Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Some outstanding images accompanying a tale of suspense, mystery, adventure and family that is tremendously written. A truly enjoyable read.
lighthearted
fast-paced
Full review originally posted here on TotalTeenFiction
I loved the story of The Railway Children when I was growing up because I adored the film adaptation. But when I started looking at books to read for my Children's Classics Challenge I couldn't recall whether or not I'd actually read the book as a child. Because I couldn't remember, I added it to the list immediately! The Railway Children follows Roberta (or Bobbie), Peter and Phyllis as they make the move from the city to the countryside. There's lots of changes to get used to but the three children become fascinated by the local railway which runs by their house. Cue lots of adventures!
It's so hard to know where to start with this review because I adored this book and have so, so much to say about it! Firstly, I think it was really interesting to see just how the characters coped with the huge upheaval they go through in the story. The children are moved from the city to the countryside and have to survive on less money. Rather than seeing it as a problem, the children see it as an adventure and come to adore their new surroundings. I really liked that about them. And the surroundings themselves made such a great setting for the story. I felt like I was right there in the countryside with them.
I have to point out that I can completely relate to the central family. Not because I've been in their situation but because of the makeup of the siblings. There are two girls and a boy which is exactly the same as me and my siblings. The eldest - Bobbie - instantly became my favourite because I identified with her immediately (I'm also the eldest!). She's the one who throughout the story takes on the responsibilities and worries and cares for other people. She nurses her mother at one point which I thought was a real character defining moment. Then later on when she becomes aware of a secret, you can see just how much of a burden that responsibility becomes. I could really relate to that feeling of having to be the responsible one and the worry you feel for other people. Her relationship with her mother was really sweet and touching, and I adored her protectiveness of her siblings.
What was great about all the characters was their unique personalities. Peter was foolhardy and headstrong, and Phyllis was the one with the runaway imagination. And I found the relationship between the three children to be completely lifelike and accurate. They would talk over each other and there was that competitiveness there. There was the tension from Peter who thought girls were stupid and the girls themselves really stood up to him and became quite strong female characters.
As well as their relationship with each other, there was also the relationships the children had with the adults around them that made them so endearing and charming to me. They quickly befriend the station porter - Perks - once they develop a fascination with the railway by their house. I really loved that friendship and how they each learnt a lot from each other. Then there's the old man who the children wave to on the train as it passes each morning. That added a little element of mystery which I loved! I think the book encapusaltes what's great about children - that they say what they think with that brutal honesty and no filter and E. Nesbit has that spot on.
The book was narrated in such a brilliant way. The narrator felt friendly and really brought you as a reader into the world of the story. That voice throughout the whole book made me laugh and enjoy the experience of reading the book all the more. I just felt tremendously stupid for not realising who the narrator was sooner because on reflection it is blindingly obvious!
The story may be short but so much happens within those 200 pages. I loved that it was a collection of little adventures that the children always seemed to stumble across. There was always something going on! I knew some of the more iconic scenes from the film but even though I knew what was happening I would still be on the edge of my seat waiting to see what would happen and whether everyone was going to get out of it.
The book includes little poems throughout which the children are given by their mother, and I think that really added to the story. I adored the writing and how witty and charming it was. I couldn't put the story down and already I miss the characters! I'm sure there's more praise I could heap on this book but the review is getting long already. To sum up, I am so glad I decided to read this book! It's one that will live with me and I'll go back and re-read time and time again I'm sure. If you missed it growing up then I'd highly recommend giving it a go, or even if you did read it then I'd say it's worth a revisit! I'll definitely be checking out more of E. Nebit's classics for my challenge.
Find more books like this at TotalTeenFiction!
I loved the story of The Railway Children when I was growing up because I adored the film adaptation. But when I started looking at books to read for my Children's Classics Challenge I couldn't recall whether or not I'd actually read the book as a child. Because I couldn't remember, I added it to the list immediately! The Railway Children follows Roberta (or Bobbie), Peter and Phyllis as they make the move from the city to the countryside. There's lots of changes to get used to but the three children become fascinated by the local railway which runs by their house. Cue lots of adventures!
It's so hard to know where to start with this review because I adored this book and have so, so much to say about it! Firstly, I think it was really interesting to see just how the characters coped with the huge upheaval they go through in the story. The children are moved from the city to the countryside and have to survive on less money. Rather than seeing it as a problem, the children see it as an adventure and come to adore their new surroundings. I really liked that about them. And the surroundings themselves made such a great setting for the story. I felt like I was right there in the countryside with them.
I have to point out that I can completely relate to the central family. Not because I've been in their situation but because of the makeup of the siblings. There are two girls and a boy which is exactly the same as me and my siblings. The eldest - Bobbie - instantly became my favourite because I identified with her immediately (I'm also the eldest!). She's the one who throughout the story takes on the responsibilities and worries and cares for other people. She nurses her mother at one point which I thought was a real character defining moment. Then later on when she becomes aware of a secret, you can see just how much of a burden that responsibility becomes. I could really relate to that feeling of having to be the responsible one and the worry you feel for other people. Her relationship with her mother was really sweet and touching, and I adored her protectiveness of her siblings.
What was great about all the characters was their unique personalities. Peter was foolhardy and headstrong, and Phyllis was the one with the runaway imagination. And I found the relationship between the three children to be completely lifelike and accurate. They would talk over each other and there was that competitiveness there. There was the tension from Peter who thought girls were stupid and the girls themselves really stood up to him and became quite strong female characters.
As well as their relationship with each other, there was also the relationships the children had with the adults around them that made them so endearing and charming to me. They quickly befriend the station porter - Perks - once they develop a fascination with the railway by their house. I really loved that friendship and how they each learnt a lot from each other. Then there's the old man who the children wave to on the train as it passes each morning. That added a little element of mystery which I loved! I think the book encapusaltes what's great about children - that they say what they think with that brutal honesty and no filter and E. Nesbit has that spot on.
The book was narrated in such a brilliant way. The narrator felt friendly and really brought you as a reader into the world of the story. That voice throughout the whole book made me laugh and enjoy the experience of reading the book all the more. I just felt tremendously stupid for not realising who the narrator was sooner because on reflection it is blindingly obvious!
The story may be short but so much happens within those 200 pages. I loved that it was a collection of little adventures that the children always seemed to stumble across. There was always something going on! I knew some of the more iconic scenes from the film but even though I knew what was happening I would still be on the edge of my seat waiting to see what would happen and whether everyone was going to get out of it.
The book includes little poems throughout which the children are given by their mother, and I think that really added to the story. I adored the writing and how witty and charming it was. I couldn't put the story down and already I miss the characters! I'm sure there's more praise I could heap on this book but the review is getting long already. To sum up, I am so glad I decided to read this book! It's one that will live with me and I'll go back and re-read time and time again I'm sure. If you missed it growing up then I'd highly recommend giving it a go, or even if you did read it then I'd say it's worth a revisit! I'll definitely be checking out more of E. Nebit's classics for my challenge.
Find more books like this at TotalTeenFiction!
This is such a beautifully written piece of work. I loved the classic illustrations with thin lines and shades. Although I didn't understand some of the old words, but this is still a lovely story to read. I really miss classic children stories.
Book Review: The Railway Children by E. Nestbit.
Book Review: The Railway Children by E. Nestbit.
Read this a few years ago in secondary school. I don't remember much of it, but I know the whole story reminded me of being young again 😊
One of my friend recommended this book. I liked it but not as much as Enid Blyton or Roald Dahl. The mother in this story was too selfish for a Mother, some things were too dragging... But its nice to read atleast once.
I revisited this lovely children's classic and was surprised by how much I still enjoyed this as an adult. Perhaps as a child, I had not really paid attention to the dire financial circumstances of the three siblings, Bobbie (Roberta), Peter, and Phyllis, and their mother, that led to their removal to the countryside, away from London where they had lived. Their father had mysteriously gone for business and not returned.
It is suggested that they had had rather comfortable and privileged lives in the city. Despite their reduced situation, and unused to country living, the children discover a railway behind Three Chimneys, the house they have come to live in, and soon get into scrapes and develop a tenuous relationship with Perks, the Porter, and a kindly old gentleman who takes the 915 train daily.
E. Nesbit is brilliant at capturing the children's distinct personalities and their very realistic squabbles and fierce loyalty to one another that only siblings can identify with. They become unwitting heroes when they help avert a potential railway accident, and help save a baby from a burning houseboat along the way, while eldest girl Bobbie becomes more and more concerned that there is something Mother is not telling them about their father.
A charming children's novel, and refreshingly honest in tone, "The Railway Children" stands well against the test of time, and deserves to be read by young and old alike.
It is suggested that they had had rather comfortable and privileged lives in the city. Despite their reduced situation, and unused to country living, the children discover a railway behind Three Chimneys, the house they have come to live in, and soon get into scrapes and develop a tenuous relationship with Perks, the Porter, and a kindly old gentleman who takes the 915 train daily.
E. Nesbit is brilliant at capturing the children's distinct personalities and their very realistic squabbles and fierce loyalty to one another that only siblings can identify with. They become unwitting heroes when they help avert a potential railway accident, and help save a baby from a burning houseboat along the way, while eldest girl Bobbie becomes more and more concerned that there is something Mother is not telling them about their father.
A charming children's novel, and refreshingly honest in tone, "The Railway Children" stands well against the test of time, and deserves to be read by young and old alike.
"If everybody thought of everything, there'd be nothing left for anybody else to think about."pg 164
I read [b:Five Children and It|45181|Five Children and It (Five Children #1)|E. Nesbit|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327882197l/45181._SY75_.jpg|975095]in 5th grade and disliked it. For years I had a bad taste in my mouth when I heard the name E. Nesbit. Then, recently, I read one of her ghost stories in the [b:Weird Women: Classic Supernatural Fiction by Groundbreaking Female Writers: 1852-1923|52974605|Weird Women Classic Supernatural Fiction by Groundbreaking Female Writers 1852-1923|Leslie S. Klinger|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1575591998l/52974605._SX50_SY75_.jpg|73796202] collection and thought maybe I should try her again.
Here's the thing, I see why this charmed so many people for so long. It's got the total Anne of Green Gables feel to it, and the afterword in my edition compares it to A Little Princess.
But it's so....twee. I mean, my teeth hurt while reading it because it's over the top sweet. And I know that is how some people want their stories to be, but for me it's grating.
I also wanted to spank Peter for being an idiot. He never once talks to his sister without calling her "silly" or a "prat".
But if one looks at the time this was written, some of it is forgivable. I'd love to overhear a parent explain to their modern children why the Railway Children are running around train tracks and quarries unsupervised but as a child of the 80s ...it's not shocking.
I read [b:Five Children and It|45181|Five Children and It (Five Children #1)|E. Nesbit|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327882197l/45181._SY75_.jpg|975095]in 5th grade and disliked it. For years I had a bad taste in my mouth when I heard the name E. Nesbit. Then, recently, I read one of her ghost stories in the [b:Weird Women: Classic Supernatural Fiction by Groundbreaking Female Writers: 1852-1923|52974605|Weird Women Classic Supernatural Fiction by Groundbreaking Female Writers 1852-1923|Leslie S. Klinger|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1575591998l/52974605._SX50_SY75_.jpg|73796202] collection and thought maybe I should try her again.
Here's the thing, I see why this charmed so many people for so long. It's got the total Anne of Green Gables feel to it, and the afterword in my edition compares it to A Little Princess.
But it's so....twee. I mean, my teeth hurt while reading it because it's over the top sweet. And I know that is how some people want their stories to be, but for me it's grating.
I also wanted to spank Peter for being an idiot. He never once talks to his sister without calling her "silly" or a "prat".
But if one looks at the time this was written, some of it is forgivable. I'd love to overhear a parent explain to their modern children why the Railway Children are running around train tracks and quarries unsupervised but as a child of the 80s ...it's not shocking.