Reviews - The Railway Children

646 reviews for:

This was an endearing read, but one that, for me, was nothing more than endearing. The children, the side characters, and the narrator were all well considered and gave an almost whimsical sensation to the book, but I was lost when trying to properly connect and feel emotionally invested. It was very reminiscent of [b:Little Women|1934|Little Women (Little Women, #1)|Louisa May Alcott|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388269517s/1934.jpg|3244642] but luckily had less of the sexist undertones. Yes, I am aware of when these books were written, but I felt almost 'dirtied' by such statements as; 'girls are so much softer and weaker than we are; they have to be, you know'. With both [b:The Railway Children|164531|The Railway Children|E. Nesbit|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1328865877s/164531.jpg|2880113] and [b:Little Women|1934|Little Women (Little Women, #1)|Louisa May Alcott|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388269517s/1934.jpg|3244642] I think it's the childhood sentimentality that I am missing; neither of these books were read to me as a child, and this is where they fall short. While reading this I was not transported back to my childhood bedroom but to a time where it was acceptable to indoctrinate children with the stereotypes of boys being 'brave warriors' and girls being 'gentle and kind' and the opposite not being accepted. I know this is a children's book, and that much of this would go beyond their understanding, however, I struggle to get past this and to fully enjoy the adventures of the children. I wish I had read this as a child, then maybe I would like it more, see the adventure, the beauty in the countryside setting, and feel the pain of the children when their father disappears. But I struggle to move on from the misogyny that is so innocently presented. I would have loved to have viewed this endearing story through the innocent eyes of a child and to fully appreciate it for what it is.

sunflower_reads's review against another edition

4.0

funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

sarahduxbury's review against another edition

4.0

hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

lisa_bergin's review against another edition

5.0

I have always loved the film, in fact it is probably my favourite family film , the book is very close in content to the film and therefore wonderful and it has the Oh My Daddy bit at the end which always gets me in the film. This is my first time reading the book- loved it.

sofiage's review against another edition

3.25

adventurous lighthearted relaxing slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

booking_along's review against another edition

3.0

a nice little story that shows a great sibling relationship between the three children.
the writing is nice even if i do not like those moments where the author inserts herself into the story by speaking directly to the reader (like those office shows on tv where someone looks directly into the camera and makes a comment just way less fitting!)

i did like that it shows that mothers are more than capable of supporting their families and that families can survive a lot of they work together.

i personally did not love how the whole matter of becoming poor and the father was „solved“ but that’s is a personal preference and i am sure a lot of people do enjoy those moments in the book i just don’t like that kind of „solution“

overall its a nice book, not my favorite children’s classic by a long shot but that’s okay.