The Borrowers

Anyone who has ever entertained the notion of "little people" living furtively among us will adore this artfully spun classic. The Borrowers--a Carnegie Medal winner, a Lewis Carroll Shelf Award book, and an ALA Distinguished Book--has stolen the hearts of thousands of readers since its 1953 publication. Mary Norton (1903-1993) creates a make-believe world in which tiny people live hidden from humankind beneath the floorboards of a quiet country house in England.

Pod, Homily and daughter Arrietty of the diminutive Clock family fit out their subterranean quarters with the titbits and trinkets they've "borrowed" from "human beans", employing matchboxes for storage and postage stamps for paintings. Readers will delight in the resourceful way the Borrowers recycle household objects. For example, "Homily had made her a small pair of Turkish bloomers from two glove fingers for 'knocking about in the mornings.'"

The persistent pilfering goes undetected until a boy (with a ferret!) comes to live in the country house. Curiosity drives Arrietty to commit the worst mistake a Borrower can make: she allows herself to be seen. This engaging, sometimes hair-raisingly suspenseful adventure is recounted in the kind, eloquent voice of narrator Mrs May, whose brother might--just might--have seen an actual Borrower in the country house many years ago. (Ages 9 to 12)

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Imaginative - Rated
The Borrowers is about Pod and Homily and the thirteen-year-old Arrietty, a family of tiny people, just a few inches high, who live under the floorboards of an old country house in England. They exist and furnish their tiny home by "borrowing" scraps and oddments from the house above. To do this they have to go on daring raids to gather the items they need. The author makes it quite clear that this is not stealing, as the Borrowers only take items that would otherwise be neglected or thrown away. Mary Norton invented a wonderfully imaginative world with these books and they can still be read and enjoyed by children today.

What would they "borrow" from your home? - Rated
Have you ever pondered where your hairclips, bobby pins and thimbles have gotten to? Do you wonder why small quantities of your father's tobacco and Madeira seem to smoke themselves or evaporate? Did your wooden knight ever ride off the chessboard never to be seen again?

You don't even know what I'm talking about, do you? OK, so have you ever lost your iPod Nano? Maybe the Borrowers needed a stereo for their home entertainment system. The same thing happened to your Nintendo Gameboy.

Mary Norton's "The Borrowers" published in 1952 is about a race of little people living beside a rain pipe, over the mantel, behind the harpsichord and in all the nooks and crannies of the house. These little people "borrow" from us, the big people. They use blotting paper for their carpets, a single onion ring for their cooking and postage stamps for wall portraits.

In the book, Pod, Homily and Arriety are the last Borrowers left in Aunt Sophy's house. They lived in the floorboards under the kitchen ad entered and exited their home from a hole behind the grandfather clock. They weren't rich but they had everything they needed - potatoes for their supper, a gas pipe leak for their cooking, a foie gras dish for their bath. Pod, the father, ventures into the house every now and then for supplies.

This is the story of how Arriety, after being allowed to go borrowing with her father, befriended a nine-year old boy who was a visitor in the house. Then their lives change forever: They discover news about their Borrower relatives, gain new riches and then lose everything they own.

This is a good story to read in a big house on a rainy afternoon. Perhaps you can explore the house for little corners where a Borrower may be living. Or you can guess which of the little things lying around the house are useful for them.

Even if you live in an apartment in the big city with the most modern furniture and high tech gadgets, it would still be fun to imagine what a Borrower family would be using these days. What would a Borrower your age be playing with? What would they use for furniture? Where would they be living?

I bought a package of IKEA tealight candles once and some of them have disappeared. Perhaps a family of Borrowers illuminate their cozy little home with them. Well, they can buy their own iPhone if they need to surf the internet; I'm not letting mine out of my sight.

A Joy - Rated
An absolute classic, written for the slightly brighter child than most novels of it's time, so it unfortunately may be lost on most kids nowadays. Being 21 doesn't stop me from enjoying what is well-written, funny and sad, with wonderful characterization. I have yet to read the other books in the series, but this is just great stuff. And to those who remember the TV Series - that was good too, but it did take some liberties with the story to squish the first two books into a six episode series.
Highly recommended :) It's in my 100 favourite books of all time :)

Cute! - Rated
I never read the Borrowers as a kid, but I do remember seeing them on telly. When I came across an old copy at a fleamarket the other week, I decided to read it. Being an adult I still enjoy children's books, as so many of them now are "cross overs" that works well for both adults and kids. This one however, is made only for children. Though I did enjoy the story, and it's witts, it moves forward in a pace PERFECT for youngsters (7-9yrs). But it gets boring for us "grown-ups" after a while. Never the less, the book is a classic, and it is not a classic for nought. It IS good, funny and charming. And I am planning to read the next installment as well.

It tells the story of a family of borrowers, little people, just like you and me, that lives under the floor of an old house. They are the size of mice, and get by from things "borrowed" from the big people. Of course being out on a hunt for things to borrow is very very dangerous. You might be seen by the "giants" (us) or get cought by cats and many other dangers that lurk. It aint easy being safe when a doormat looks like a big field with high grass!!!
M. Norton is very good at describing just that, how things would feel and look when you're the size of a teaspoon!

overrated - Rated
I'm sorry but, as hard as I tried to get into this book, I found it incredibly dull and boring. Really badly written too. Give me a modern book any day.