Pod, Homily, and Arrietty Clock's huge adventures have been thrilling children young and old for fifty years--and their appeal is as strong as ever...
read full description
reviews
Oct 31, 2011
Judy
rated it: 
In the second book of The Borrowers series, Pod, Homily and Arrietty are on the run after escaping from the terrible Mrs Driver and the ferret. No long able to live snugly beneath the kitchen in the big house, they are forced to run, hide from field mice and insects, and sleep in ditches.
Finally they take up residence in an abandoned boot and adopt a vegetarian diet. Homily tries to be brave but is miserably out of her element. Pod is his usual resourceful self. Arrietty however i More...
Aug 01, 2011
Cheryl in CC NV
rated it: 
3.5 stars. Children might like it better. I believe I did. I believe I read them all, but I only remember snatches. I had such a crush on Spiller. I loved that Borrowers are *almost* humanoid, but of course they have some alien thoughts and behaviors. And they're *not* fey. I'm sure one of the things that attracted me to the books were the illustrations by the wonderful team of Beth and Joe Krush. One thing I hadn't remembered is just how annoying Homily is. I feel for her, of course, b
More...
Jul 20, 2009
Indah
rated it: 
Setelah sekian lama ngga "terseret" masuk ke dalam cerita ketika membaca sebuah buku, gua menemukannya kembali di buku yang satu ini, oohh kebayang khan betapa mengasyikannya kalo kita bisa turut jadi bagian dalam cerita yang dituturkan?!
Perkenalkan "The Borrowers", manusia mini yang besarnya paling cuman sejempol aja.
Dan sesuai dengan namanya, keluarga yang terdiri dari bapak, ibu dan seorang anak perempuan ini deman meminjam barang dari tempat yang m More...
Perkenalkan "The Borrowers", manusia mini yang besarnya paling cuman sejempol aja.
Dan sesuai dengan namanya, keluarga yang terdiri dari bapak, ibu dan seorang anak perempuan ini deman meminjam barang dari tempat yang m More...
Aug 27, 2010
Nikki
rated it:
I love the way these books have such an awareness of unreliable narrators, and of oral stories, for all that they're written down. First of all The Boy through Mrs May through Kate, and then Arriety through Tom Goodenough through Kate... There's so much uncertainty about whether it is or isn't a story. I imagine that frustrates some people, but I do like it.
I remember, all of a sudden, as a child, carefully leaving things on the lower shelves, for Borrowers. They never did take it, b More...
I remember, all of a sudden, as a child, carefully leaving things on the lower shelves, for Borrowers. They never did take it, b More...
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Jan 22, 2008
Rosemary
rated it:
It's too bad that this series of books about little people is in such danger of being dismissed as a cute or trite children's fairy story. They certainly shouldn't be described in that way. Once you can suspend your disbelief in the existence of small people living in and amongst normal humans, the books becomes adventure stories in the best sense--kind of a Robinson Crusoe story but with much more likable and more subtly depicted characters.
Mar 05, 2011
Bob
rated it:
I re-read the first book in the series (The Borrowers) and enjoyed it almost as much as when I first read it as an 8 year old in 1960. The second book, "The Borrowers Afield" is even better than I remember from those long ago days.
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
May 29, 2011
Melissa
rated it:
3.5 stars. After finishing 'The Borrowers', I immediately sought out this second book from the library. The first fifth of the book sets up the story (which is a tad too long of a setup for me), and the last fifth is non-stop action. The middle 3/5's is a nice stroll (kind of like 'The Witch of Blackbird Pond' in a way -- daily life while getting accustomed to a totally new environment -- but different, of course). I had high expectations for the escape, which turned out to be somewhat disap
More...
Sep 28, 2010
Katarina
rated it:
"The Borrowers Afield" by Mary Norton is about how these tiny creatures who are like humans, just fifty times smaller run for their lives. When Kate is interested in the towns legends, she looks in to it by asking the elderly the true tales of the borrowers. She finds out a lot about them, and she even gets her hands on one of their diaries. The book is made up of the diary of Arietty. So, the borrowers were chased out of their cozy home by the rat catcher, and since they lived in the
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Feb 12, 2012
Phillip
rated it:
The Clock family of borrowers, having been ousted from their home under the kitchen floor, must now learn to survive in the neighboring fields. Their individual personality traits blend them into a cohesive unity that bolsters them through this new lifestyle fraught with heightened vulnerability. Mary Norton escorts her characters through the danger and delight, the triumphs and terrors, the emergencies and the euphoria of their experiences, providing well thought out characters and encounters
More...
Dec 14, 2011
Dusty
rated it:
While rereading Mary Norton's Borrowers series I find myself torn in two directions. In one direction there is nostalgia. The books were already unfashionable when I devoured them in the early 1990s, and although they're not entirely forgotten (due mostly to film and TV adaptations of the first book), they're not nearly as well-known as I think they should be. Norton is a talented storyteller, and The Borrowers Afield is a yarn of remarkable adventure -- imagine the lost-in-the-great-backyard sc
More...
Apr 24, 2011
Rainbow
rated it:
Reading this to my kids. Thanks to the Borrowers, they're now addicted to "The Littles" reruns and fairly sure that leprechauns are real. I love Mary Norton's writing -- it's so mysterious and intriguing, even the 3 year old is captivated -- but this book was tougher for me to get through than its prequel. There just isn't much plot, and Homily (the mother Borrower) can be such a drag.
Jan 13, 2012
Peter
rated it:
AL and I enjoyed "The Borrowers" so much that we ran down to the library to check the next book out. This time the Borrowers are living in a field -- you might have figured that out from the title? -- and that presents a whole new set of problems, adventures, etc. Another really great book, written in the classic British style. 2011/30.
Mar 14, 2011
Kim
rated it:
Never read the Borrowers series when I was little, but I should have. I absolutely believed all through grade school that fairies and little people existed. I built homes for them out of moss and stone under our bushes, set out food, made cups of acorn tops and more. So I am backtracking now and find these books delightful.
Aug 07, 2009
Melody
rated it:
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.
Feb 01, 2011
Joe
rated it:
Like Arietty, I like the Borrowers out of doors. I think this is a great addition to the first book with the development of the human characters that help tell the tale, as well as the introduction of a new Borrower, the mysterious Dreadful Spiller.
Jul 06, 2011
07/06/2011: Currently reading aloud to the lil dude. Fanciful and full of imagination. Just started, can't remember from years ago if it will be as good as The Borrowers.
Jan 27, 2009
Callie
rated it:
I don't remember it all that well, I read it about 20 years ago, but I am looking forward to getting out this series to share with my kids. One of my faves growing up.
Jan 27, 2010
Travis
rated it:
More big adventures of the tiny little people as the Borrows have to leave their home and rough it out in nature.
Again, little things become very important and a small field by a brook becomes a huge wilderness.
Fun little fantasy series that is entertaining and will get you to look again at the regular, small stuff around you.
Again, little things become very important and a small field by a brook becomes a huge wilderness.
Fun little fantasy series that is entertaining and will get you to look again at the regular, small stuff around you.
Dec 14, 2011
Sandy
rated it:
This sequel to The Borrowers was great! I wish I had read these stories as a child! This one was written in 1955 but is still a delightful imaginary exploit today!
Jan 21, 2011
Series continues.
A not too mature advanced young reader book or good read aloud. See here: http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/148...
A not too mature advanced young reader book or good read aloud. See here: http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/148...
Apr 10, 2010
Sarah
rated it:
I didn't enjoy this one nearly as much as the first. It was kind of boring to read aloud -- a lot of descriptive passages, not much action until the end. I would've given it two stars, but O. liked it, so it got bumped up. :)
Dec 29, 2010
Rusty
rated it:
My children loved the Borrowers series. This is a great one to share with children or give to them to read.
Mar 07, 2011
Fi
rated it:
I was very concerned at the Borrowers having to move home, but I needn't have worried ....
Jul 02, 2009
Robin
rated it:
After having the first book read to me in class as a child, I loved the story concept so much I immediately went to the library and read the rest in the series. Love, love, love these books.
Jul 29, 2011
Catherine
rated it:
I loved these little people when I was in grammar school--I could almost see them
Feb 08, 2011
Laura
rated it:
I don't understand the time line in this one (things don't quite line up) but still fun!
May 27, 2009
Richard
rated it:
A beautifully-crafted book, full of whimsy, humour both light and dark, and nostalgia.
Oct 29, 2011
The 'little people' version of the Swiss Family Robinson, who though not shipwrecked, were similarly creative and ingenious in surviving in a hostile environment.
