The Railway Children (Wordsworth Children's Classics) - Softcover

Nesbit, E.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1853261076 ISBN 13: 9781853261077

Publisher: Wordsworth Editions, 1993

Synopsis

When Father goes away with two strangers one evening, the lives of Roberta, Peter and Phyllis are shattered. They and their mother have to move from their comfortable London home to go and live in a simple country cottage, where Mother writes books to make ends meet.

However, they soon come to love the railway that runs near their cottage, and they make a habit of waving to the Old Gentleman who rides on it. They befriend the porter, Perks, and through him learn railway lore and much else. They have many adventures, and when they save a train from disaster, they are helped by the Old Gentleman to solve the mystery of their father's disappearance, and the family is happily reunited.

About this title

Review:

"It's a story that was written more than 100 years ago, yet The Railway Children commands the affections of the British people like few other fictions" (Daily Telegraph)

"Guaranteed to jerk a tear from the most stony-faced child" (Observer)

"Her child characters were remarkable in her day because they are so entirely human. They are intelligent, vain, aggressive, humorous, witty, cruel, compassionate. . . in fact, they are like adults" (Gore Vidal)

"So what makes these different to any other set of classics? In a moment of inspiration Random House had the bright idea of actually asking Key stage 2 children what extra ingredients they could add to make children want to read. And does it work? Well, put it this way...my 13-year-old daughter announced that she had to read a book over the summer holiday and, without any prompting, spotted The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas...and proceeded to read it! Now, if you knew my 13-year-old daughter, you would realise that this is quite remarkable. She reads texts, blogs and tags by the thousand - but this is the first book she has read since going to high school, so all hail Vintage Classics!" (National Association for the Teaching of English)

Book Description:

'The Railway Children was one of the first children's classics I ever read. I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy it. I started reading the story and was immediately gripped. E. Nesbit remembered exactly what it felt like to be a child' Jacqueline Wilson

About this edition

• Publisher: Wordsworth Editions
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 1853261076
• ISBN 13: 9781853261077
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 309