The Railway Children

by E. Nesbit and Edith Nesbit

Book Overview

In this much-loved children's classic first published in 1906, the comfortable lives of three well-mannered siblings are greatly altered when, one evening, two men arrive at the house and take their father away. With the family's fortunes considerably reduced in his absence, the children and their mother are forced to live in a simple country cottage near a railway station. There the young trio -- Roberta, Peter, and young Phyllis -- befriend the...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0486410226
• ISBN13: 9780486410227
• Release Date: May 2000
• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.39 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.2" x 8.3"
• Age Range: 8 to 14 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 9

Customer Reviews

Not all created Equal

There are a number of different editions lumped under the same title. I ordered one thinking I'd be good and got an abridged version (which I did not want). Just double check the ISBN to make sure you are getting unabridged if you want unabridged.

great book

I loved this book it is great. Acualy my mom told me to read this book so i thought why not. So that day I started reading it and I just fell in love with it. It is one of the best books in the world, and I think that every one should read it some time in there live.

Another childhood favourite

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.

Plain?...

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!!!!!!!!! : )

Pray for all prisoners and captives

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.

A fantastic summer read!

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!