Roald Dahl’s classic children’s novel Matilda (1988/2018) has long been considered controversial by literary scholars on account of its stereotypes, sexism, and violence. At the same time, the novel has long been a favourite among educators for its ability to encourage children to read. This article suggests ways in which the controversial contents of Matilda can be harnessed to teach critical pedagogy and inclusion to pre-service student teachers for primary school. The article also reports on a small study carried out with a class of student teachers at a Swedish university. Students were asked to critically assess Matilda’s use in their future classroom as well as in their own education. The results of the study indicate that the novel has great potential for discussing social justice, inclusion and children’s literature in ELT, both on the teacher education programme and in the ELT classroom in primary school.