The Borrowers Afloat
by Mary Norton
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Book Summary Information
Author: Mary NortonIllustrator: Beth Krush
Illustrator: Joe Krush
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2003-04-01
ISBN: 0152047336
Number of pages: 192
Publisher: Sandpiper
Book Reviews of The Borrowers Afloat
Book Review: Book Three in a Classic Series
Summary: 5 Stars
Long before there were Littles or anyone shrunk their children, Mary Norton had written this warm and wonderful series about a race of tiny people who live hidden in quiet country houses and "borrow" their livings from the human inhabitants. Their lives depend on remaining unseen and unsuspected.
But little Arietty Clock, who lives with her parents (Pod and Homily) is a naturally curious girl and lonely besides. When, on her very first trip out to Borrow ("The Borrowers," 1952), she is "seen" by a little human boy, she becomes friends with him and sets off a chain of events that will threaten her family's very existence -- and make staying in their home beneath the kitchen floorboards impossible.
In this third tale (1959), Pod, Homily and Arietty are forced once more to move when their new home, the gamekeeper's cottage, is closed. They begin the search for Little Fordham, a mythical miniature village where they can live in safety under the noses of human tourists. Their journey takes them first down a drainhole with tidal waves of bathwater; then downstream in a rusted-out kettle and in Spiller's "boat" (a knifebox with a butter-knife paddle). It is a dangerous journey for such tiny people, and the crisis comes when their boat sinks and a human discovers them stranded on a heap of flotsam in the middle of the river. Once more, they must adapt and overcome if they are to survive long enough to begin a new life in Little Fordham.
With her "Borrowers" series, Mary Norton accomplished what few writers are able to do: she created a group of characters that become real through her words; and a fantasy world that is so realistic that readers young and old will be lost in it, and will look at their own world differently forever after. Though each stands alone, the first four tales read as fluidly as if they are all parts of one larger book -- indeed, they have been published as a single volume in the past -- and can be read consecutively without excessive and tiresome rehashing of the previous plots.
The books are billed by booksellers as written for 8-10 year olds, but they are ideal for reading aloud to younger children; and adults too will enjoy the sheer fun they contain. I first read them when I was ten -- long before "Avenged" was written and answered my longstanding questions about the Borrowers' fate. All five books remain in my reading cycle, to be reread every few years in their entirety. By stages funny, thrilling, and poignant, these lovely books will capture your imagination and keep you turning pages all the way to the end.
Summary of The Borrowers Afloat
Pod, Homily, and Arrietty Clock's huge adventures have been thrilling children young and old for fifty years--and their appeal is as strong as ever in these handsome new paperback packages. While the original beloved interior illustrations by Beth and Joe Krush have been retained, Marla Frazee's striking cover illustrations capture these little people with a larger-than-life appeal.
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