Matilda audiobook vs book: which should you choose?
Matilda is a short, funny children’s classic told in order. Kate Winslet’s reading won an award, a newer recording by Daisy Ridley adds sound effects, and the printed book has Quentin Blake’s drawings.
Short answer: for the Matilda audiobook vs book choice, we say listen on Audible (100% confidence, clear cut). The scored recording is Daisy Ridley’s unabridged reading for Puffin (2024), 4 hours 9 minutes, described by Penguin as bursting with sound effects. Kate Winslet’s Penguin Audio reading (4 hours 18 minutes) is also on Audible UK. Quentin Blake’s illustrations are print only. One narrator with sound effects favours audio, and nothing confirmed favours print.
Listen on Audible
One narrator, sound effects and a story that stays with Matilda favour audio. Nothing confirmed favours print.
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Confidence 100%, which puts it in the clear cut band. Bands run from close call at 50 to 64, through leaning at 65 to 79 and clear at 80 to 94, up to clear cut at 95 and above.
The audiobook at a glance
| Recording | UK edition, our verdict (Penguin Audio) | Daisy Ridley recording (UK) |
|---|---|---|
| Narrator | Kate Winslet | Daisy Ridley |
| Length | 4 hours 18 minutes (4h 18m) | 4 hours 9 minutes (4h 9m) |
| At 1.5x | 2h 52m | 2h 46m |
| At 2x | 2h 9m | about 2h 5m |
| Abridged or unabridged | Unabridged | Unabridged |
| Audio publisher and year | Penguin Audio, 11 September 2014 (The Roald Dahl Classic Collection) | Penguin Audio (Puffin), 8 February 2024 (The Roald Dahl Series) |
| Print length | 256 pages (Penguin Classic Collection paperback, 2024) | 384 pages (Puffin paperback, 2023) |
| Reading time | About 2h 48m (40,009 words at 238 a minute) | Not confirmed for the updated text |
In the US, Listening Library sells Kate Winslet’s reading (4h 19m); whether it is the same file as the UK edition is not confirmed. “Unabridged” for both UK recordings comes from Audible UK’s search listings.
Lengths checked 15 October 2026. Speed times are calculated from the listed length, and reading time is an estimate from the word count.
Matilda
Roald Dahl
- Genre
- Children’s fiction
- Published
- 1988
- Length
- 256 pages (Penguin Classic Collection paperback)
- On audio
- 4 hrs 18 mins
- Narrated by
- Kate Winslet
- Illustrated by
- Quentin Blake
- On stage and screen
- A 1996 film, Matilda The Musical on stage since 2010, and a musical film in 2022
On this page
Why we reached this verdict
Every book on this site is checked against the same thirteen questions. They are based on research into what most people find easier to follow in each format, not on whether the book is any good.
Listening: full cast or produced audio (10), single point of view and narrator (7), 17 points. Reading: nothing confirmed, 0 points. 100% of the confirmed points favour listening, so the verdict is listen on Audible at 100% confidence (clear cut).
The recording in detail
- Narrated by
- Daisy Ridley (Puffin, 2024, 4 hrs 9 mins) is the recording we scored; Kate Winslet’s solo unabridged reading (Penguin Audio, 2014) is also on sale
- Awards
- Audie Award, Children’s Titles Ages 8 to 12 (2014), and a 2014 Odyssey Honor
- Listener rating
- 4.8 from 3,284 ratings on Audible UK, as of October 2026
- What audio adds
- Sound effects in the Daisy Ridley recording, and in Kate Winslet’s reading one actor playing every character, with comic timing that won an award
- What you miss
- Quentin Blake’s illustrations, and the extras in some print editions
What this book actually is
Matilda is Roald Dahl’s standalone children’s novel, first published by Jonathan Cape in 1988 and illustrated by Quentin Blake in black and white. It has 21 titled chapters, from “The Reader of Books” to “A New Home”.
Matilda Wormwood is a brilliant girl whose parents ignore her and whose headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, rules the school by fear. Her teacher, Miss Honey, is the one adult who sees what she can do.
Two versions of the text are on sale. Penguin says its Classic Collection “reinstates the versions of Dahl’s books that were published before the 2022 Puffin editions”, and Daisy Ridley’s 2024 recording is described as “updated for a whole new generation of readers”. The book was filmed in 1996, has been a stage musical since 2010, and became a musical film in 2022.
The case for reading it
Quentin Blake’s illustrations are the case for print. His black-and-white illustrations run through the book, and neither audio edition comes with them, not even as a PDF. For many readers the drawings are part of what Matilda is.
Edition extras are print only too: an Emma Thompson foreword on the 2022 film tie-in, a Robin Stevens introduction on the 2025 hardback, and Roald Dahl Museum archive material in the Classic Collection. The text itself is quick to read, at about 40,000 words, or under three hours at an average pace.
The case for listening to it
The story suits being read aloud. It is short, told in order, and full of characters that are fun for a narrator to perform, from Miss Trunchbull to the Wormwoods. Kate Winslet’s recording won the 2014 Audie Award for Children’s Titles Ages 8 to 12 and was a 2014 Odyssey Honor, which cited her “dynamic performance”.
It also works for shared listening. At 4 hours 18 minutes it is a few car journeys long, and Kate Winslet’s reading is rated 4.8 from 3,284 ratings on Audible UK, as of October 2026.
The audiobook in detail
Audible UK sells two unabridged English recordings at the same price. Kate Winslet’s, from Penguin Audio, came out on 11 September 2014 and runs 4 hours 18 minutes: 2 hours 52 minutes at 1.5x and 2 hours 9 minutes at 2x. It sits in The Roald Dahl Classic Collection, which Penguin says restores the text published before 2022. Penguin’s 2016 CD of this reading lists original music and sound design by Pinewood film studios; the Audible download page does not mention music, so we have not counted it.
Daisy Ridley’s recording, from Puffin, came out on 8 February 2024 and runs 4 hours 9 minutes. It is described as “bursting with fantabulous sound effects”, and with 21 ratings on Audible UK as of October 2026 it is still new. In the US, Listening Library sells the Winslet reading at 4 hours 19 minutes.
Who should ignore this verdict
Families sharing the book with a child who loves pictures should choose print: Quentin Blake’s drawings are half the fun, and only the printed book has them. Anyone who specifically wants the updated text, which is the Kate Winslet recording rather than the Daisy Ridley one scored here. So should readers who want the edition extras, from forewords to archive material, which are print only.
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Related verdicts
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Alice in WonderlandLewis CarrollSame verdictAlice in Wonderland
A children’s classic with pictures and a tail-shaped poem.
Start hereHow we decide
The thirteen questions behind every verdict on this site.
Questions people ask
Who narrates the Matilda audiobook?
Kate Winslet reads the lead Audible UK edition, unabridged. Daisy Ridley reads a 2024 recording.
How long is the Matilda audiobook?
The Matilda audiobook is 4 hours 18 minutes (4h 18m) for Kate Winslet’s UK edition, which is 2h 52m at 1.5x and 2h 9m at 2x (calculated). Daisy Ridley’s runs 4 hours 9 minutes.
Is the Matilda audiobook abridged?
No. Both English recordings on Audible are unabridged.
Should I read or listen to Matilda?
Listen on our checks (100% confidence, clear cut). It is a short story told in order by one narrator, the Daisy Ridley recording adds sound effects, and nothing confirmed favours print.
What is the difference between the Kate Winslet and Daisy Ridley Matilda audiobooks?
Winslet’s 2014 recording sits in The Roald Dahl Classic Collection, which Penguin says restores the text published before 2022. Ridley’s 2024 recording is described as updated, and adds sound effects.
Has the Matilda audiobook won any awards?
Yes. Kate Winslet’s recording won the 2014 Audie Award for Children’s Titles Ages 8 to 12 and was a 2014 Odyssey Honor.
Do you agree with this verdict?
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How this verdict was reached
Every book on this site is checked against the same thirteen questions, set in advance and applied identically to every title. They are based on research into what readers and listeners generally find easier to follow in each format, not on personal preference, and they are published in full so you can check the reasoning yourself. Verdicts are never paid for, sponsored or influenced by affiliate partners.
- The criteria: read the thirteen questions in full.
- What we checked for this book: the Penguin Audio and Puffin listings on Audible UK, Penguin Random House US for the Listening Library edition, Penguin UK’s Classic Collection and Puffin edition details, the 2014 Audie and Odyssey award records, and a TeachingBooks word count.
- Verdict last reviewed: 23 October 2026. Editions and narrators change, so verdicts are rechecked annually.
- Prefer different criteria? The app, coming soon, will let you change which of the thirteen questions matter to you.
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