Scan barcode
rachocambo's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-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? Yes
3.75
sandraisbooked's review against another edition
4.0
The Bastable children are simply enchanting. Our narrator is witty and charming. These children go through a lot, lesson wise and life wise. They learn, they grow, they make mistakes, they repent, they love each other, they laugh, and make friends with the adults around them. They navigate the ups but mostly the downs of their poverty and absent parents, hence the various methods of treasure seeking. Every adventure has a subsequent lesson. Through trials and errors, exploration and discovery; they understand adult topics in an imaginative context. A great children book even for adults.
alisonraereed's review against another edition
5.0
The best children's books mix sweet innocence with wickedly funny humor. Nesbit perfected this mix in the Bastable children. The children have lost their mother and their standard of living - but there is no pity or maudlin moments here. When it comes up that they miss their mother it's dealt with in one paragraph where Oswald says, essentially "We missed her and we tried not to think about it and felt better." Nesbit knew perfectly well how children handle such serious subjects - and the key is they handle them simply. The Bastables are an endlessly cheery group of kids that have adventures, pick on each other, act quite noble when it comes down to it and win the hearts of everyone they meet. If you've never met them, it's high-time you did.
csd17's review against another edition
It left a nasty taste in my mouth. You're just reading an old fashioned kids book and out of nowhere, in the last chapter, there is an awful racist remark.
Normally Nesbit is a safe read and I'm rather disgusted and disappointed now. That someone who was, by some accounts, rather progressive for her time should include that in her novel... it's just wrong.
Normally Nesbit is a safe read and I'm rather disgusted and disappointed now. That someone who was, by some accounts, rather progressive for her time should include that in her novel... it's just wrong.
mostlyshanti's review against another edition
4.0
This was a really fun book. I think children totally could enjoy it--the situations are hilarious, but there's a lot of other things going on too, like how Nesbit criticizes (yet perpetuates) social classes. She also makes fun of get rich quick schemes through the children's naivete--which is funny, because this is a century old, but that still happens. There are hilarious things, mostly the poetry, and a lot of parts of the story which still stand today, I think.
zachclegg's review against another edition
4.0
Nesbit has a great voice that comes out with humor for adults and children. The little eccentricities of the English phrases and nuances of the times are also especially fun.
mbarclay245's review
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
5.0
dilan11's review against another edition
2.0
The kids were realistic. I just found the narrator's attempt to disguise himself from being Oswald awkward and ultimately pointless. I liked the set up with the incompetent housekeeper and the absent broke father but I didn't really identify with any of the characters.
robynbarrow's review against another edition
1.0
I love the Railway Children, but this book has a quite anti-Semitic chapter that led me to stop reading. Has not aged well.
josephinereadsbooks's review against another edition
4.0
I always loved E Nesbit's books when I was growing up; it was nice to revisit this one and see it hasn't lost any of it's magic,