Ladybird Tuesday - The Railway Children

I really love the Ladybird books in the Ladybird Children's Classics series. Although the classic stories are vastly simplified, they still keep the essence of the original book while being retold in a way that makes them suitable for younger readers. The Railway Children by Edith Nesbit has been retold by Joan Collins for Ladybird and illustrated beautifully by Kathie Layfield. It's part of Series 740 and I'm hoping to be able to collect more of the titles in this series.

The story starts with the three children, Roberta, Peter and Phyllis, who live happily with their parents in London until one day their Father is mysteriously taken away (he is falsely imprisoned for spying) and the children have to move away with their Mother to a cottage in the country. They aren't happy there until they discover the railway, and among other adventures they befriend a man who takes the same train every day and eventually helps with their Father's release.

The most exciting part of the story is when the children prevent a train crash after a landslide by stopping the train, running on to the track and waving red petticoats.

I enjoyed reading the story through again, albeit in abridged format. Harry had a brief interest in the film a little while ago after seeing a model of the landslide scene at a local museum, so I'll definitely be reading this one with him when he's a little older.

If you love Ladybird books, do pop over and visit Ladybird Tuesday, where Being Mrs C is assembling a really comprehensive catalogue of Ladybird books and reviews.

Below you can find links to all my Ladybird Tuesday book posts.

Snow White and Rose Red
Hansel and Gretel
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
The Three Little Pigs
The Old Woman and her Pig
Little Red Riding Hood
The Ugly Duckling
The Railway Children
A Little Princess
A First book of Aesop's Fables

A Ladybird Book about Knitting
More Things to Make - For Special Occasions
Easy to Make Puppets
Learning to Sew
Stamp Collecting
Tricks and Magic

Prehistoric Animals and Fossils
Dinosaurs
Stone Age Man in Britain
Great Civilisations - Crete
Charles Dickens
Nelson
Lives of the Great Composers Book 1
Lives of the Great Composers Book 2
The Story of Music

Plants and How They Grow
The Ladybird Book of the Night Sky
Sea and Air Mammals
The Farm

The Story of Nuclear Power
The Motor Car
How it Works - The Computer
How it Works - The Rocket
The Story of Ships
The Postman and the Postal Service
People at Work - The Nurse

Understanding Numbers
Talkabout Clothes
Going to School
Teaching Reading

Stories of Special Days and Customs
Christmas Customs

Girls and Boys - A Ladybird Book of Childhood