Guide for teachers and students

1. NOVEL THE RAILWAY CHILDREN by EDITH NESBIT PMR
NOVEL PMR
THE RAILWAY CHILDREN by EDITH NESBIT
(Guide for teachers and students)
If you want to succeed in your studies, you must think
positively. As “where there is a will there is a way.” If
you are going to look back it like you plagiarism to be a
failure. Thus, “do not like a man in an island.”
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2. NOVEL THE RAILWAY CHILDREN by EDITH NESBIT PMR
THE RAILWAY CHILDREN
SYNOPSIS
Roberta (Bobbie), Peter and Phyllis lived in London with their loving parents. They were happy
and contented. One day, two strangers came to their house and took their father away. After
this sudden event, the children and their mother moved to a small house in the country. There
was a railway line near their new house. The children became friends with the people who
worked at the railway. They enjoyed waving to the passengers on the 9.15am train. An old
gentleman who travelled on the train always waved back at them. This gentleman became their
friend. The children had several adventures with the railway. They stopped the train when a
landslide covered the tracks. They also saved a boy who was hurt in the train tunnel. The
children often thought of their father. Then Roberta (Bobbie) found out why their father was
taken away. She wrote to the old gentleman for help. With his help, their father finally returned
to the family.
CHAPTER 1: THE BEGINNING OF THINGS
One night at their home in London, father, mother, Roberta (also known as Bobbie), Peter and
Phyllis are talking about Peter‟s broken model engine when there is a knock on the front door.
Two gentlemen come to see father and talk for a long time. Father speaks briefly with mother
and mysteriously leaves home. The next morning, mother leaves for London and returns in the
evening, looking tired. She requests the children to be good while she is away and not to ask
any question about father. Several horrid weeks pass by and one morning, mother tells the
children that they are moving to a little white house near railway line in the country. They take
the train and arrive at their new home in the dark.
CHAPTER 2: PETER AND THE COAL
The family does not get a decent supper as they think Mrs. Viney has not prepared it for them.
Mother prepares what she can and off they go to bed. The next morning, the children wake up
feeling excited in their new home. They discover that a nearby field backs onto a railway line but
the railway station is too far to see from where they are. Before supper the children decides to
go to the railway station. They have a lot to see and a large heap of coal catches Peter‟s
attention. When Peter steals coal from the station yard, he is caught by the Station Master.
Peter thinks that taking some coals from the middle of the heap is harmless. The Station Master
warns them that what they have done is stealing because the coal belongs to the railway station.
It is only then they realize what they have done is wrong.
CHAPTER 3: THE OLD GENTLEMAN
By now the children know the time when the trains pass. Every morning, they will wave to an old
gentleman who always waves back at them. They pretended that the old man knows their father
and takes their love to him in London. One day, their mother becomes very ill and Bobbie
resolves to do something positive to help. The children paint the words, “LOOK OUT AT THE
STATION” on a large white sheet and wave it at the 9.15 train the next day. When the train is
about ready to leave, Phyllis passes a letter to the Old Gentleman. In the evening, a large box of
supplies is delivered to the children with all the things they have asked for.
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3. NOVEL THE RAILWAY CHILDREN by EDITH NESBIT PMR
CHAPTER 4: BOBBIE’S RIDE
When their mother finally recovers from her illness, they confess to her what they have done
earlier. The family later celebrates Bobbie‟s 12th birthday, all dressed in their best. Bobbie
receives various presents from the family including Peter who reluctantly has to give her the
broken half of his toy train filled with sweets. Her lovely birthday party however ends on a sad
note when she realizes that her mother is very upset later that night. Bobbie secretly wants to
repair Peter‟s broken train. She goes to the station and accidentally gets into the engine of one
of the trains. Feeling scared, she seeks help from two railway workers. The two men not only
repair the toy but also make sure she arrives home safely. Weeks later, Bobbie introduces Peter
and Phyllis to the friendly engine driver and Jim, the fireman.
CHAPTER 5: SAVING THE TRAIN
The children witness a landslide that covers the railway line. The children prevent an imminent
accident by waving the girls‟ red petticoats. The train comes to rest just in time, at about twenty
meters from where Bobbie stands on the tracks. Weeks later, a ceremony is held at the station
to commemorate the children‟s bravery. The Old Gentleman presents the children with a gold
watch each and meets their mother at home. The children relay that eventful day to their mother.
CHAPTER6: A birthday for Perks
The children‟s mother has just sold a story and suggests having some cakes for tea. Babbie
requests that they have it on Perk‟s birthday and mother agrees. Peter comes up with an idea to
ask the villagers for little gifts, confident that they will give something to a person as nice as
perks. Some of the villagers are delighted with the idea but other, such as Mrs. Ransome simply
brushes them off. The three children, however, go home and collect several roses for
Mrs.Ransome since it is her birthday. That kinds gesture touches Mrs.Ransome‟s heart and she
gives the children several apples as well as her deal grandchild‟s pram for Perks‟s son. The
children bring the gifts to Perks‟s house and wait for his arrive so as to surprise him. In spite of
this, perks becomes upset as he sees the gifts as a form of charity. The children explain that
these gifts are given sincerely and perks relents. He asks the three children to stay for tea.
CHAPTER 7: The terrible secret
Bobbie discovers the reason for her father‟s disappearance when she reads the newspaper
article. Deeply upset, she refuses to believe that he is a spy and is imprisoned. Her mother
attempts to explain that her father has been falsely accused of selling government secrets to
another country. Bobbie believes in her father‟s innocence and decides to write to the old
gentleman to clear his name.
CHAPTER 8: THE BOY IN THE RED SHIRT
The boy in red goes missing during a „hare and hounds‟ game organised by their school. Bobbie
and her siblings enter the dark railway tunnel to look for him. They find him lying by the railway
track with a broken leg. Bobbie strays with the injured boy, Jim, in the dark tunnel while peter
and Phyllis seek help form the farm. The children take Jim home for medical attention. They
later learn that Jim is he grandchild of the old gentleman whom they have met earlier. The old
gentleman visits the little white house Jim is taken care of. Mother offers herself to take care of
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4. NOVEL THE RAILWAY CHILDREN by EDITH NESBIT PMR
Ji until he get better. The old gentleman is grateful to the family. When the old gentleman leaves
the house, he has a prove chat with Bobbie about her father. He says that he has receives the
letter and has been looking into the case. He believes that her father is innocent.
CHAPTER 9: THE MAN AT THE SATATION
The children wave at the passing 9.15 train and all the passengers respond. At the station, an
overjoyed Mr. Perks, who has read about Bobbie‟s father in the newspaper, greets her. A
london train stops at the station and bobbies sees her father return after serving his sentence in
prison. They return home happy and reunited.
CHARACTER
ROBERTA (BOBBIE)
Roberta is 12 years old. She has a brother named Peter and a younger sister named Phyllis.
She is fondly known as Bobbie in this novel. She is the eldest of the three. One of her
characters is, she is a very persistent person. She doesn't easily throw in the towel when the
odds seem to be against her.
There are many incidences in the novel where we can see her persistence. For example, in
chapter 3 (page 17 - paragraph 5 - lines 1-3), we can see how determined she was in getting
the things necessary for her mother's recovery when her mother was ill. Her persistence paid off
when the old gentleman gave the things needed for her mother's recovery.
In chapter 6 (page 38 - read the whole page), Perks was not happy with people giving him
presents. He was worried that people would laugh and make fun of him. Bobbie persistently
reasoned with Perks about the good intentions of the village people giving him the presents until
he relented and accepted the gifts. Finally, Perks celebrated his birthday with a happy note.
In chapter 7 (pg 42 - the whole page), she did not give up in finding a way to help secure her
father's release from prison. She was persistent even when her mother had given up.
She secretly wrote a letter to her friend the old gentleman asking for his help to clear her
father's name. In the end her father was released from prison.
PETER
Peter is Roberta's brother. He is the second child in the family. Peter is a very brave and smart
young chap. He wants to be an engineer when he grows up. He has a knack for railway engines.
He was overjoyed when his father gave him a steam engine for his birthday. One distinct
character of Peter is sharp-witted (intelligent).
In Chapter 5 (p29 - p4 - lines 1-3), It was he who gave the idea of using something red in colour
to wave and stop the train from meeting a certain disaster. He cut his sisters' red petticoats into
six pieces and put them on to sticks. Peter together with his sisters waved at the coming train
until it stopped.
In Chapter 6 (pg 36 - p1 - lines 1-3), Peter was honest in giving the idea of asking the village
people to give gifts for Perk's birthday. He told his mother about their true intention of giving
Perks the presents. Many people gave gifts for Perks birthday party.
In Chapter 2 (pg 12 - p 3 - lines 1-3), we can see the daring side of Peter. He was daring
enough to steal coal from the railway station at night but he did it ignorantly. Peter innocently
thought it was alright to take some coal from the station. In Chapter 8 (p46 - p1 - lines 1-4 / pg
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5. NOVEL THE RAILWAY CHILDREN by EDITH NESBIT PMR
47 - p2 - lines 1-4), we can see how brave Peter was in searching for the boy in the red shirt in
the dark tunnel. He was shaking in fear but still he continued the search for the boy with his
sisters.
PHYLLIS
Phyllis is the youngest child in the family. She is the cutest of the three. She is quite a
bubbly character. She is very naive and insecure. She is also very sensitive but easily forgiving.
In Chapter 5 (p29,30 & 31), we can see the brave side of Phyllis. She together with her elder
sister and brother managed to stop the train from meeting with a terrible accident.
In Chapter 1 (p7 - p1 - last line), Phyllis felt very insecure when they moved in to their new
house at the county side. While in Chapter 6 (pg 38 - p1&2), Phyllis became very sensitive
when Perks refused to accept the gifts the children had brought to him. She was so hurt by
Perks's words that she started to cry. In Chapter 4,5,6 and 8 we can see how loving, caring and
helpful Phyllis is.
MOTHER
Mother is a homely type. We can read this in Chapter 1 (page 1 - paragraph 2 - lines 1-3). She
spends most of her time at home, playing with the children or reading stories to them. Usually
she read the stories she wrote to them. She is a very protective woman. She protected her
children from worrying or feeling sad about their father. She did this by not telling them what
actually had happened to their father. She also told them that they need to play being poor for a
while in order not to cause more anxiety on them.
In chapter 2 (p12 - pg 1 - lines 2-3), we can see how resourceful she is. Mother wrote stories
and sold them to put some food on the table.
In chapter 4 (p21 - pg 3 - lines 1-3), we can see that Mother is a very proud person. Although
they were poor, she strongly discourages her children from telling people that they are poor and
asking strangers to help them.
She is also a very caring and loving Mother. In Chapter 1 (p1 - p2 - lines 1-3), Mother was
always ready to play with her children. She also read stories to them. Whereas in Chapter 9
( p53 - p1 - lines 2-4), she taught her children their lessons as they have stopped going to
school for some time now. In Chapter 8 (p50 - p1 - lines 8-9), she took in the injured boy into her
house and nursed him to health.
FATHER
The children's father worked in a government office. He was a civil servant. He was an honest
and hardworking man. He was wrongly accused of being a Russian spy and was sentenced to 5
years in prison. In Chapter 1 (pg 1 - p 3 - lines 2-4), we can see how tolerant and wonderful he
is. He neither gets angry at the children nor at his wife. The children love their father very much
for he is always happy and ready to play games with them. In Chapter 1 (pg 3 - p1 - lines 1-3),
when Peter showed him his broken steam engine, father looked at it carefully and smilingly told
Peter that there is hope (optimistic) that his steam engine could be repaired. He is also a
grateful man. In Chapter 9 (pg 57 - "Yes', said Father. 'It's him I must thank.'). Father was
grateful for his release and wanted to thank the old gentleman for helping him to clear his name
and secure his release from prison.
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6. NOVEL THE RAILWAY CHILDREN by EDITH NESBIT PMR
SETTINGS
Place
House in London
The cottage in the country side
The railway station
The railway tunnel
The village
Social
Edwardian Type of Clothes
Coal used for steam engine trains
Cultural
Having tea
High hats and long coats
MORAL VALUE
Brave
Example: In chapter 5, the children managed to save the train and stop a very bad accident
from happening. One day, Roberta, Peter and Phyllis saw a landslide which blocked the railway
line. The girls used their red petticoats to make flags. The train was moving very fast. Bobbie
braved herself and ran on to the railway line and waved her flags. The train finally stopped just
twenty metres from Bobbie. The children's bravery saved the people on the rain from meeting
with an awful accident and from getting killed.
Kindhearted
Example: In chapter 3, the children's mother was ill and had to stay in bed. Dr Forrest came to
check on their mother and told Bobbie her mother needed milk and fruit and some other special
things to eat in order to get well. They couldn't afford to buy them, so the children decided to ask
help from the old gentleman. The old gentleman was a kind enough to provide them with all the
things they had asked and some they had not.
Stealing Is Wrong
Example: In chapter 2, Peter and his two sisters stole some coal from the station yard. They
took the coal back to their house. One day, the station master caught Peter red handed stealing
coal in the station yard. Peter and his two sisters admitted to helping Peter with his crime. The
station master warned them not to repeat it again and let them go. The children realised
that stealing was wrong. They repented and never took any coal from the station yard again.
Family love and loyalty
The children show their love for their mother by not asking questions about their father. They
are loyal to their father and never forget him.
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7. NOVEL THE RAILWAY CHILDREN by EDITH NESBIT PMR
Kindness and compassion
The station master lets Peter go when he learns that the family is too poor to buy coal.
Braver
The children are brave to confess that they have taken the coal and they also tell their mother
that they asked a stranger to get the things the doctor asked them to get for her.
Character: Roberta @ Bobbie
Responsible
Evidence: She takes charge and gets her siblings to think of a way to get their mother the
things the doctor said she must have when she is ill.
Brave
Evidence: She runs onto the railway track to stop the train when a landslide covers the railway
line.
Determined
Evidence: She is determined to get help so that she can help her father who is in jail. She tells
the old gentleman about him and with the gentleman‟s help, her father finally returns to the
family.
Themes
The importance of family love
Bobbie and her siblings have loving parents. After their father is taken away, Mother is very sad
but she does not tell the children and the children do not ask questions so that their mother will
not be upset.
The children always work together to solve problems, for example when their mother is ill and
needs special food and when they have to save the train.
Facing life’s challenges with courage
The children and their mother face problems bravely. Mother does not show how sad she is and
works hard to provide for the children.
When a landslide covers the railway tracks, the children act with courage to save the train from
a terrible accident.
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8. NOVEL THE RAILWAY CHILDREN by EDITH NESBIT PMR
Example question 1:
Based on "THE RAILWAY CHILDREN" by EDITH NESBIT, write about the synopsis of the
novel.
ROBERTA (also known as BOBBIE), PETER, PHYLLIS lived a comfortable home in London
with a wonderful mother and father as well as a maid.
One day, their father left home with two men. He was actually taken away to prison but
the children did not know this at first. When he left and did not come back, they had to move to
a poor cottage in the country (rural area) near a railway station. The children became familiar
with the passing trains, the workers at the train station and signal-box, and life in a small town
while their mother struggled to make ends meet by writing stories.
They learnt to live with what little they had and they got used to be poor. They also learnt
not a steal coal from the railway station; even they had so little to keep warm. They had various
adventures - stopping a train when a landside covered, the tracks, finding an injured boy in the
train tunnel and getting help, while dealing with the mystery of their father disappearance.
Sometimes they argued and had crises, but in the time they made many new friend.
They also experienced amusing adventures aplenty which happened near the railway
and the canal. The children develop the habits of waving to the train as it went past and
sometimes the people in the coaches waved back. Their friendly gestures forged a special
friendly with one person in particular, who went by in the train. He eventually got to know them,
and helped them out in various ways. Then, one day a train called at the station and the children
were pleasantly surprised to see their father. They were finally re-united.
Example question 2:
Based on "THE RAILWAY CHILDREN" by EDITH NESBIT, write about the place that you like
the most in the novel.
The novel that I chosen is "The Railway Children" by EDITH NESBIT. The place that I like the
most in the story is the railway station. There are many interesting things there.
Besides the shinning railway lines, telegraph wires and signals, seeing trains that use
coal for their engines is really interesting.
It is also fascinating to see the railway leading towards the 'dark opening of the tunnel'.
This is because when the railway lines begin 'to shake' a train will come' screaming out of the
tunnel'. According to BOOBIE, when the train is gone, it is 'like a great wild animal going by'.
Just like BOOBIE, PETER and PHYLLIS, I like this place as it is their place of 'hope'.
This is the place where the 9.15 train went to London. They believed that this train was a magic
train and it sends their love to their father.
The railway station and the lines that lead to it made this the most interesting place for
children. I wish I can be there with them to experience all the adventures around the railway
children.
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9. NOVEL THE RAILWAY CHILDREN by EDITH NESBIT PMR
Example question 3:
Based on 'The Railway Children' by Edith Nesbit, the character I admire is PETER. PETER is
only 10 years but he has many positive qualities. We see these qualities in what he says and
does.
PETER clever and quick to stop the 11.29 train from crashing into a landslide. He cuts his sister
red petticoats into six pieces. Then, he and his sister make six flags with them and some sticks.
They wave the flags and stop the train. They save the train and its passengers.
PETER also observant and confident that many people in the village will give PERKS
presents because he is nice to everybody. He plans to give PERKS, the porter at the station, a
nice birthday. He has a clever idea to collect presents from the village for PERKS. The children
collect the present and give them to PERKS. Because of PETER‟S kindness and clever idea,
PERKS has the best birthday and the best birthday presents in his life. He is very happy.
I admire PETER because he is alert and brave too. For examples, during a paper-chase,
JIM, the old gentleman‟s grandson does not come out of the tunnel for a long time. PETER says
that JIM is in danger and goes into the dark and dangerous tunnel to look for him with his sisters.
PETER is also like a scout. He has things like a candle, penknife and matches with him.
They are useful in the tunnel. The children find JIM beside the railway lines. He has broken his
leg. BOBBIE cuts his boot with the penknife. Then PETER and PHYLLIS get some farm workers
to carry JIM to their house.
One more reason I admire PETER is because he is brave to steal coal to keep the family
warm. When Station Master catches PETER, he tells him that his sisters do not know anything
about the coal to save them. He is mature and protective of them. He does not want them to get
into trouble. He wants to be responsible for his action himself.
I admire PETER because he has many positive qualities.
Example question 4:
Based on "THE RAILWAY CHILDREN" by EDITH NESBIT, write about the moral values of the
novel.
The moral values responsibility is highlighted in the novel "The Railway Children". The story
concerns a family who fell upon hard times after the father was taken away for being spy.
Forced to move to a small house in the country, the family unit was held together by the
children‟s mother. She earned a living by writing stories to sell to magazines.
She is a responsible person. When they became poor, she worked hard to make ends
meet to look after the welfare of her children. If spite of a difficult life, she put up a brave front
and did not neglect her children. She was able to shoulder the sole responsibility of caring for
them. She provided them with basic needs such as food and clothing.
The children‟s mother is also responsible in looking after JIM, the grandson of the old
gentleman. JIM took part in a paper-chase game and broke his leg while running in a tunnel.
The children‟s mother let him stay at her house to recuperate. She was willing to care for him.
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