Loved it! ( )

I've wanted to read this children's classic (completely understandable) for a long time. It did not disappoint. Funny, charming ( )

I cannot remember if I've read this before. I know that I've read at least one of the sequels several times, as I distinctly remember being charmed by how the little people make use of human beans' stuff.

But all this other stuff, about the Boy, and the adults in the house, and Arrietty learning that there a billions of humans and probably only a few of her kind, well, none of that was familiar to me. It is, however, [L]iterary, and (I imagine) justifies giving the Carnegie to a relatively cheerful and easy book.

Btw, the Krushes have been among my favorite illustrators since I was young. I used to check out books simply based on them, not caring what the story might be. 'Course, they only illustrated, so far as I know, stories I'd be interested in, and, besides, I grew up in such a tiny town it's not like I had much of a choice anyway at either school or public library. ( )

I completely understand why this a children's classic! ( )

#vacationread No 3: THE BORROWERS by Mary Norton, illustrated by Beth & Joe Krusch, from Clarion Books

THE BORROWERS is one of those children’s classics that I seem to have missed as a kid myself, and when it popped up on one of @greenhandbooks posts, I ordered a copy and I’m so glad I did! Mary Norton’s tale of tiny people that live in the walls and under the floors of houses and “borrow” our everyday items to make their homes with is positively charming.

Pod, Homily, and their daughter, Arrietty, the Clock family, live their quiet, routine lives under the floor of the kitchen of an English manor. They spend their days like anyone else, except for their size and their need to borrow our everyday items to furnish their minuscule home. When Pod is ‘seen’ by a young human boy, it sets in motion a series of events that lead to the Clocks doing everything they can to keep their secretive home.

This is a quick read with four follow-ups that continue the story of the Clocks, and I’ll be checking those out. I’m almost glad that I came to these as an adult, because I’m not sure I would have enjoyed all the nuances of the story as a kid. So, if you’re an adult and you’ve never read this, give it a try; it’s clever enough to keep adults amused.

🏷️ #TheBorrowers #MaryNorton #BethKrusch #JoeKrusch #ClarionBooks #childrensbooks #fantasy #middlegradebooks #books #booksbooksbooks #bookstagram #bookworm #booklover #bookreview #frommybookshelf #frommybookshelfblog ( )

I'm going to start my review with a digression. Often parents will ask children's librarians some form of this question: "Can you help me find books for my second grader who reads at an eighth grade level?" What they want is something challenging, but not too mature. Most times, I point these parents towards classics. Children's books written before, say, 1960 (if they're still in print) tend to be wholesome and full of unfamiliar words and complex sentence structures. So, bingo! There you have it. (I will also tell parents that just because their kid reads at an eighth level, doesn't mean they shouldn't be reading good books for second graders.)

The Borrowers definitely falls into this wholesome/challenging classics genre. I chose it for my middle grade book club this summer because it matches our theme (Dig Into Reading!) and because I have some smart cookies in the group and I want to see if they enjoy a book with a very different kind of appeal than most of the books I pick (our other books this summer were [b:Holes|38709|Holes (Holes, #1)|Louis Sachar|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1327781893s/38709.jpg|1679789] and [b:Gregor the Overlander|262430|Gregor the Overlander (Underland Chronicles, #1)|Suzanne Collins|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1173234171s/262430.jpg|524491]).

Though I shouldn't have been, I was surprised at how deep this book was. I especially liked this exchange (from page 84 of my copy):

"...Borrower's don't steal."
"Except from human beings," said the boy.
Arrietty burst out laughing; she laughed so much that she had to hide her face in the primrose. "Oh dear," she gasped with tears in her eyes, "you are funny!" She stared upward at his puzzled face. "Human beans are for Borrowers - like bread's for butter!"

This is an amazing lesson on perspective. Still, I only gave the book three stars because I didn't fall in love with it. I enjoyed it, and was impressed by it, but it didn't have the magic for me. Maybe because I'm a grown-up and I never read it as a child. ( )

The Clock family--Homily, Pod, and their fourteen-year-old daughter, Arrietty--are tiny people who live underneath the kitchen floor of an English manor. All their minuscule home furnishings, from postage stamp paintings to champagne cork chairs, are "borrowed" from the "human beans" who tromp around loudly above them. All is well until Pod is spotted upstairs by a human boy! Can the Clocks stay nested safely in their beloved hidden home, or will they be forced to flee?

Although I have no specific memories of it, I know that I read The Borrowers when I was younger. I'm certain my younger self enjoyed this whimsical tale of miniature people living within the walls and under the floorboards of an English estate, borrowing food and clothing and brick-a-brac from the humans above. The people who exist for the Borrowers' convenience. What's interesting in rereading it as an adult is to see adult themes subtly introduced and know that many of the novel's finer points were probably lost on me. That the mild feminism displayed in Homily's admonition of her husband, Pod, that if he had a son he would have already taken him borrowing (after he refuses to consider taking his daughter) was lost on my adolescent innocence. That the personalities introduced, the shrewish Mrs Driver, the not-so-dotty Great Aunt Sophy, the Boy and especially the narrator's unnamed brother entertained me without necessarily causing me to think too hard about the way the world works.

Seventy-plus years afters its publication, The Borrowers is still a great book both for children to read and adults to revisit (or read for the first time, if you've never had the pleasure). ( )

What fun to revisit a childhood favorite!! ( )

50th Anniversary Gift Edition ( )

I read this book to my kids, and it gave me the opportunity to re-live it through their eyes. What fun! ( )

This is one of the books in a series, the Clock family are the main characters in this book. Homily, Pod, and their 14 year old daughter Arrietty are tiny people living in the floor of a English manor. Everything that they own is from things that they borrowed from the humans that live in the house they stay in. They seem to have a perfect existence until Pod his spotted by the human boy that lives in the house. They are faced with many adventures, and trials throughout the book. Great book that is part of a series for readers to continue the borrower journey.

great children's book. Read on vacation as a child--loved it ( )

This is a nice kids book. Milly was interested as its the basis for the Studio Ghibli film Arrietty too. We enjoyed reading it and she'd like to check out the follow ups. ( )

The boys loved this book. We had to read the whole series after this. Just as magical as I remember from my childhood. Wonderful escapism. ( )

Having recently reread this, I am pleased to discover that the story is every bit as interesting and engaging as I remember it when I was a kid. ( )

Ever wondered why you're constantly losing socks? Or buttons, or paper clips, or postage stamps? Perhaps it's because you unwittingly live with Borrowers, tiny people who furnish their secret homes with castoffs "borrowed" from "human beans." The Clock family — mother Homily, father Pod and daughter Arrietty — live safely out of sight, until one day Pod is spotted by a human boy.

I have seen the adaptation "The Secret World of Arrietty" several times - funny to read the original story. They changed quite a bit in the movie, but mainly for the better. ( )

Mary Norton was one of my all time favorite authors as a child and I am pleased to say that her books stand the test of time as I still enjoy them as an adult. I find her premise to be super creative and well thought out and I really like her characters. I think the books are wonderful and I also think you should never watch the movie as it's awful and shouldn't even share a name with the novels. ( )

“...Borrower's don't steal."
"Except from human beings," said the boy.
Arrietty burst out laughing; she laughed so much that she had to hide her face in the primrose. "Oh dear," she gasped with tears in her eyes, "you are funny!" She stared upward at his puzzled face. "Human beans are for Borrowers - like bread's for butter!”

Well that's a wonderful, fun book. Tiny people that live under the floor and steal Borrow whatever they need to survive/thrive from the 'human beans' that live in the house above.

It's a cute story. I love the characters, especially the Borrowers (a tiny teen is still a teen, and the mother's fear for her daughter and father's providing for the family hit home), although the full sized people are great to love and hate and get in the way as well.

The writing and world building is solid as well. There are constant mentions of things being reused in ways we'd never intend by people far far smaller than us. It really does feel like a real giant tiny world.

I think my favorite moment in the entire book was when Arietty meets the boy for the first time. Two children, living at once in the same and far far different worlds.

Well worth the read. I look forward to the sequels.

“Mrs. May looked back at her. "Kate," she said after a moment, "stories never really end. They can go on and on and on. It's just that sometimes, at a certain point, one stops telling them.”

( )

On a boring afternoon in a big old English house, Mrs. May tells a story to a girl called Kate - a story about the Borrowers, little people who live around humans and "borrow" what they need. Mrs. May's younger brother saw them when he was younger, and Mrs. May tells Kate the story of the Clock family: Pod, Homily, and Arietty. When Pod is "seen," the family contemplates a move, though Homily doesn't want to "emigrate." Arietty, however, makes friends with the human boy, and he delivers a letter to (and a reply from) some other Borrowers two fields away.

The language is old-fashioned but the story retains its charm. Audio version has an English accent, appropriately. ( )

There's an old house where a little family of little people live under the kitchen floor: Pod and Homily Clock, and their daughter Arrietty. At thirteen, Arrietty longs to see what the world is like outside of her home, but Pod is the only one who ever ventures out to "borrow" what they need from the house. The danger of being "seen" by a "human bean" is too great—but a human boy who comes to stay at the house changes everything in The Borrowers by Mary Norton.

My, what a cozy and delightful adventure this classic children's fantasy story is! I first discovered and read it nearly thirty years ago, then I found the sequel, and then I saw two movies based on the books. Of course, that means the books' and movies' dialogue and happenings got a little jumbled in my memory...

So it was great to go back and reread the first novel. Even as much as I loved the story as a kid, it resonates with me on an even deeper level now, especially the differences between the two generations under the floor, the nature of Arrietty's longings, Pod's uneasiness with his wife's excited doings, and the impending need for greater change.

The climax is poignant and incredible, and goodness—now I wish I could remember just how well I understood the book's last line those decades ago. I don't recall its irony, its mystery, hitting me quite like this!

I'm looking forward to revisiting the sequel sooner than later. ( )

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The Borrowers are miniature people who live settle in quiet country homes. They "borrow" little things that can be easily miss.
The world describe in the book is vivid and creative. The characters have flaws and are likeable. It sad that they had to leave their home in the end.
I don't like how everything has to be explain to Arrrietty. The writing got an old-timey feel to it. Almost like Tolkien's writing.

Points:

Writing: 5/5

Characters: 5/5

Plot: 4/5 - The first part of the story there a lot of telling slowing down the story. Before the middle the action pick in good time.

Total: 14/20 = 4 *stars* ( )

I loved this book! After reading this as a kid, I decided to leave things out like buttons and safety pins and little odds and ends. Then I'd check a few days later and see if those items were taken. Alas, they never were. I was so bummed. ( )

The borrowers live beneath the kitchen clock and use the things they are able to borrow from the household to furnish their cozy home. This is the adventurous story of their life in a house and the child who finds them. ( )