The Borrowers, by Mary Norton

untitledI was introduced to the Borrowers some years ago when I saw the movie, the one where John Goodman plays the villain. I liked the movie and thought I should give the book a read, though it took me a while to get around to it. As is usually the case, the book is not quite like the movie.

The Borrowers, by Mary Norton, is a fun children’s book about tiny people living  under the kitchen floor of a great big house.. It’s never specified when the story is taking place, but I think it’s set around the early 1900s, in England.

Only one family of Borrowers is left in the big house owned by Aunt Sophy. The rest of the Borrower families have moved out for one reason or another and have not been heard from since. Though Arrietty, her mother Homily and her father Pod convince themselves that there are many more Borrowers in the world, they might well be the last of the Borrowers. Arrietty meets Sophy’s nephew, the Boy, and the Boy offers to help her find other Borrowers, if they can be found. Among other things.