The Borrowers Afield (The Borrowers #2)
by Mary Norton, Beth Krush (Illustrator), Joe Krush (Illustrator)
4 out of 5 stars

I love seeing how the Borrowers survive in the wild, fighting off insects, gathering nuts and berries, and finding shelter in an old boot. The plot in this book has so many interesting little twists and turns, as the Clock family meet Spiller, a Borrower who lives in the fields and hedges.

They are such funny characters with grit and determination. Pod is resourceful and serious, but cracks a joke now and then. Homily is fearful, but has a reserve of inner fortitude that comes up in a crisis. Arrietty is adorable and sweet, plucky and adventurous and playful. Spiller is mysterious and taciturn. I just love them all!

The dialogue is fantastic! You can really imagine them all sitting round a candle fire, sipping rosehip tea from their acorn cups, having a heated conversation about how to make bread from wheat stalks or whether you couldn’t grind up some corn instead. Their personalities shine through the dialogue, and propel the story forward.

I love this whole series! However, I could have done without the introduction story that tells how years and years later a human girl reads Arrietty’s diary and how Old Tom tells her the story of the Borrowers. It broke up the pacing of the real story.