The Borrowers Afield

Continuing my re-read of the Borrowers series. Now all the tiny family of Pod, Homily and Arrietty are tested as they have fled their comfortable home under the kitchen and must survive in the outdoors whilst searching for their previously emigrated relatives. Highlights are Arrietty's delight in

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the natural world and the introduction of the wild Borrower boy Spiller... Again, highly recommended for children but also enjoyable as an adult.

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I found the timing of this book compared to the first one distracting, because of the obvious flaw in the timeline. (For the narrator, Mrs May, and her niece, Kate, a year has passed, but for the Clock family the story picks up where it left off. However, suddenly Arrietty is a year older and the

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pillowcase shows up a couple of months after the family flee the house, instead of a year as mentioned by Mrs May in the first book.)

But once I was able to put that aside, I was quickly drawn back into the world of the little people. Arrietty and her parents must venture out into the great unknown. Everything is big and scary, but also refreshing and exciting. Arrietty is happier despite the dangers because there’s so much to see and experience. Her parents, on the other hand, fear the dangers and haven’t a clue how they will get on.

It’s interesting to see the family find a home for themselves—an old boot. Then they must learn new skills to survive. There’s no more borrowing, so they have to forage for food. And what will they do in the winter?

The second book had the same effect on me as the first. I was unable to put the book down and literally read for hours on end...and at regular interviews. Any book that does that is certainly one worth reading.

And I will mention the ending of this book as well, without going into specifics. The ending was appropriate, but I felt as disappointed as Arrietty. And, in this case, that means the author has done a fine job with her writing because it also means that the reader is attuned with the character and that’s exactly how the reader should feel.

There is a flaw, but that doesn’t mean the book isn’t worth reading because it is. Again, I highly recommend this book to everyone who has an imagination.

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I'm re-reading this series to see if it still warrants shelf space in my permanent collection. It's fun, but not nearly as magical and enchanting as my memories of it were. I still think Arrietty is an awful lot of fun, though. She's a delightful little heroine, but her mother gives me a pain.

Second in Borrowers series. How the Borrowers escaped from the house where they had been discovered and lived in the "wild."

The 'little people' version of the Swiss Family Robinson, who though not shipwrecked, were similarly creative and ingenious in surviving in a hostile environment.

I quite liked the second in the Borrowers series, except for the very unfortunate and fairly central subplot involving gipsies -- the term used throughout the book. The term was pretty standard in the 1950s. Romany was rarely used in popular fiction or movies. But the really bad part is that they

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are portrayed here in the worst cliches of the era -- dirty, unintelligent, and greedy. It's unfortunate because otherwise this is a strong novel of character and travails, with much more focus on the adults than on Arrietty, the child heroine of the first novel.

Recommended for readers, mostly adult, who would appreciate the characters and understand the historical context in which the novel was written. For young adults, best to skip this one, IMO.

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Now that they've been smoked out of the home they once had under a kitchen floor, the little Clock family—Pod, Homily, and their teenaged daughter Arrietty—must learn to survive in the daunting and unknown out-of-doors in The Borrowers Afield by Mary Norton.

Well! It's been nearly thirty years

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since I first read this classic children's fantasy novel, the second in a series. Some parts I remembered and plenty more I didn't.

One line I like most is an early reflection from Arrietty, who's long desired to see what lies beyond the kitchen floor and to learn to "borrow" items from human beings as male borrowers do: "Just because I was a girl, and not allowed to go borrowing, it doesn't say I haven't got the gift..."

Indeed, the Clock family has more to discover about their abilities and mettle out here in a world of birds, bugs, and weather, and how these family members truly feel about each other comes more to light in this book. I laughed out loud at some of the humor, and how happy I was to meet Spiller for the first time—again! I was waiting to bump into that fearless and field-smart little loner.

Now, the story calls a group of traveling people by an old term that should fall out of use, but that was the only real hitch in the read for me.

The "no going back" theme resonates through the novel, and there's some bittersweet longing at the end—which is actually a beginning. As the first two books are the only ones I read as a child, I'm looking forward to learning more about the Clocks (and hopefully Spiller?) in the following books.

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I liked this book better then the first one. It had more adventure and outdoor survival then the first. You begin to realize that this is one of the few children's books that is focus on family and not a chided wanted nothing too do with family. Yes Arrietty is kid of a rebel, but she knows she

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needs her family. This is also the first book we are introduced to Spiller who I think is my favorite character in the book. I only know about him from The Secret world of Arrietty. If you seen that movies, read the books!

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