"It was Mrs May who first told me about them. No, not me. How could it have been me - a wild, untidy, self-willed little girl who stared with angry eyes and was said to crunch her teeth? Kate, she should have been called. Yes, that was it - Kate. Not that the name matters much either way: she barely comes into the story."This tonally, thematically, textually, totally, perfect paragraph is the opening to the seminal classic 'The Borrowers'. And it has given us everything. The perfect usage of a colon. The perfect side-stepping of reality into imagination. That - that, doubt, that everything is quite how it should be in what is to come.And so we begin. The Borrowers are very very small people who live underneath floorboards and behind the kitchen clock. They live alongside their 'human beans', not stealing from them but borrowing. A potato here. A piece of blotting paper there. A pin. A tuft from the carpet. Things so small that they won't be missed because their owners will think that they've just lost them. An odd sock. Scissors. A hair clip. You know it. We've all done it. Maybe you've got Borrowers too ...?These Borrowers live in isolation, underneath the floorboards. Father Pod, mother Homily and their daughter Arietty borrow from their human beans and it all goes well for a while. But then things start to change. They are the last borrowers to live in their house. And the house itself is changing.A boy has come to live in the house, to recuperate and to get well. He is a boy who believes in fairies. In magic. And one day he 'sees' Arietty. Being seen is the worst thing that can happen to a Borrower. Being seen never leads to anything good happening.In fact it can lead to very bad things happening.Norton's book is timeless. It is terrifying, too, and doesn't skim over the darkness of humanity. It is witty, sharp and kind. It is such a luscious book, really, and it is one that captures that moment when the teenager wants to be somebody in their own right quite perfectly.Also, though I won't reproduce the ending here, it has one of the cleverest and most perfect endings I have read for a while. It is a book that is very quietly massive. And I love it, really, I love that wild acceptance of something else existing in the world, I love that blurring of the edges of real and imaginary space, I love that - potential for 'otherness' - that Norton gives the reader. It is such a book this.
The narrator was quite good. The kids loved imitating the English accent and the different silly inflections that Homily was given. They found her totally ridiculous. Hearing the story added a new dimension for me. I remember reading Borrower books as a kid, but I had no idea they were so British. Of course, I didn't know much about the UK when I was a kid. I liked the innovative world of little people living in hidden places of a house that no one really thinks about, and it's so true that sometimes things just disappear! I thought the Borrowers had tails, though, didn't they? Nothing was mentioned in this book as far as I know/heard. Maybe there was an American version/series?Sarah and Zack had no problems keeping up, but Seth zoned out to most of the story. He should be reading books like these by now, so I made him check it out from the library. So far, he has narrated back to me the first three chapters upon different occasions and I can tell that he's liking the story. He's my visual learner, not my audio learner. I'm amazed that he is telling it to me like it's the first time he's heard of it, though. Just goes to show ya that he can really space out.
What do You think about The Borrowers (2003)?
1. Fantasy 2. The Clock family are borrowers, a rare and tiny people, that live at the bottom of a grandfather clock. They must borrow things from average size humans, which makes things difficult for them. The struggles they face are large and life threatening, but they are determined to persevere.3. A- This is an accurate example of a fantasy, but the real life setting makes it relatable for readers. B- I love this story because of the details and thought provoking setting. It forces readers to use their imagination. To me, that is both strong and positive. The storyline is appropriate, sometimes scary, but readers will find it exciting. The imagery that this story enforces is powerful and beneficial for students. C- The example I have chosen to share helps prove my point about the enriching imagery. “A chest of drawers made of match boxes. There was a round table with a red velvet cloth, which Pod had made from the wooden bottom of a pill box.”4. This would be a great book to read aloud to a class. Students could use their imaginations, and teachers could have them complete writing assignments as well.
—Katelyn
The book started off extremely slow and I found it very hard to get into, I kept putting it down and finding pretty much anything else that I could do instead of finish reading it. Sadly I think the book has aged badly due to it's casual mentioning of smacking children and being firm handed with your wife, The idea of the story itself is brilliant and with the amount of things I put down which disappear, I'm inclined to believe in Borrowers.When Arrietty meets the boy, some of the magic I remembered came back into the story and it seemed to pick up the pace of the story as before she was "seen" the story was just meandering along with no real purpose or destination.I think my favourite part of the book was in the back, where there were loads of quizzes and activities to do once you had finished reading. One of the activities was to draw your own Borrower family and make up a story around them which I think is a fantastic idea.For this and other reviews please check out my blog http://lifeofanerdishmum.blogspot.co.uk/
—Nerdish Mum
I read this book to my 6 year old, which was a surreal experience because I remember reading it (or having it read to me) when i was his age. I LOVED this book. Then and now. It's so sophisticated, especially the humor and vocabulary ... It made me realize how different children's books are now. Not that they're dumbed down -- but they're so conscious of their readers' limitations. You get the sense that all of the words have to come off grade-appropriate spelling lists.Anyway, some of this book shot over my son's head. And some of the objects Norton describes are too antiquated even to explain. But he was captivated -- and slightly creeped out, which is just what I remember feeling.One more thing: Reading Norton, I had a strange feeling that I'd been ripping her off for the last 30 years. Not her ideas. It was mostly her word order. I know that I read and reread this book; maybe it's part of my programming. This is the first book in a series, and we're going to read them all.
—Rainbow
