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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
It's uncanny how many adventures Phyllis, Peter, and Bobbie get into in such a short period of time. The beginning of the 20th century was certainly an exciting time, at least in rural England. And oh! to fall on hard times in the way that they did. However did they manage with just the one servant?
My kids liked this book, but I've discovered that my kids aren't terribly discerning readers at this point, so you should take their recommendation with a grain of salt. I liked the language, and I liked how the children interacted with adults and were so intent upon thinking of nice things to do even if they didn't do so well at them sometimes. The ending made me cry, but I've been crying at practically every book lately. It's like I just feel so grateful to the story for drawing me in that my emotions get the better of me.
Oh, and the strange scene at the end about the "scientific" explanation for why boys and men need to act and speak gently towards girls and women---my kids had a very fun time yelling out reasons this explanation isn't actually scientific. I was afraid I would have to prompt them to question what was written, but they took it and ran all on their own.
"Other animals don't avoid mother animals because the mothers are more delicate; they avoid them because they're fierce! A mother bear with cubs is much more dangerous than any other bear!" And so on.
I had fun listening to them get so worked up.
I've been seeing more things lately online and elsewhere about how we need to teach boys to never hit girls, and although I've been tempted to use that line on my own son to try and get him to stop injuring his sister, I worry that this rule implies that it's okay to hit boys, which would mean it's okay for my daughter to hit her brother, and that just doesn't work for me (or for my son). So I opted for an "it's not okay to hurt anyone or for them to hurt you" line, and then Edith Nesbit delivered the question about whether to treat boys and girls differently right to the book we were reading. How convenient!
Decent book and fun, although probably not in the way the author intended, but I prefer Nesbit's dragon stories.
My kids liked this book, but I've discovered that my kids aren't terribly discerning readers at this point, so you should take their recommendation with a grain of salt. I liked the language, and I liked how the children interacted with adults and were so intent upon thinking of nice things to do even if they didn't do so well at them sometimes. The ending made me cry, but I've been crying at practically every book lately. It's like I just feel so grateful to the story for drawing me in that my emotions get the better of me.
Oh, and the strange scene at the end about the "scientific" explanation for why boys and men need to act and speak gently towards girls and women---my kids had a very fun time yelling out reasons this explanation isn't actually scientific. I was afraid I would have to prompt them to question what was written, but they took it and ran all on their own.
"Other animals don't avoid mother animals because the mothers are more delicate; they avoid them because they're fierce! A mother bear with cubs is much more dangerous than any other bear!" And so on.
I had fun listening to them get so worked up.
I've been seeing more things lately online and elsewhere about how we need to teach boys to never hit girls, and although I've been tempted to use that line on my own son to try and get him to stop injuring his sister, I worry that this rule implies that it's okay to hit boys, which would mean it's okay for my daughter to hit her brother, and that just doesn't work for me (or for my son). So I opted for an "it's not okay to hurt anyone or for them to hurt you" line, and then Edith Nesbit delivered the question about whether to treat boys and girls differently right to the book we were reading. How convenient!
Decent book and fun, although probably not in the way the author intended, but I prefer Nesbit's dragon stories.
One of my favorite childrens classic. First I thought this book is about same old story, but as I continue to read I found a lot of interesting stuff and flowy words made me finish this cover to cover. Later on, I found out that this book is some of children's literature that includes Nazy things, although explicitly. Some contoversy about it. But still, I love it.
I liked it. I did.
Why, then, did it take me almost a month to read this small children’s book?
I don’t know.
The book is clever. It has likable characters. It has a compelling plot.
I just don’t know. It is definitely worth reading. But it may take you a while.
Why, then, did it take me almost a month to read this small children’s book?
I don’t know.
The book is clever. It has likable characters. It has a compelling plot.
I just don’t know. It is definitely worth reading. But it may take you a while.
It was pretty good, but fits like a glove into that old-fashioned mold of what a children's book "is." Does that even make any sense? There aren't really any surprises--you figure out by about page 5 what the big shocker at the end will be--and the usual things happen: the children speak quaintly, the boy gets covered with dirt, on special days they buy hot buns for tea.
Every so often, though, the narrator will slyly pass off something completely ridiculous, and you have to read it over again just to make sure it was even there in the first place.
Page 97: "Washing is rather fun. I wonder whether you've ever done it?"
Every so often, though, the narrator will slyly pass off something completely ridiculous, and you have to read it over again just to make sure it was even there in the first place.
Page 97: "Washing is rather fun. I wonder whether you've ever done it?"
A terrific bedtime book, over about 2 weeks. Chaya's favourite at 6 1/2, and has led us into the rest of the Nesbit oeuvre. It starts with the children protagonists' father being mysteriously arrested, and the family abruptly plunged into poverty, which might have seemed frightening, but somehow wasn't. In any case, this was just a device for getting the family out of London and into a country shack where they could experience the full measure of the magical allure of the steam train. Nesbit's children are a marvelous mixture of adventurous, mischievous, and fundamentally decent and responsible.
From BBC Radio 4:
Adaptation of the author's classic 1906 children's novel which tells the story of the trials and adventures of a middle-class Edwardian family living in the suburbs of London.
Such a lovely BBC dramatization.
Adaptation of the author's classic 1906 children's novel which tells the story of the trials and adventures of a middle-class Edwardian family living in the suburbs of London.
Such a lovely BBC dramatization.
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
I wonder why my father didn’t buy me this book already when I was little. (He only bought me Harry Potter, Enid Blyton’s The Famous Five, and some Indonesian muslim novels for kids.)
Although this is a children’s book and right now I’m into young-adult novel, I still loved it.
It was… very inspiring! I loved how the main characters (Roberta, Peter, and Phyllis) weren’t described as “perfect children”. I loved Roberta the most. Though the story told about those children, but Roberta was author’s the most favorite, I could tell.
The plot, well, I was so disappointed with The Golden Compass I didn’t even had no expectation over The Railway Children.
But I just loved how they did nice things to people, such like saving a baby, waving at the old man they didn’t even know. And after doing that, they found themselves wonder whether they were right or not.
I’d like to recommend this to people who wants to remember their childhood.
5/5 :)
Although this is a children’s book and right now I’m into young-adult novel, I still loved it.
It was… very inspiring! I loved how the main characters (Roberta, Peter, and Phyllis) weren’t described as “perfect children”. I loved Roberta the most. Though the story told about those children, but Roberta was author’s the most favorite, I could tell.
The plot, well, I was so disappointed with The Golden Compass I didn’t even had no expectation over The Railway Children.
But I just loved how they did nice things to people, such like saving a baby, waving at the old man they didn’t even know. And after doing that, they found themselves wonder whether they were right or not.
I’d like to recommend this to people who wants to remember their childhood.
5/5 :)
Interesting book, about some children who lived near a railway. Great story