The Railway Children
by E. Nesbit

5 out of 5 stars

Three siblings embark on a new adventure when they move to a country cottage near the railway. They quickly make friends with the railway employees, and memorize the train schedule. They run to the train track to wave hello to each train that passes, and the commuters begin to watch for them waving their little handkerchiefs every morning. But the railway is also a dangerous place to play. The children must learn the safety rules and signals. However, sometimes they find that they will need to break the rules to save the trains from certain disaster.

I love the old-fashioned charm of this book! It’s such a beautiful story and all the characters are so sweet. Of course, they have days when they are grumpy and they make mistakes too, but they always make it right in the end. I love the way the siblings bicker and fight sometimes, but they also really support and care for each other.

Bedknobs and Broomsticks
by Mary Norton

3.5 out of 5 stars

Carey, Charles, and Paul are visiting their aunt for the summer when they meet the neighbor, Miss Price. Miss Price is secretly a witch, and the children see her riding on her broomstick in the night. When she crashes her broomstick, the children help her and in return Miss Price gives them an enchanted bedknob that will magically take them anywhere they wish. The children get into some troublesome adventures and discover that magic is not as simple as it appears.

Bumpfizzle the Best on Planet Earth
by Patricia Forde (Author), Elīna Brasliņa (Illustrator)

1 out of 5 stars

A little boy named Daniel pretends to be an alien sent to observe Earthlings. He is upset that the new baby is getting more attention than him and he feels unloved, so he lashes out and causes trouble for his family. He eats the cat food and makes himself sick to get attention. He locks his older brother in his room during a game of hide and seek. He ties the family pet into a bag and throws it in the trash bin. Thankfully, the cat escapes and makes it back home, but what a horrible thing to do!

I ended up DNFing this book. I didn’t get the weird sense of humor, and I hated the main character. What a little brat! He’s so mean and destructive. He’s selfish and horrible to his family. All he does is criticize everyone and say mean things about them in his diary. Apparently, he warms up to the baby at the end of the book, but that doesn’t mean I want to suffer through chapter after chapter of his bad behavior to get to one chapter of reconciliation at the end.