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Amazon.co.uk Review
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) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Book Description
The Borrowers are a tiny race of people who live hidden away in houses or other safe, convenient places, and own nothing except what they borrow from 'human beans'. The last family to live in the old house, Pod, Homily and Arriety have made a comfortable home beneath the kitchen floor. But their lives become threatened when Pod is seen while on a borrowing expedition. So Arriety is taught by her father the fine, and dangerous, art of borrowing to enable her and Homily to survive should Pod be caught... --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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The Complete Borrowers: "The Borrowers"; "The Borrowers Afield"; "The Borrowers Afloat"; "The Borrowers Aloft"; "The Borrowers Avenged"; "Poor Stainless" by Mary Norton  (1)  £5.99

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Borrowers Afield, the (Odyssey/Harcourt Young Classic) by Mary Norton  (1)  £4.99

The Borrowers Avenged (Odyssey/Harcourt Young Classic) by Mary Norton  (1)  £3.54

Borrowers Aloft, the (Odyssey) by Mary Norton  (1)  £3.01

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9 Reviews 5 star:  (7) 4 star:  (1) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:  (1) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review (9 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   7 of 7 people found the following review helpful: Enchanting, 28 Oct 2003 By  Kurt A. Johnson (Marseilles, IL USA) - See all my reviews    This review is from: The Borrowers (Odyssey Classic) (Paperback) Unknown to the humans who seem to rule the Earth, they actually share the world with a race of little people, the Borrowers. Living beneath the floorboards, and anywhere else they can remain unseen, the Borrowers live by "borrowing" what they need from the "human beans." This is the story of one family (Pod, Homily and Arrietty Clock), their life in a spacious home, their borrowing, and their efforts to stay unseen. But Arrietty wants to see what else there is to life, and she is going to see it! This is such a wonderful book. The story is charming, with the illustrations showing a realistic (if tiny) family. My children loved this story, and even have developed some games based on the story. If you have children, then please consider buying this book for them.  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)   6 of 6 people found the following review helpful: Cute!, 31 Aug 2006 By  Whimsical Witch "a book loving witch" (Norway) - See all my reviews 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!  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)   5 of 5 people found the following review helpful: Imaginative, 28 Feb 2008 By  kehs (Hertfordshire, England) - See all my reviews    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.  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you?