Customer Reviews

The Railway Children (Pavilion Paperback Classics)

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The Railway Children is a wonderful book. When the book begins, the three children, Roberta (Bobbie), Peter and Phyllis are living a lovely, secure life at Edgecomb Villa. Their father returns home after being away on business, two unknown men come to visit him in the evening after supper, and he simply disappears. Neither the reader nor the children know what has happened to him until Bobbie makes a chance discovery and learns the horrible truth.

In the intervening time, their mother, a capable and charming woman, takes her children to live in the country near a railway station, because they must "play at being poor for a while." The children handle their new situation with grace and wit, spending hours hanging about the railway station and generally keeping themselves busy, and in the process becoming fast friends with the porter, Perks, and the station master. They also become acquainted with their own old gentleman who lends a hand to help them time and again.

Bobbie is the oldest and sweetest of the children, with a longing to be truly good. Peter is the boy, who is madly in love with trains, stubbornly refuses to pushed around, and exhibits an extraordinary courage in the rescue of a baby and a young man in a train tunnel. Phyllis is the youngest, a funny, clumsy child with good intentions that often seem to go awry.

I read this book to my four year daughter. She loved it. As the adult, I enjoyed reading it. And, you'll be happy to know, it all comes out right in the end.

I just finished reading this book with ten rising fifth graders. It was a "stretch read" for most of the children because the text is heavily colored by the time period, language, and general style. BUT! This was a very worhty read. Each chapter reads similarily to a short story in that there is an adventure, resolution, and moral to the story. The students responded positively to the daily challenge of the chapter length, the sophisticated language, and the romanticism of the setting. This was a very good choice for us. As a mother and a teacher--I recommed this novel enthusiastically!

This is an exceptional book about 3 children who live near a railroad and thoroughly enjoy it.. They live and let live until one day their relatively ordinary lives come to a screeching halt as it did when their father went away. They are friendly with an old man who helps them find out the mystery of their father's abrupt disappearance. They finally get the family back together and the live happily ever after etc. etc. etc. Though this may seem common and uninteresting, there is some other force that made me sit up late into the night to finish the book. You may understand why I did that when you read the book. It is very enjoyable, (but that may be because I am a child) and I thoroughly recommend it to children . Enjoy! Cheers!!!!!!!!! : )

This was a book my mother had grown up on, and one that she passed on down to my sister and I. Although hardly a modern story this book is a classic tale of a family learning how to start over, in circumstances far different from those they are accustomed to. The true magic, however, lies in this books portrayal of sibling relationships....a simpler and more innocent time perhaps; but, stories of families will never really get old.

Three English children in turn-of-the-century London are suddenly obliged to leave their home and take up rural residence at Three Chimneys cottage. They are additionally confused by the unexplained disappearance of their father, who was falsely accused of espionage and wrongfully incarcerated. The kids seek solace in their new life by becoming familiar with unexplored means of transportation: the canal and the railroad.

Their plucky mother undertakes to write novels while she homeschools her inquisitive offspring: 12-year-old Roberta (Bobbie), 10-year-old Peter, and 7-year-old Phyllis. These children quarrel and squabble, play and dream like normal kids, while secretly harboring fears about their absent father. Could he be dead, since no one was allowed to inform them of the painful truth? Would their calm, loving mother permit them to live a lie?

During the next 6 months these decent kids gradually carve out a niche for themsleves in the lives (and ultimately the hearts) of the local citizens--particularly railway personnel. As they expand their social horizons, they increase their knowledge of the ways and quirks of the iron horse. They even learn lessons in tasteful charity and Christian compassion, as they exist in a kind of emotional limbo--just waiting for some unknown event.

Despite Nesbit's admittedly quaint literary style (with many asides addresesd to the reader, and obvious predilection for one of her characters), THE RAILWAY CHILDREN will transport readers back to a much simpler time--an era of true family values and homespun social virtues. Don't expect the fantasy elements of THE PHOENIX AND THE CARPET in this gentle story; just relax and enjoy a journey into the past, when chidren were taught to wait and hope. This is a book for children of all ages, inscribed on the tablets of Home and Hearth. And who is the mysterious but kindly old gentleman on their beloved Green Dragon?

The Railway Children was originally published in 1906. It's different from many of Edith Nesbit's books, in that it doesn't feature any magic. The Railway Children is the story of three children, Roberta, Peter, and Phyllis. At the start of the story, the children live with their loving parents in a nice, modern house in London. Their lives change drastically, however, when their Father is called away unexpectedly and mysteriously. Their Mother takes them to live in an older house in the country, with only a single part-time servant, where they quickly realize that they are now poor. Mother spends all her time writing stories and poems, to submit them for publication, instead of playing games with them and teaching them, as she had done previously. The children are left largely to their own devices, with no lessons to distract them.

The house that they live in, Three Chimney's, is located near to a railway line and a small railway station. The railway quickly becomes a source of friends. The Stationmaster and the Porter (most especially the Porter, Perks) become major figures in the children's lives, as does a friendly "Old Gentleman" who waves to them every morning from the 9:15 train.

And the adventures begin. Through bravery and ingenuity (and through the coincidence of always being in the right place at the right time), the children avert not one, not two, but three separate disasters. They also get into trouble through their innocent attempts to help their Mother, and through their own sibling rivalries, and eventually help a Russian stranger newly escaped to England. Through it all, they miss their Father, and wonder what's happened to him, and why their Mother is so sad.

The constant adventures in this book make it a lot of fun. It does feel a little bit dated in places. There's a scene in which the local doctor tells Peter to be kinder to his sisters, for example, because they are "so much softer and weaker" than he is. But overall, I think that Edith Nesbit did a wonderful job of making the girls strong characters, too.

This book has lots of messages about bravery and right and wrong, and what makes up charity vs. friendship. And how to be good without being priggish. Some modern-day children might find it a little bit preachy in this area, though it is generally lightened with humor. But hopefully the adventures, and the realistic imperfections of the children, will win new readers over anyway. I know that I love this book (despite having a slight problem with the number of coincidences) and that the end brings tears to my eyes. If you haven't read it, The Railway Children is well worth checking out.

This review was originally published on my blog, Jen Robinson's Book Page, on April 30, 2006.

I think that this book was really good because it was set in the olden days. Books which are set in the olden days and that are set with people my own age are very interesting to me. This book is so excelent when you start reading it you can't get your head out of it. This book is amazing and the children have a few adventures and sometimes get into a bit of trouble.

I read this book aloud to my son (age 5) and he loved it. The children in the book exemplify the quailities I want my son to emulate: kindness, respectfulness, heroism, humility, generosity, trust, hope, perseverance, etc. The story was interesting and kept our attention. I would recommend this book for anyone who loves to read children's books.

This is one of my favorite children's books! The characters are lovable and (for the most part) believable, the story is exciting, and the ending--well, the ending is marvelous! It is the kind of book you can read over and over again(I have) and never get tired of it(I haven't). I am not, in general, the type to cry over books, but I must admit I cry every time I read the end!:) They are tears of joy, though. If you love a good story with a happy ending, read this book!

I am 19 years all student and I had to choose a book in the home reading.I chose this book and when I finnished it, only then I found out that this is a book for children. I enjoyed this book very much and I am sure that "The Railway Children" is for all ages.