Matilda Who told Lies (Picture Puffin) [Paperback]

Hilaire Belloc (Author), Steven Kellogg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1992 | Series: Picture Puffin

Meet Matilda, whose unfortunate habit of lying leads her to an unusually unfortunate fate. Grinning, sneering, and smirking, Matilda is the timeless sister of the boy who cried wolf in this hilarious Victorian cautionary tale with deliciously wicked two-color illustrations.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Belloc's heroine is one of several figures he conceived in satirizing the moralistic tales used in Edwardian England to instill proper behavior in children. Regrettably, Simmonds has illustrated one of the author's least hyperbolic--and thus least successful--verses. Matilda, an incorrigible fibber, calls the fire brigade out on a false alarm; later, when fire does indeed break out, she is disbelieved and left to burn to death. Despite a few delectable moments--the firemen take particular pains to drench the family portraits--the tale overall is macabre rather than funny, both because its denouement is not especially inventive and because death by fire is all too common. And, apart from the marvelous glint in Matilda's eye, Simmonds's illustrations, chiefly in muted pinks and grays, are restrained. A more wildly exaggerated and satisfying spoof can be found in Belloc's Jim, Who Ran Away from His Nurse and Was Eaten by a Lion , riotously illustrated by Victoria Chess. All ages.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-3-- Matilda has obviously not heard the story of the boy who cried wolf. She cries, ``Fire!'' causing a great brouhaha composed of clanging fire wagons, water-drenched drawing rooms, and humiliated female relatives. But it all comes back to her when the house really burns down and no one believes in her cries of alarm. Matilda, along with her abode, is reduced to ashes. Simmonds illustrates Belloc's macabre, Edwardian moral tale with blackly humorous panache. Her smoky palette is perfect for the fiery subject matter, particularly her characterization of Matilda, with her malicious dark eyes and rotund appearance. Paired with other stories on truth telling or read on its own, this has story-time potential for tough-minded moralists. --Ann Welton, Thomas Academy, Kent, WA
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (May 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140545476
• ISBN-13: 978-0140545470
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 5.9 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,763,266 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Your Sugar-coated Fairytale, December 8, 2010

By 

Fraueinkaufen (Cincinnati, Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Matilda Who Told Lies and Was Burned to Death (Library Binding)

The European version of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf." Matilda hosts a great moral to the story for children that lie. Not a fairytale ending...thankfully.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ummm, people - this is the poem by Belloc, not the book by Dahl, February 5, 2007

By 

Aunt Book - See all my reviews

This review is from: Matilda Who Told Such Dreadful Lies . . . . (Hardcover)

Apparently whoever put this page together doesn't grasp that it's about the poem by Hilaire Belloc, as illustrated by Posy Simmonds, not about Roald Dahl's book.

The poem is hilarious - one of Belloc's Awful Warning poems - and the illustrations of a beady-eyed, sneaky looking Matilda set it off beautifully. I recommend it highly!

3 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Surprisingly Awful Book, December 2, 2002

By 

Lane Young "Teacher and Librarian" (Highland Park, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Matilda Who told Lies (Picture Puffin) (Paperback)

Obviously from the German style of fairy tales, this book is beautifully illustrated, but somewhat horrifying for adult sensibilities. Children, however, did not seem nearly as horrified as the adults who read this book, suggesting the pictures of Madeline burning alive in her apartment was just part of the moral for them. An interesting read although not one I could wholeheartedly recommend to be read to children.