Reviews - The Railway Children

There's something about the way British authors wrote children's books a hundred years ago that just hits different. The Railway Children is cozy but never cloying, and the articulate, matter-of-fact telling of the story means it's appealing no matter the reader's age. I never read any of E. Nesbit as a child, excited to change that as an adult!

wendyreadsbook1's review against another edition

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lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

marthaos's review against another edition

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lighthearted reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I read this book as it was February‘s book for Sally Hughes’s @salboreads CCC, and a book I had passed by in the library so often as a child, often meaning to read, but never actually reading. Something about the book, the cover, the blurb, when it was written, even the title, made me think it would be boring, (God forbid!) I read this book in a day and found it delightful.

It is about a family with three children: Roberta, Peter and Phylis, who are beautifully brought-up, love one another and their parents and are friendly to everyone. Their comfortable lives are upended when their father is taken away one day by two men for some unknown reason. They are forced to move to a smaller country cottage with their mother and their days are marked by their daily excursions to the local railway station where they wave every morning to the 9:05, believing they are waving to their dear father. At the station they become good friends with the porter and station master and their friendliness and positivity come back to them with the kindness of those grown-ups and also of the doctor who tends to their mother when she is unwell. It was these kindnesses that really gave me that warm feeling when reading this book, and really did give the message that what you put out into the world comes back to you. The ending was so lovely and sometimes the happy ending is perfect in a book, and it was perfect for this one.

The book is of a different time, a time when children could befriend grownups without fear, when they could go off and play independently, when life was simpler, less busy and families had time to spend with each other. I loved this, the pace, the ease they had with each other, the long days, structured only by the trains passing and when visits from people, a parcel arriving are the big events in their lives.

I found it a lovely read. It was the perfect length, any longer and I may have lost focus, but I really enjoyed it. It was a really nice antidote to the busy-ness of modern lives, of the quagmire of social dangers for young people today and the negativity that can dominate in today’s world due to constant news, social media misuse and lack of community in some areas.

mrs_b_reads's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

joyceontheroad's review against another edition

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lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

A feel good children’s story set in Edwardian times. Enjoyed this, but not my favorite piece of literature.

marty_s's review against another edition

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3.0

Not bad, but not one of my favorite kids' books. The kids are kind of goody-goody, in my opinion, (even though the author keeps making a point of saying how hard it is for them to be good). They don't have much personality -- they're sort of generic turn-of-the-century English children, very concerned with being brave and honorable and good. They're not quite as bland as I'm making them sound, but the only signs of personality they have is that the oldest understands a bit more than the younger two and tries harder to be mature, the middle sibling (a boy) tries to be brave and daring and has maybe the hardest time being good, and the youngest child is always knocking things over or accidentally ripping her skirt or tripping over her shoelaces. They spend their time saving people from train accidents and making people's lives brighter.

chrisannee's review against another edition

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3.0

It's hard for me to dislike a Nesbit book(I think Water Magic is the only one I never finished) , so this one was average. Though the kids are fun, the stories are dated. Oddly enough, it could probably have fit into any time between 1840-1960 but, now, you would spend too much time explaining details to make it much fun. Though, I'm highly jealous, as always, of the seemingly limitless amount of unstructured time.

arielzeit's review against another edition

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2.0

Still in bed sick reading comfort reads. In my family growing up, we were all huge E. Nesbit fans, but I didn't really remember this one. Turns out there's a reason. It's not just that there is no magic--and this is a serious loss for devoted readers of the peerless fantasies Five Children and It, The Enchanted Castle etc--it's that the book is too dated. The children themselves are earnest bores always trying to do good. And when their father disappears and their mother tells them not to ask any questions or try to find out, they DON'T! This is presented as a good thing, both on the mother's part and on theirs. That is tough for a modern reader to swallow, however devoted to old English children's books. Also when their family situation is finally resolved, they are the engines of it's happening but but they can only do it through a powerful new aristocratic friend who pulls strings behind the scenes. And there's is no reflection about what would have happened to a similarly innocent person as the children's father who didn't have connections. I've heard that Enid Nesbit had Socialist leanings but that part seems Tory through and through to me! So I was a bit disappointed. But I did read through to the end and I manages to enjoy it despite these annoying parts.

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