The Railway Children

Q: Based on the novel you have studied, write about a character whom you like.
Based on the novel, The Railway Children by Edith Nesbit, a character whom I like is
Roberta. I like Roberta because she expresses the quality of kindness and
thoughtfulness throughout the story / she is a kind and thoughtful person. In this
novel, Roberta asked the driver and the fireman to mend the broken toy engine.
When Peter gave Roberta half his toy engine, she took the broken half. She wanted
to get it mended for her brother. So she met the driver and the fireman to ask their
help. They agreed to mend the broken toy. Some weeks later, she took Peter and
Phyllis to meet the driver and the fireman. Peter was excited to see his engine
mended. Furthermore, Roberta hid the story about her imprisoned father from her
brother and sister. Roberta went to the station to collect some old magazines. Perks
wrapped the magazines with an old newspaper. On the way home, she stopped to
rest. She read the newspaper. It is about her father. Roberta learnt that her father
was in prison for spying. Nevertheless, Roberta did not tell Peter and Phyllis about it.
She did not want them to be upset like her. Finally, Roberta made Jim comfortable in
the tunnel. Jim had a broken leg and cannot walk. So, she made Jim comfortable by
put her petticoat under his broken leg. She talked to him and got the necessary
information to help him. She found out that he is Jim from Northumberland. In
conclusion, it is clear that Roberta expresses the quality of kindness and
thoughtfulness throughout the story / Roberta is a kind and thoughtful person. It
makes this novel interesting.
Question : Based on the novel you have read, write about an interesting event.
Give reasons for your choice.
Tips:
1. State the event
2. Describe the event
3. Give at least 2 reasons
Model Answer:
I studied the novel ' "The Railway Children " by Edith Nesbit. An event which I find
interesting is when Bobbie and her siblings saved the train. One day, the children
took a walk along the top of the hill beside the railway line. Suddenly, they heard a
noise and saw half the hillside crashed down onto the railway line below. The
children realised that the 11.29 a.m train was in danger. They used the girls red
petticoat to make six flags to warn the train. The train came down the track too
fast. Bobbie was afraid that it would not see them. She ran onto the line waving two
flags. The train stopped just twenty metres away from Bobbie. I find this event
interesting because the children have shown their bravery to save the train. They
were not afraid instead they were willing to risk their lives to save the train and the
passengers in it. Bobbie was brave enough to run onto the track when she realized

the train would not stop. This act should be praised.Another reason is their team
work. They worked together to save the train; tore the girls' red petticoat and made
six flags to warn the train. Here, I could see that they cooperated to accomplish
their mission, that was to save the train.This interesting event makes the story more
interesting. Reading about the children's courage and the adventure they went
through is definitely exciting.
Based on the novel you have read, write about the moral values you learnt from
this novel. Give examples to support your answer.
Tips

State at least 2 moral values

Give an example for each moral value stated
Describe and elaborate the examples

Note: In order to earn Band A marks, you should have detailed

development of the examples or events.
Model Answer:
I read the novel, The Railway Children by Edith Nesbit. I have learnt a lot of moral
values from this novel such as, being brave and kind.
The first moral value is being brave. The best example in this novel is when the
children saved the train. One day, the children took a walk along the top of the hill
beside the railway line. Suddenly, they heard a noise and saw half the hillside
crashed down onto the railway line below. The children realised that the 11.29 a.m
train was in danger. They used the girls red petticoat to make six flags to warn the
train. The train came down the track too fast. Bobbie was afraid that it would not
see them. She ran onto the line waving two flags. The train stopped just twenty
metres away from Bobbie. This event has shown how brave the children were and
they should be sampled by other children.
The second moral value is being kind. One good example of such is when The
children asked to have the cakes on Thursday. They wanted to make a birthday tea
for Perks. Peter wanted to ask everybody in the village to help them give Perks a
nice birthday. On Thursday, the children went around to collect presents the people
had promised. At three oclock, the children took the presents and the pram to
Perks house. When Perks came home and saw the pram and the presents, he was
angry. He thought people would laugh at him for being poor and needing their
things. Bobbie explained that the people wanted to give him the presents because
they liked him. Perks calmed down. He was glad that his neighbours thought so
kindly of him. By being kind, the children had made Perks happy. The children have
shown good moral values in this novel and they should be taken as role models.