Saturday, September 8, 2007

The Borrowers -- Sarah's review


I picked The Borrowers from Wendy's list because it seemed like one of those Books I Ought to Have Read By Now. I read, write, and sell children's books, after all. How could I not have read The Borrowers yet? It's a little embarassing, you know?

At any rate, I'm so glad I finally did. What a sweetie pie of a book! There's a reason this has become a classic. It's just that good -- cozy and comfortable with a spot-on voice. After a run of ho-hum books, I blazed through The Borrowers and loved it.

I realize I'm mostly just gushing here, but I feel sort of like I'm one of the last people on earth who doesn't already know all about The Borrowers.

I should probably mention that I read the 50th anniversary editon, which is illustrated with the original British pictures by Diana Stanely. There's also an introductory essay by Leonard Marcus and a letter by Mary Norton explaining the origins of the little people under the floorboards. All fun stuff for a kiddie lit geek like me.

Speaking of anniversary editions, I was a bit surprised to discover this book is only 50-some years old. In the grand scheme of things, that's a pretty quick trip to the classics shelf if you ask me. That's decades younger than Winnie the Pooh, The Secret Garden, Little House, and heaps of other old favorites. I guess that just goes to show how good it is.

Thanks Wendy!

3 comments:

alisonwonderland said...

The Borrowers was a childhood favorite of mine, and i still think about those little people and wonder what they've done with the things i can't find around the house. :o)

Wendy said...

Sarah, I'm so glad you enjoyed this book! It was such a childhood favorite of mine and I'm looking forward to re-reading it myself :)

tinylittlelibrarian said...

It's one of my all-time faves, too! I'm glad you loved it.Even though I'm all grown up, my parents and I still talk about the Borrowers stealing things when we've lost stuff.