Title: The Story of the Treasure Seekers; The Railway Children; and others!
Author: E. Nesbit
File Under: Read-Aloud, Chapter Book, Kid's Problems
My inclination is to post about the Chronicles of Narnia for every Library Project entry. I consider them the perfect childhood reading.
Realizing that that wouldn't be practical or informative, I will nevertheless keep them very much at the ready to supply insight into other books. For instance, when you open to the first chapter of the Magician's Nephew, you read:
Chapter I
The Wrong Door
This is a story about something that happened long ago…
In those days Mr. Sherlock Holmes was still living in Baker Street and the Bastables were looking for treasure in the Lewisham Road.
The Bastables are the characters in E. Nesbit's The Treasure Seekers. Don't you experience a thrill when you realize that another adventure in reading awaits? (Not to pass over Sherlock Holmes by any means.)
And if you open to the second page of Seven-Day Magic (pg. 12 of the book — and that anomaly of counting always mystified me as a child), you read this:
Everybody began talking at the same time, and the name of E. Nesbit was heard in more than one voice, for she was the five children's favorite author and no wonder (though Fredericka liked the Oz books nearly as well).
“Why couldn't she have lived forever?” said Abbie, taking that best of all Nesbit books, The Enchanted Castle, down from the self and looking at it with loving eyes.
“We've read all of hers, and nobody seems to do books like that anymore.”
E. Nesbit satisfies the child reader because she acknowledges that from the earliest age we become aware of and grapple with serious deficiencies in life. Whether it's the adult world making trouble for the child (absent or dead parents, poverty, mysterious difficulties with no name, even adult frustrations with our precious selves and the mischief we wreak) or the stubborn refusal of the natural world to reveal its magical properties, Nesbit understands.
She doesn't talk down to the child but she doesn't spare him, either. Her magic (and not all the stories have magic) is interestingly incomplete. It isn't the facile wish-fulfillment of the immature imagination — it's the imposition of the necessity of finding out the rules of things: of finally submitting wish-fulfillment to self-control. That is a lesson we all have to learn, and the fact that she teaches it with such a light hand, using the very longings of the child to satisfy him with something more, that reveals her genius.
(And she's funny.)
I think awareness of childhood anguish is what separates the best authors from the merely acceptable. It isn't just a good story for entertainment's sake. It's a story that, in the midst of whimsicality and delight, appreciates that the child is trying to make sense of things in a serious way — that he's engaged in a struggle for ultimate understanding of that most opaque world, the world of grown people in their intractable environment.
My personal enjoyment in literature for any age is the sly nod from the narrator — the author's voice that breaks through to share a joke with me, the reader. Of this she is the master, which makes her books fantastic to read aloud, because they keep everyone interested.
As a bonus, The Railway Children was made into a fun family movie — and I know you have been wanting to discuss movies. Definitely make time for this one after you've read the story. Rollicking good fun!
What is the Like Mother, Like Daughter Library Project?
Rosie says
Oh yes, yes, yes! One of my all-time favorites 🙂 And I love Edward Eager’s books once one had exhausted the supply of Nesbit, and he pays homage to her in practically every book!
I’m excited to try the Railway Children movie – there was also a movie made recently of Five Children and It, but it leaves MUCH to be desired 🙁
Elizabeth says
Christ is Risen!!!
Looks like some great books here! I just emailed my ‘Mom friends’ the link! thanks for sharing such great titles with us!
Celeste says
My two oldest read through all of Nesbit’s books in the past few months and are now reading them over. And then we started Half-Magic (at your recommendation of Edward Eager’s books in a previous Library Project post!) and it’s a riff off of Five Children and It! Love making connections like that. 🙂
Lisa says
Oh perfect timing. We just finished The Trolley Car Family this weekend. Your recommendations never disappoint. And there are plenty of used hard copies on Amazon.
Kristi says
These sound wonderful and are available for free on Kindle at Amazon.
Meg Cooper says
I love your Library Project posts. You inspired us to read “My Family and Other Animals”, which my husband and I are reading together. And we devoured “Little Britches” as a family. That has become one of our very favorite books. We have read many E. Nesbit books as well. Thank you for these posts, it is such a blessing to get recommendations for good literature!
sibyl says
These books are almost unparalleled for their read-aloud perfection. Railway Children in particular is beautiful, and so poignantly real in all its parts. It includes a boy having a man-to-man conversation with a doctor, in which the doctor talks about the emotional differences between boys and girls, in a way that is absolutely pitch-perfect, and yet has no preachiness to it at all. And the ending never fails to bring tears to my eyes.
Thank you so much for highlighting this author. The best part is, some older libraries still have copies on the shelves but sometimes you can get them at the library bookstore. The older and more tattered they are the better. We recently found House of Arden (nearly my favorite because it involves time travel) for one dollar, complete with hardcover and illustrations by Millar.
Julie says
We love E. Nesbit!
Anne Marie says
I could be wrong, but it appears there are two movie versions. One made in 1970 and one in 2000? Is one better than the other?
Hazel says
I agree with Rachel below- the 1970’s version is wonderful. My daughter is reading The Railway Children at the moment because she saw the film on TV and loved it so much.
Kathy@9peas says
As always I appreciate your tips on books and agree whole hearted about E. Nesbitt~
Rachel says
Yes, you must all see the film of the Railway Children, but NOT the version you show here. The original film was directed by Lionel Jeffries in 1970 and stars Jenny Agutter as the elder daughter. The version you show was made in 2000 and she plays the mother. The earlier one is one of the best films ever made, simply perfect and always makes me cry at the end when the father returns, the directing is brilliant.
Enjoy it!
Elizabeth says
Oh yes! I read The Railway Children for the first time in college and absolutely loved it. It is on my list of favorite books and I can’t wait to read it again this summer. It is just perfect in every way. I am excited to check out the movie as well.
Carrie says
I can’t believe that I’ve never read any Nesbit books! Off to the library!
Leila says
There are two movies (at least). We watched the one made in 2000 and mightily enjoyed it. I am looking forward to seeing the 1970s one.
Kate says
I love classic children’s books like this! The Chronicles of Narnia got me hooked on reading in second grade so I more than get your desire to write about them in every book blog post 🙂
Although I know E. Nesbit’s name, I don’t think I’ve read any of her books except The Enchanted Castle, which is due for a re-read. Great find! I will definitely be passing this along to my friends with kids to read to them as well.
Margo, Thrift at Home says
ooooh, exciting. I recognize the author’s name, but have never read her, that I know of. What else am I missing?!
CarlynB says
I think the only E. Nesbit book I have read is The Phoenix and the Carpet, and that was years and years ago.
Unfortunately, we don’t do as much reading together as a family anymore. I do a lot of reading aloud on road trips. I love to read out loud and I have a captive audience in the car.
Leila says
Carlyn, of course, these are wonderful to read to oneself — do check them out for your kids!
Anitra says
I think the only Nesbit I read as a child was “Five Children and It”, although I was recently introduced to “The Railway Children” by means of an anthology of abridged children’s classics given to my daughter. She’s a good enough reader to read these abridged versions (6 short chapters or less), but I’ve started reading some of them TO her in the original format – like “The Wizard of OZ”, another of my childhood favorites.
I’m also considering introducing my children to Roald Dahl, starting with one of his less-scary books like The BFG (Big Friendly Giant) or James and the Giant Peach.
Bridget says
We just finished reading The Story of the Treasure Seekers, and we all loved it. When I told the kids there were more books about the Bastables and other books by Nesbitt, they were practically ecstatic. I had never read these books as a child, and am happy that I get to experience them with my own children for the first time. It’s something new for all of us.
Oh, and reading that snippet from the Magician’s Nephew at the start of this post; I had never gotten the reference before and now I can’t wait until our next go round with Lewis and Narnia because the kids will get it. I happen to agree with you that the Chronicles of Narnia are the perfect children’s books, so we read them regularly.
Belle Plummer says
I loved the E. Nesbitt books as a child and collected the Puffin editions. I couldn’t find the third book of The Three Children and It series until my mother found it as a hardcover edition. I was am ill child and books accompanied me to the hospital. I was horribly disappointed in the author and dismayed personally by the boldly antisemitic portrayal of people in a Jewish section of London. This had no bearing on the plot. It was just mean. And that meanness has no place in children’s literature in books recommended for and given to children. A.S. Byatt did a fictional treatment of these authors.
Leila says
Oh I have never read that book. That is disappointing indeed.
I find that a lot of British authors have a streak of antisemitism, which is dismaying.