The Primrose Railway Children

by Jacqueline Wilson

'An unbelievable talent' - David Walliams

From multi-million bestselling author Jacqueline Wilson and inspired by E. Nesbit's timeless classic, The Primrose Railway Children is a gorgeous, heartwarming story of family secrets and new adventures.

Sit back and enjoy the journey!

Phoebe Robinson loves making up stories - just like her wonderful, imaginative Dad.

When he mysteriously disappears, Phoebe, Perry, Becks and their mum must leave everything behind and move to a small cottage in the middle of nowhere.

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 is Mum hiding and more worryingly is Dad okay?

Genres: Middle Grade, Childrens, Contemporary, Fiction, Audiobook, Retellings

512 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2021

About the author

Jacqueline Wilson was born in Bath in 1945, but spent most of her childhood in Kingston-on-Thames. She always wanted to be a writer and wrote her first ‘novel’ when she was nine, filling in countless Woolworths’ exercise books as she grew up. As a teenager she started work for a magazine publishing company and then went on to work as a journalist on Jackie magazine (which she was told was named after her!) before turning to writing novels full-time.

One of Jacqueline’s most successful and enduring creations has been the famous Tracy Beaker, who first appeared in 1991 in The Story of Tracy Beaker. This was also the first of her books to be illustrated by Nick Sharratt. Since then Jacqueline has been on countless awards shortlists and has gone on to win many awards. The Illustrated Mum won the Guardian Children’s Fiction Award, the 1999 Children’s Book of the Year at the British Book Awards and was also shortlisted for the 1999 Whitbread Children’s Book Award.

Double Act won the prestigious Smarties Medal and the Children’s Book Award as well as being highly commended for the Carnegie Medal. The Story of Tracy Beaker won the 2002 Blue Peter People’s Choice Award.

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!

In 2002 Jacqueline was awarded the OBE for services to literacy in schools and from 2005 to 2007 she was the Children’s Laureate. In 2008 she became Dame Jacqueline Wilson.

Reviews

[Soph · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a child I grew up with an extensive collection of Jacqueline Wilson books and lived my life vicariously through her work. Still at the ripe age of 24 I will jump at the chance to read her new books and I feel utterly privileged to have been lucky enough to read her last two releases pre-publication thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Random House UK Childrens, and Jacqueline Wilson herself.

This story was utterly beautiful from start to finish. Phoebe was just an absolute ray of sunshine and I couldn't imagine any of the other children being better narrators of the book. Could Phoebe be my new favourite Jacqueline Wilson character? Yes. As for Beck and Perry, they were equally adorable in their own way. Also a big FAT yes to Jacqueline having the woman of the household as the main wage earner, we absolutely LOVE to see that.

Jacqueline has always had this gift that has allowed her to write about such important and sensitive topics in a way that not only educates her targeted young audience, but allows them to ride the wave along with the characters and hopefully help them to understand their feelings just that little bit better. This book was no different. Jacqueline addressed autism amongst one of the main characters in a simple yet educational way, breaking down the different elements of what it means being on the autistic spectrum. Mental health was also touched upon, telling the reader how mental health is nothing to be ashamed of, which is something a young audience such as hers really needs to hear, especially in todays society.

The only thing that didn't sit right with me was the hinting of the 'romance' blossoming between Becks and Jake. 14 and 18? No. But after finding out this was retelling of The Railway Children I will need to educate myself on the original so I can finalise my opinion on that!

[Ravenclaw Library Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jacqueline Wilson has tackled a couple of children's classics now, such as What Katy Did. The difficulty with these kind of stories is always trying to keep the balance between the spirit of the original and updating it for today's children.
As a fan of the Railway Children, I think that Wilson has done a really wonderful job and you can see the threads of the original story throughout the book, yet there are still new elements to behold.

This is a great read, with a good ending, Wilson really does has a talent for retelling classics, and I hope she keeps going with them. I would love A Little Princess retelling next hopefully.

#PrimroseRailwayChildren #NetGalley.

[Ellie (bookmadbarlow) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun retelling of the Railway children for the modern age.
Phoebe our MC loves art and her dad, but when her dad goes missing her mum takes them all away to a rundown house in the countryside. Luckily it is close to an old fashioned Railway and the kids soon fall in love with it.
I found Phoebe to be a bit confusing, if I'm entirely honest. At times she did feel her age, but at others she felt younger/ older and it kept taking me out of the story.
I also felt this to be a little too long, 500 pages for a middle grade book with not many illustrations is quite excessive, but then that could just be my dislike of long books!
Overall, I did enjoy it, I liked their friendship with Thomas and Mo and the descriptions of the Railway itself, I just think it could have been slightly shorter.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was superb

[Vita Luna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some parts where a bit long and strange - but great characters and loved seeing an autistic character as one of the mains and seeing all the references to the original story. I think the character of Perry can really help other kids understand autism.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Primrose Railway Children by Jacqueline Wilson is a wonderful modern re-telling of E. Nesbit’s The Railway Children. It is perfect for ages eight years and over and is sure to delight whatever your age.
I am a huge fan of the 1970 film but have never warmed to the original book. However The Primrose Railway Children captured my attention and my heart from the start. It follows similar but slightly different storylines to the original and is absolutely charming.
The action is told via ten year old Phoebe in the first person. She is realistic, likable and easy to empathise with. I ‘travelled’ through the novel in her shoes. She has a fourteen year old sister Becks and an eleven year old brother Perry, who has autism. We witness the ups and downs of sibling relationships. They basically love each other with the occasional spat.
We see the devastation and unsettling caused by their father disappearing from family life, and a withdrawal from all that is familiar.
The children’s mother takes on the role of both mother and father. We see the stress and strain on her.
New hobbies are found in visiting a steam railway and the discovery of old paintings.
The countryside is in complete contrast to London. Lives open up and expand in the fresh air.
I absolutely adored The Primrose Railway Children. I also loved the style of Jacqueline Wilson. I know that my daughter loved her books growing up, and my granddaughters now love her books – I am late to the party but I, in my late fifties, love her books and have already bought two more to read. I think I need a new bookcase devoted to Jacqueline Wilson!

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore Jacqueline Wilson's books and I could not wait to read this! It is a modern day version of The Railway Children and it is full of Jacqueline Wilson's amazing modern situations and scenarios. At the start of each chapter there is a beautiful illustration and the splendid pictures are dotted throughout the book. Phoebe, who is the main character, lives in an isolated cottage. She visits a local train station every day with her siblings (Becks and Perry) and just like the original story the train line is important. You do not have to have read the original book- you will love this amazing modern book because it is an amazing story.

[Susanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the book and I connected very well with Phoebe.
However, sometimes what Phoebe's mom said to Phoebe was way too harsh and hurtful and not addressed accordingly in order to make clear that it is not okay to speak to anyone like that. Also, Phoebe's sister Becks and her mom seem to have eating disorders, which aren't addressed and are portrayed as just parts of being or becoming a woman. It should have been made obvious that their eating behavior and lack of eating isn't healthy, especially as this is read by many youngsters who just absorb it and think it is normal to not eat and wanting to be super skinny.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars and a great book BUT… Can we please address the issues with the representation of Autism. This made Perry out to be the toxic old stereotype of Autism that suggests a lack of empathy. This is VERY debunked. In fact, it is proven that Autistic people have an increased level of Empathy, compared to their neurotypical peers. This book presents him to be apathetic towards others emotions - That is not Autism. Comparing him to a robot also didn’t sit well with me. I’m a disability support worker who specialises in Autistic young adults. I wish Wilson and her team did better research before publishing this book.

[Isobel Gilbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recommended to me by one of our Year 6 students - brought it home over the Christmas holidays. a jolly good read for children. Jacqueline Wilson has taken an idea from one of my favourite children's books and developed her own story. Some lovely description, good characters ( including the brother on the autistic spectrum) and themes. I will be recommending it to Year 6s with some reading stamina - it is 494 pages long.

[Neve Nichols · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't fault how good this was!! It's extremely gripping. Phoebe is a young girl who's dad had gone away. Phoebe, her mum, and her two siblings go off away into a far away place and end up finding something they never thought they would find .

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

** 3.25 STARS **

[~ Elsie~ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again I’ve read this book so many times because it was just so good and I couldn’t take my eyes of the pages

[Jennifer Singh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing could be as good as the original

[Florence · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full of fun and adventure a girl called Phoebe discovers that her dad has been arrested. At first, (not knowing why) her mum and siblings go on a “holiday” in the middle of nowhere. Without her dad Phoebe is left feeling sad and upset not knowing why her Dad isn’t there. She has a hard time without him and her Mum is acting weird. She decides she needs to figure out why. She doesn’t find anything until she comes across a news article about her dad. He’s been put in prison and there’s nothing she can do about it.....

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been truly YEARS since I've picked up a children's book but when I was given the chance to review Jacqueline Wilson's upcoming release, I couldn't resist taking a trip down memory lane!

I haven't read The Railway Children so cannot comment on the fact that this is an adaptation but it was an enjoyable story nonetheless and has that comforting feel, as with all of Wilson's reads. Such a sense of nostalgia!

I also love the educational opportunities within this book, in particular with regards to autism.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Children’s UK for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review 📖

[Devanshi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ll read anything JW writes, she is my god. I have a love hate relationship w some parts of this book though
1) Phoebe in general
2) Moms weird eating habits
3) 14 and 18 years old dating is NOT OKAY.
otherwise slay, now I wanna re read the original

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

3'5⭐

[Lizi Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Rae Irwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was amazing loved the end part

[Louise (Bookmarks and Stages blog) Cannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Today I have a review of The Primrose Railway Children by bestselling and hugely popular children's author  - Jacqueline Wilson. Her books have included series such as Tracy Beaker, Hetty Feather and many more, tackling many subjects in the present and past. Now she is also tackling children's classics. So, this is her revamped, modern take of E-Nesbitt's The Railway Children.
I've talked many times about Jacqueline Wilson and her books to children, so it is an honour to actually be able to review one.

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?

The timing of this book is quite perfect, just ahead of a sequel to the film of The Railway Children. I myself love trains and adventure and The Primrose Railway Children is sure to spark this in those middle-grade readers who devour Jacqueline Wilson's books with their eyes and imaginations.

The Primrose Railway Children is made up of Phoebe, Amelie, Perry and Becks and then there's their mum and dad. It's written in a way that brings everything bang up to date. This, a bit like the original, isn't a sugary sweet book, but there are cute animals. There is still upheaval, financial difficulties, technology issues and family secrets, which brings depth and intrigue. There's some great humour within the story, so it isn't too heavy, although there are some weighty themes, but they, as ever with a book by Jacqueline Wilson, are treated well and with children in mind.

The book mixes the past and present in a way that may well feed children's curiosity as the book mentions the Edwardians and steam trains that would have run then on lines like The Primrose Railway, which is gently encouraged through the characters in the book having a desire to find out more. There's something respectful about this and also makes it sound okay for children to do this. The book also mentions other classic books too in a way that is so clever and again gently encouraging the next generation to read these too, especially with all whilst putting her own spin on things and creating a pleasurable story, that is also well illustrated, but not overly so.

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.

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.

This is overall a book many children will find engrossing and is relatable, and also as respectfully done as it possibly could be as she also puts her own slant on the family she creates and their different characterisations and the reasoning for their dad to be away and all ends in quite a twist.

There are some nods to E. Nesbitt's original story - The Railway Children and so beautifully done, Jacqueline Wilson has acknowledged her and written a bit at the back of the book about her and her stories and I like that she also encourages children to read them too.

Jacqueline Wilson has written a number of books now, that have revamped the children's classics and hopefully children will like hers as well as then discovering the original authors and reading what they wrote too. The two combined would now be pretty powerful and children could gain a lot from reading both versions, and perhaps discover the joy of reading and trains too.

[Insert Name Here · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jacqueline has tackled a couple of children's classics now, including another one by E Nesbit several years ago. The difficulty with this kind of story is alway the balance between keeping the spirit of the original and making it up to date for today's children, something they can relate to. Jacqueline has done really well here; you can see how much she loves the original story and the flashes of her originality.

If you've read the original, you'll see bits and pieces of it here, albeit mixed up and out of order, but making perfect sense in this new version. If you haven't read it, you should, but this will still make perfect sense to you. There's no need to be familiar with The Railway Children in order to read this one. It's a rare gift, to make a story comprehensible to both groups of reading.

As a Jacqueline story, you'll recognise several aspects. Phoebe, our point of view is one of the mousy heroines, as always excellent at art and making up stories, with a lovely father and a snappy, but very caring, mother. Naturally the fourteen year old sister is very into make up and being older than she is. I really enjoyed reading and trying to match people with their 'original' characters - I managed with most, but there are definitely a few new ones here!

This is a great read, with a good ending unlike a few that I felt ended very abruptly over the last few years. Jacqueline really has a talent for this kind of story, and I hope she keeps going with them. Little Princess next, maybe?

[G · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've never read the original book so I don't know how much Jacqueline took from it, but it was a highly enjoyable story. Phoebe was a likeable main character, though I also liked Becks. I think Jacqueline did a good job of portraying a realistic young girl; usually she includes outdated references/terms of speech, and although the characters do use some posh lingo in this story, it's not completely unrealistic. The writing was brilliant as always, with lots of description. She really knows how to set the scene. I was sad at first to hear about Nick Sharratt stepping down from being illustrator after so many years, but Rachel Dean's illustrations are lovely, and I really liked how they took up entire pages, something which is new to Jacqueline's books. one thing i did find very questionable, though, is the thing with Becks and Jake? What eighteen year old would want to go out with a fourteen year old unless they have one thing on their mind? i dont think its something that should be encouraged, but at least it didnt work out in the end

Recommended for: ages 10+. A lengthy book with some hard words but overall suitable for kids.

[Sarah Whiscombe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved Jaqueline Wilson’s books as a child and was so excited for this one but it sadly didn’t live up to my expectations. It started off slow and then it dragged for a bit and then the ending felt rushed. The character of Perry and his struggles of Autism- I was interested to see how she’d write about the struggles and was disappointed as it felt like she was using autism as an excuse for Perrys behaviour.

[Rachel Louise Mutton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice book

[Rosemary A Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it

[Freya Muldoon · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's the best book

[Sophie Wiewiora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! When I started reading it it really pulled me in and I couldn't stop reading it easy to read and although it has many pages i whizzed throung it in a couple days.

[Holly Baseley · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing book. would definitely recommend to older girls/boys.

[Sofia Bhogun · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so good that when it ended I was sad.