Nurse Matilda: The Collected Tales [Hardcover]

Christianna Brand (Author), Edward Ardizzone (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 7 and up | Grade Level: 2 and up

Mr. and Mrs. Brown were forever having trouble with their numerous and incredibly naughty children . . . until the day Nurse Matilda entered their lives.
First published nearly fifty years ago, Nurse Matilda and its two companion books-Nurse Matilda Goes to Town and Nurse Matilda Goes to Hospital-have charmed readers ever since. Now the inspiration for the major motion picture Nanny McPhee, all three beloved books are available once again in a deluxe hardcover edition which features the three complete and unabridged books by Christianna Brand, along with Edward Ardizzone's charming black-and-white illustrations.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Gr. 3-5. Nurse Matilda is a combination of Mary Poppins, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, and TV's Super Nanny. The three tales of Nurse Matilda's entanglements with the Brown family, which were published individually in the 1960s, might have languished in out-of-print purgatory were it not for a "major motion picture," entitled Nanny McPhee, inspired by the stories. American readers, even those "of a certain age," may not be familiar with the Nanny tales, but there's lots to warm up to, including Ardizzone's lively ink drawings, over-the-top events, and the arch, yet understated, British tone ("I understand that your children are exceedingly naughty"). And so the Brown children are, mixing up mischief and a bit of violence. One of Brand's funny conceits is that the children are too numerous to be counted, with new ones continually being named. Still, by the third section, in which the children play havoc with several elderly ladies, the bad behavior seems gratuitous and belabored. The book's popularity in the U.S. will probably be tied to the movie's.^B Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Christianna Brand had a number of different occupations, including model, dancer, shop assistant, and governess. Brand herself admitted, "I write for no reason more pretentious than simply to entertain." She died in 1988.

Edward Ardizzone wrote and illustrated about twenty books for children and edited and illustrated two volumes of classic fairy tales over the course of his fifty-year career. He also wrote five books for adults and illustrated more than 150 books by other authors. He died in 1979.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Hardcover: 382 pages
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's Books (February 10, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1582346704
• ISBN-13: 978-1582346700
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #600,164 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious and completely charming, February 7, 2006

By 

Silicon Valley Girl (Sunnyvale, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: Nurse Matilda: The Collected Tales (Hardcover)

After seeing the movie "Nanny McPhee," my six-year-old daughter and I couldn't wait to read the book it was based on. We weren't disappointed. The Brown children in the book really are terribly, TERRIBLY naughty, maybe even worse than the children in the movie. There are more of them, too - a seemingly endless number; thus more opportunities for naughtiness.

I love this book because it makes it clear that even while she's teaching the children to behave, Nurse Matilda loves them not just in spite of their naughtiness, but because of it. The ineffectual parents are pretty funny, too. And the illustrations by Edward Ardizzone couldn't be more charming.

Be prepared for questions about Britishisms - e.g., the children eat swedes and roly-poly pudding with treacle, and the Baby wears a nappy. It all adds to the atmosphere.

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Emma Thompson's Film is Actually Better, January 30, 2006

By 

M. Barks "Marji" (Madera, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Nurse Matilda: The Collected Tales (Hardcover)

The books by Christianna Brand are charming and are written with typical British understatement. The only complaint that I had is that the children's adventures tend to become repetitious after a while, the pattern of the lessons is always the same. The screenplay that Emma Thompson created using these books as her inspiration is nothing less than wonderful. It simply soared! My 22-year-old daughter and I left the theatre delighted and planning our next visit to the Brown family.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars watch out Mary Poppins...here comes Nurse Matilda!!!, December 30, 2005

By 

mamareadssomuch "mamareadssomuch" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nanny McPhee: Based on the Collected Tales of Nurse Matilda (Paperback)

Written in 1946, this endearing tale of an atrocious looking Nanny with a magical walking stick is very entertaining! Mr and Mrs Brown have many children and go through many nurses, governesses and nannies as they are a trifle hard to handle! Nurse Matilda arrives on the scene and order is restored, but not before lots of naughty fun is had.

I'll be eager to see the movie version, NANNY MCPHEE!