Book Review – Page 3

The title The Railway Children probably invokes ideas of dark railway cars, extreme poverty, hoboes, and dangerous escapes. This book involves none of these. On the contrary, it’s a story of three happy children, though they do have their hardships and moments of silliness. They live by the railway for most of the book, and many of their adventures involve it; but other than that, they hardly count as railway children.

The Railway Children is a fairly short book, probably about the length of A Little Princess or Alice in Wonderland.

Children 7+ will be likely to enjoy this story, and its moral(s) are particularly geared toward that general age. So is the writing style and plotline; there’s a good deal of excitement and not too much unnecessary complication.

For a brief conclusion and a link to the ebook, skip to the bottom—or read right on through for the full details!

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Set in the late seventeenth century and early eighteenth, in wild, hilly Exmoor, England (not that I know anything about Exmoor, but that’s the impression I got), Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor weaves together history, legend, and fiction.

Lorna Doone is, I think, about the length of Dicken’s David Copperfield or Our Mutual Friend; a longish book, but not to be compared to War and Peace or The Count of Monte Cristo.

It’s also a fairly slow-paced book, with a plot that only has rare cliff-hanger moments. I doubt it would hold the interest of a younger reader. I give it roughly a 17+ age range.

Jump to the bottom if you just want the brief conclusion, or read on for all the details!

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What if there were a book that encouraged children to be patient, kind, generous, and noble? Look no farther; A Little Princess does that and does it effectively.

For length, I estimate that A Little Princess is a bit shorter than Anne of Green Gables, but longer than Little Lord Fauntleroy. With only a little bit of dedication, anyone could read it in a day.

Girls 7+ should be able to grasp the main ideas of the book, and will surely relate to the seven-year-old heroine. Sometimes it takes boys longer to be interested in books about girls, but it’s still worthy reading for a boy if he’s willing.

Find my brief four sentence conclusion at the end or read on through for the details!

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The year is 1812 and we’re in Russia. Napoleon, the man, the myth, the legend, is facing off against General Winter. Here to guide us through the chaos—to lend us eyes that we can see with—is Count Leo Tolstoy with his historical-based novel, War and Peace.

How long is War and Peace? Well, when you’re scrolling through the table of contents and you see “First Epilogue: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, etc.,” then you know that you’re talking about a long book. Page and font sizes vary, and if you’re reading digitally you may never even see a page number, but by comparison, War and Peace is definitely shorter than Les Miserables, and I think a little longer than The Count of Monte Cristo or Little Dorrit.

I’d put the age at 17+. The language is simple, but the overall style of the book is not likely to be interesting to younger children and the Russian names are a bit of a speed bump. Also, some of the characters are engaged in immoral behavior, which, although it’s not talked about in an inappropriate way, is not something 13– need to be reading about.

Feel free to skip to the end for my three sentence conclusion on the book, and then come back up for more details if you need them!

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After the pattern of Anne of Green Gables, Pollyanna, Elsie Dinsmore, Little Women, and such like girl stories, Susan Coolidge brought her own childhood to life with the fictionalized What Katy Did. How many of the incidents are real and how many fictional I have no idea; but the personalities were evidently inspired by herself and her siblings, and not surprisingly, a practical, down-to-earth, and real flavor hangs about the story as a result.

How long are the Katy Did series books? They’re pretty brief; each about the length of Pollyanna, or the gospel of Mark.

Girls 7+ will enjoy the books. It generally takes boys a little longer to be mature enough to want to read a girl story. Katy has several brothers, however, who will make it a little more interesting for the boys.

You can jump to the end for the concluding remarks and links, and then come back up for more detail if you need it!

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Tag: Book Review

Book Review: The Railway Children (by E. Nesbit)

Book Review: Lorna Doone (by R. D. Blackmore)

Book Review: A Little Princess (by Frances Burnett)

Book Review: War and Peace (by Leo Tolstoy)

Book Review: What Katy Did and sequels (by Susan Coolidge)