Matilda is turning 25 this year! Kind of unbelievable, right? How can it already be 25 years since this wonderfully witty, intelligent five-year-old sprang onto the literary scene, inspiring all of us to read more and fight the man with our powers of telekinesis (Er, or just wish we had powers of telekinesis)? We’re celebrating this milestone with an epic 25-stop blog tour! Follow along to find out how your favorite bloggers feel about Matilda, and for a chance to win a Matilda prize pack at each and every stop!

Roald Dahl may have summed up the power of books to transport readers best in Matilda, where he wrote, “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.” Every Tuesday, bloggers on the Matilda 25th Anniversary tour will write about how they use books as an escape from real life. Add how books help you escape in the comments!

Matilda definitely uses books as an escape from her horrible parents and Miss Trunchbull. When she reads books, she doesn’t have to think about anything bad in her life. How have books been an escape for you, like they are for Matilda?

Funny thing about Matilda is that my husband was the one to introduce me to this fantastic character. Matilda was actually one of his favorite books as a child and he’s mentioned it often with fondness since we’ve been married. It’s a book I know he’s eager to read to both of our children because of the message Matilda shares about being positive and diving into good books when you need an escape from everyday life.

For me personally books have long been a way for me to escape. I’m not one to read non-fiction or anything too serious because I’ve always relied on books as a way for me to travel far away to magical lands or as a way to work through the things going on in my life. From books that take me places I’ve never been before like Alison Croggon’s Pellinor series to books that help me work through life like Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, each has brought a new outlook to my own life and helped me feel less alone in this big world. This among many other reasons is why I read. Books have the power to transform you from the inside out, to change the person you are and make you better for having picked them up. Books are life.

Giveaway!

Did you know Matilda is now a Tony Award-nominated Broadway Musical? The show opened in April and has already been nominated for 12 Tony Awards, including Best Musical! Since not everyone can go to New York City to see the show in person, Penguin Teen is bringing the show to you with a Matilda the Musical prize pack giveaway! Enter to win a copy of the Matilda the Musical soundtrack, a Matilda the Musical poster, and a paperback copy of Matilda by Roald Dahl! (Open to US residents only. Be sure to fill out the Rafflecopter form below to enter.) You can buy tickets, see pictures, and listen to music from Matilda the Musical on their website: http://us.matildathemusical.com/

About Roald Dahl:
Roald Dahl (1916-1990) was born in Llandaff, South Wales, and went to Repton School in England. His parents were Norwegian, so holidays were spent in Norway. As he explains in Boy, he turned down the idea of university in favor of a job that would take him to “a wonderful faraway place.” In 1933 he joined the Shell Company, which sent him to Mombasa in East Africa. When World War II began in 1939 he became a fighter pilot and in 1942 was made assistant air attaché in Washington, where he started to write short stories. His first major success as a writer for children was in 1964. Thereafter his children’s books brought him increasing popularity, and when he died children mourned the world over. Matilda was published just two years before he died. Quentin Blake, the first Children’s Laureate of the United Kingdom, has illustrated most of Roald Dahl’s children’s books.

Matilda is a genius. Unfortunately, her family treats her like a dolt. Her crooked car-salesman father and loud, bingo-obsessed mother think Matilda’s only talent is as a scapegoat for everything that goes wrong in their miserable lives. But it’s not long before the sweet and sensitive child decides to fight back. Faced with practical jokes of sheer brilliance, her parents don’t stand a chance.
Matilda applies her untapped mental powers to rid the school of the evil, child-hating headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, and restore her nice teacher, Miss Honey, to financial security.

Be sure to visit the Official Matilda Facebook page to keep up with all things Matilda! To find out more about Matilda the Musical on Broadway, visit their Facebook page!

For the next stop on the Matilda 25th Anniversary blog tour, head to GreenBeanTeenQueen tomorrow!

Find Matilda by Roald Dahl at the following spots:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Powell’s Books | Indiebound | Book Depository | Goodreads | ISBN/ISBN-13: 0142410373 / 9780142410370

Thank you so much to the publisher, Penguin Teen, for providing a copy of this book for review and giveaway! Connect with them on Twitter and on Facebook!
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Original article: Giveaway: Matilda by Roald Dahl Turns 25!

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