ on it:
“Never do anything by halves if you want to get away with it. Be outrageous. Go the whole hog. Make sure everything you do is so completely crazy it’s unbelievable.” – Roald Dahl, Matilda
And we all know that you’ve got to peek under the cover. I think I actually swooned a bit.
The quotes and cover illustrations are so perfect:
“The books transported her into new worlds and introduced her to amazing people who lived exciting lives. She went on olden-day sailing ships with Joseph Conrad. She went to Africa with Ernest Hemingway and to India with Rudyard Kipling. She travelled all over the world while sitting in her little room in an English village.”
Inside the accompanying birthday card, the Puffin press team asks where you imagine Matilda is at age 30 and to write it down and share it (chalkboard and chalk included – cute!). As a fellow 30-year-old and bookworm, I like to think that, whatever she’s doing for a living, she’s also a feminist book blogger!
Are you a life-long Matilda fan too? What do you think she’s doing now?
Buy them on Amazon:
Astrophysicist
World Traveller
Chief Executive of the British Library
*I was sent this book for review purposes and all thoughts are my own
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Oh wow! These are amazing. Matilda is one of my favourite childhood books and her story insider me to read. I like to think she’d follow in Miss Honey’ s footsteps and is now a teacher encouraging young children. Or another profession working for or with children given her childhood at the start.
Ooh that’s a good one!