The Primrose Railway Children: Jacqueline Wilson

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There's adventure around the trains, the train station and make a new friend in the station master, which is delightfully written, with so much to discover about The Primrose Railway. It's also a story that talks about differences between urban and rural life, differences in families as a whole and growing up.

I first read The Railway Children when I was eight. It’s a compelling story about a comfortably middle-class Edwardian family whose circumstances change dramatically. Father is sent to prison, so Mother takes the three children to a remote country cottage where they live in poverty. There’s a nearby railway where the children play and have various adventures.I absolutely loved E Nesbit’s book and took it out of the library many times.

As well as winning many awards for her books, including the Children’s Book of the Year, Jacqueline is a former Children’s Laureate, and in 2008 she was appointed a Dame. The Primrose Railway Children is the latest novel by Jacqueline Wilson. It is inspired by the classic children’s story by E Nesbitt. Writing books based on classics is something Jacqueline Wilson has done before – her book, Katy, inspired by What Katy Did, is absolutely brilliant. With dad mysteriously gone, the void this leaves can be sorely felt through the family, but none more so than Phoebe. The intensity of the bond between her and her dad can be keenly felt. There's the whole worry that he may be dead, but they don't really know if he is dead or alive and readers see the children process this between their humour and their seriousness in conversations and behaviours.

Jacqueline Wilson wrote her first novel when she was nine years old, and she has been writing ever since. She is now one of Britain’s bestselling and most beloved children’s authors. She has written over 100 books and is the creator of characters such as Tracy Beaker and Hetty Feather. More than forty million copies of her books have been sold. Jacqueline is one of the nation’s favourite authors, and her books are loved and cherished by young readers not only in the UK but all over the world. She has sold millions of books and in the UK alone the total now stands at over 35 million! I've always loved E Nesbit's wonderful classic The Railway Children, but I've also felt she wasn't quite fair to the youngest child Phyllis,” she said. “All she can say about her is that 'she meant extremely well'. I've re-imagined the story from the youngest child's point of view.”Jacqueline Wilson has been inspired by E. Nesbitt before with her retelling of the story Four Children and It, which she called 4 Children and It. This time she has been inspired by The Railway Children by her. My hope is that children reading these, will be also inspired to go to the original versions too and see the similarities and the differences and appreciate both authors and their talents. Let's face it, Jacqueline Wilson is enormously talented and I honestly was amazed to be given the priveledge of reviewing her book. Not only am I a fan of The Railway Children, but I also totally appreciate in wonderment what Jacqueline Wilson brings to children literature. The big question is, however, is this re-inspired story actually any good and will it hit the mark? But Perry, Phoebe's autistic brother was the star of the book for me, massive applause for great representation. He had his routines and his triggers but he was such a lovely character and so kind.

Struggling to feel at home and missing her Dad terribly, Phoebe's only distraction is her guinea pig Daisy. Until the family discover the thrilling steam trains at the railway station and suddenly, every day is filled with adventure. Struggling to feel at home and missing her Dad terribly, Phoebe’s only distraction is her guinea pig Daisy. Until the family discover the thrilling steam trains at the railway station and suddenly, every day is filled with adventure. But Phoebe still can’t help wondering what her Mum is hiding – and when she will see her Dad again… The disappearance of the father has financial repercussions. The children and their mother are obliged to move to a dilapidated cottage in the English countryside. The cottage stands very near to the Primrose Railway line, a heritage railway staffed by volunteers. The children become heavily involved in the community centred on the railway. In this community they find solace to comfort them for their absent father.I am a huge Jacqueline Wilson fan, grew up reading her books like many others. But she inspired me to want to be a writer myself and her books always meant so much to me. So when I was offered a chance to read her new book, a retelling of the famous classic The Railway Children, I couldn’t resist. Phoebe was a wonderful protagonist, imaginative, creative and with a real dramatic flair. But she was also kind and loving and was an exemplary guiniepig owner! The discovery of the restored steam trains at a nearby railway station provides a welcome distraction from the children’s anxieties.