The Borrowers by Mary Norton is a children’s book and is meant to entertain. It’s about a family of little people, who live behind the wall of the big people’s house. It gives delight and entertainment to those who read it.
One of the themes is adventure. Arrietty has always lived behind the wall of the big people’s house and had never went beyond the metal grating. She has always been cooped out. She’s never seen the big people’s house or the outside world, where the grass, wind and trees are. But one day, her father allows her to go borrowing with him and she does. She ventures outside while her father collects materials. There, she meets the boy, though at first both are wary of each other. But they do become friends and he agrees to bring Arrietty’s letter to her relatives who live in the fields. Then, he soon starts bringing her and her family new furniture. They get all these new pieces. But eventually, the owner of the house realizes that many things are going missing and she wants to find out who is stealing. So Arrietty and her mom and dad need to move out. All this is very adventurous for Arrietty, because she went from never going outside, to needing to escape from the owner who would kill them if she found out it was them who took all her things.
Another theme is family. The Clock family has always lived behind the great grandfather clock, hence their name. They and their ancestors have lived in that section of the wall for a very long time. It is very important to them, particularly to Arrietty’s mom, Homliy. She doesn’t want to stay even when all the other Borrower families emigrate. The house is part of their heritage and therefore very precious to them.
The book starts out with Mrs. May talking to Kate. She tells her the story of the Borrowers, which makes up most of the book. Arrietty starts out as a little girl who has never ventured out of her safe home behind the wall. Then one day her father, Pod, gives her an opportunity to go borrowing with him. So she gladly goes. While her father gets supplies, she goes outside. Here, she meets the boy. And though they are both wary of each other at first, they become friends. He agrees to deliver a letter from Arrietty to her relatives who live in the fields. Then, he starts bringing her and her family furniture. But the owner slowly realizes how everything is going missing. The owner sets out on a mission to find who it is that is stealing all of her stuff. That leads to the Borrowers frantic escape to flee the owner and the house. The book ends with Mrs. May telling Kate that she is unsure exactly what happened to the Borrowers when they fled, but she does suggest that they ended up in the fields with the rest of their relatives.
Mary Norton has crafted an interesting, captivating book for children: a book about little people who live in the walls and survive off of what little bits of food and materials they take.
