The Borrowers: An Enchanting Adventure About Tiny Heroes Living Beneath the Floorboards

I like kids books. I read these to my son before he went to school. He was forever checking under things in case there were borrowers . I would hope that they put the other books in this series on kindle. By the way he turned 41 this year and when he asked me what I was reading I told him this and he laughed and said classic.

Some books fail to hold their wonder after seventy years, but The Borrowers is one of those books that proved, at least to me, to be even better now than when I first read it as a child. Mary Norton's Borrowers, little people who live between floors and behind the walls of old houses and survive by "borrowing" what they need to live, gave our family a way to explain away things that suddenly went missing: "Didn't I leave a paper clip here to hold this report together?" "The Borrowers must have made off with it." So I remembered the clever little home furnishings -- postage stamps for wall hangings, thread spools for stools, and so forth. For awhile, as I read this book as a child, every object seemed to summon in me a guess about how the Borrowers might put the thing to good use. And I found myself daydreaming that way as I re-read the book more than forty years later. Illustrations by Beth and Joe Krush added to the magic; if you purchase this book, find one with the illustrations, which add significantly to the book. Most of all, I marvelled at how Norton had crafted a story that retained its viability after all this time. Sure, the creative world she created for the Borrowers was still enthralling, but the plot itself holds up as well: will the Borrowers survive being seen? Who can be trusted, and who can't be trusted to keep their secret? So at its heart, the book is about an essential question: how do we thrive in a way that is meaningful for us when outside forces threaten to tear it apart? All great books wrestle with important questions, with questions that withstand time. "The Borrowers," despite its seemingly simple concept, is one of those books, asking one of those questions, and delivering a wonderful story in answering it.

Used this for book club for my homeschooled kids and they loved it!

I read this book for a literature assignment in my LLSS class. I really enjoyed this book and within my group we were able to bring up many things that are related to the our lives. For example, we brought up the fact that the Clocks live underneath the humans and this is a representation of the poverty. Also with this point, we can say that yes, the Clocks are poor because they have to scrounge for left overs to survive. This sense of poverty is very real, and it is something that many people face, so it should be talked about in the classroom. Another thing we brought up was that because this book is part of a series this book ends in a very vague way, leaving a lot of room for different interpretations. If I was teaching this book, I would not read the whole book, so this vague ending could be very fun to play off of and have the kids form their own interpretations. One other thing we enjoyed about the book were the pictures. They were drawn in a lot of detail, and without color, so this leaves room for different interpretations as well. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend this book to other people.

In 1953, English writer Mary Norton introduced to the world the concept of The Borrowers: little people who lived in our old, over filled homes under floor boards or behind mantels and they sustained themselves on the waste that "human beans" discarded or forgot about. Within this book we learn of the family of the Clocks, P:od, Homily and Arriety, the entrance to their home being beneath the ancient grandfather clock in the front hall. The story takes place in the rural areas of England around the turn of the 19th century. The test of a really good childrens book is how enjoyable it is to an adult. This book is a classic (and the four that follow itas sequels) because it is so well written. It's in a catoagory with "A WRinkle in TIme", "Mrs. Frisby and The Rats of Nimh", "Things Not seden" and "The Currious Incident of the dog after Moidnight." Mrs. Norton wrote beautifully and is best known for her book, "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" though this book-and the subsequent books- have you fall in love with thesedtiny creatures, so human like, to the point where one almost wishes that they shared a house with you; that somewhere beneath the floor board or in your pantry is a small house set up with your blotting paper or left over wall paper, furnished with old scicorrs and doll house firniture and fed by the food that is carelesslhy left pout. These creatures "Borrow" items-things that aren't likely to be missed, The adventure in this tale is when a small boy, recovering at his great aunts summer home from scarlett fever, discovers and befirneds the Clocks. Read this to your children so that some day they will read it to their own. If you can manage to find this bookm in first edition, treat it with care as it is rare and valuable. I would not read John Irving or Barbara Kingsolver to my children, but Mary Morton is just as good. I promise.

Not five minutes ago I saw "The Borrowers" listed under the kindle Feb. releases and I hit the one click button fast. This beautiful book was one of the first books I read as a child. Our elementary school had a library and each child was expected to take out and read a book every week (on Friday afternoon no less). When I found this book, I found my passion, my imagination soared and I fell head over heals in love with reading. I was about 8 and a very active child, running and playing and loving the outdoors. But this book stopped me in my tracks. For days I ran to my bedroom and tucked myself up with it while my family watched TV. When I got older and was planning for my children I began looking for the book and couldn't find it. I am thrilled to be able to place it in my digital library. Reading has taken a back-seat to video. I've learned from experience that this is not good for our young people. Creative thinking is developed through use of the imagination. Our children need to be able to think creatively if they are to develop the skills to lead us in the future. Books like this help them along the way."The Borrowers," is fun, full of fantasy, and an easy read. Curl up in a chair and have your little one join you to read with a lot of fun and laughter along the way. The benefits for everyone are golden.

I ordered this book for a friend who said that she grew up reading "The Borrowers", but that she only read from library copies, and that she never owned the book, which was her childhood favorite. In the listing, the vendor, "Full Paper Jacket". said that it was an old library copy, first edition, 1953, and it had the usual formatted description "may have markings, tears, etc." I took a chance, and ordered it, because it was a first edition, and I could not have been more pleased! It is definitely old, but it is in PERFECT condition, and I was proud to give it to my friend as a gift! For those of you who haven't seen it, it has many cute illustrations inside!

Would probably give it more stars, but not sure I would rate it up with my favorites. We really like it and it is a pleasure to read. Really need way of presenting a story line and for those who have children who like pictures, it has some neat illustrations as well. I would recommend it for upper elementary to middle school readers. It is short too, so for those timid readers who don't like thick books, it presents just enough to keep them from not wanting to finish it. I read it when I was younger and really enjoyed it back then as well, reading it again to the kids.

good timing

Incredible value. Lovely story - our 5 year old boy is in love with Arrietty from the anime. He follows the book read to him surprisingly well.

Preciosa edición, de buena calidad y con muchos detalles, contiene un pequeño fragmento de un cuento de otro escritor en las ultimas paginas como muestra de regalo de la editorial, una compra muy recomendable.

Having watched the movie as a child, I was very curious to read the book as an adult and I can honestly say, I was not dissapointed! Such a lovely read and such depth to the characters. Very descriptive book and has a lot of deeper life lessons hidden within the story. Certainly worth a read for children and adults alike

Great story. Perfect for the child’s imagination. Full of wisdom.