Quote 1
"A fine writer will always make you feel that," Mrs Phelps said. "And don't worry about the bits you can't understand. Sit back and allow the words to wash around you, like music." (1.49)
Mrs. Phelps would be an awesome teacher. She's so much more than a librarian who gives Matilda books. She shows Matilda how to read them, by letting the words wash over her. That just goes to show that reading can be about more than just gaining facts and knowledge; it can be an experience.
Quote 2
During the first week of Matilda's visits Mrs Phelps had said to her, "Does your mother walk you down here every day and then take you home?"
"My mother goes to Aylesbury every afternoon to play bingo," Matilda had said. "She doesn't know I come here." (1.34-5)
While it might seem like a very bad thing (and it actually is, to be fair), the Wormwoods' lack of interest in their daughter frees her. Matilda can do what she wants in the afternoons because her parents are too busy with their own lives to care. It's sad, but awfully convenient for our budding young reader.