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A review by katykelly
The Borrowers by Mary Norton
5.0
Classic story, not aged well for young readers but will always hold interest.
Bookended by two scenes with characters telling the story of the Borrowers, years after the events, contemporary readers may be unfamiliar with this device and find this slow. The narrative itself is also a little old-fashioned for some, though the story is wonderful of course.
My son listened to me read this over a couple of weeks. I noticed how very 'traditional' roles are, how shrewish Homily is, how very appropriate Arrietty is as a Lockdown Heroine. And how the story doesn't stand alone without the next books - I wanted (as did my nine-year-old) to move straight on to the next and find out what happened afterwards.
The Clock family, Pod, Homily and Arrietty, live under the kitchen floor of a nearly-empty house. 'Borrowing' what they need to survive, Arrietty dreams of being allowed out to help her father and see more of the world than the small space she occupies. When her parents eventually let her, she accidentally is 'Seen' by a visiting Boy...
Being 'Seen' by a human... just what will the consequences be for the Clock family?
A brief story, that ends before the real story gets going. Though the characters of adventurous teenager Arrietty, the houseproud Homily and wearied but practical Pod are set early on, the story itself barely gets going before the book ends. Luckily our edition is the 'Complete' Borrowers, and I think my son is going to explore the next stories alone, when things really start to happen. As a series-opener, it's great, setting the scene and the world of the Borrowers, but it doesn't feel complete.
Quite like the bookends, it does give that 'tale teller' feel, of someone relating something from their own childhood that might or might not be real. The language and setting - the old house and old ladies - might flummox some readers who can't picture the context clearly. But it's a story that will capture imaginations.
One for ages 9-12.
Bookended by two scenes with characters telling the story of the Borrowers, years after the events, contemporary readers may be unfamiliar with this device and find this slow. The narrative itself is also a little old-fashioned for some, though the story is wonderful of course.
My son listened to me read this over a couple of weeks. I noticed how very 'traditional' roles are, how shrewish Homily is, how very appropriate Arrietty is as a Lockdown Heroine. And how the story doesn't stand alone without the next books - I wanted (as did my nine-year-old) to move straight on to the next and find out what happened afterwards.
The Clock family, Pod, Homily and Arrietty, live under the kitchen floor of a nearly-empty house. 'Borrowing' what they need to survive, Arrietty dreams of being allowed out to help her father and see more of the world than the small space she occupies. When her parents eventually let her, she accidentally is 'Seen' by a visiting Boy...
Being 'Seen' by a human... just what will the consequences be for the Clock family?
A brief story, that ends before the real story gets going. Though the characters of adventurous teenager Arrietty, the houseproud Homily and wearied but practical Pod are set early on, the story itself barely gets going before the book ends. Luckily our edition is the 'Complete' Borrowers, and I think my son is going to explore the next stories alone, when things really start to happen. As a series-opener, it's great, setting the scene and the world of the Borrowers, but it doesn't feel complete.
Quite like the bookends, it does give that 'tale teller' feel, of someone relating something from their own childhood that might or might not be real. The language and setting - the old house and old ladies - might flummox some readers who can't picture the context clearly. But it's a story that will capture imaginations.
One for ages 9-12.