The Outside Child
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-01-20 06:54:51
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Nina Bawden
- ISBN：0571246540
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Summary
'I am an outside child。 That is what Plato Jones calls me。'
Jane Tucker is thirteen years old when she discovers she has a half-brother and sister， a revelation which promises to bring both excitement and succour to her ordinary life。
But obstacles lie in her path when， for unknown reasons， she is prevented from meeting them。 Aided by her friend Plato， Jane tracks down her brother and sister to their home in the East End of London。 There she finds still more surprises lie in store for her。
Can Jane at last be part of a 'proper' family， or must she always remain the outside child？
This is the story of a girl and her family and the secrets they keep from one another。 Both funny and poignant， The Outside Child is a beautifully drawn study of adolescence from one of Britain's most skilled writers for children。
Jane Tucker is thirteen years old when she discovers she has a half-brother and sister， a revelation which promises to bring both excitement and succour to her ordinary life。
But obstacles lie in her path when， for unknown reasons， she is prevented from meeting them。 Aided by her friend Plato， Jane tracks down her brother and sister to their home in the East End of London。 There she finds still more surprises lie in store for her。
Can Jane at last be part of a 'proper' family， or must she always remain the outside child？
This is the story of a girl and her family and the secrets they keep from one another。 Both funny and poignant， The Outside Child is a beautifully drawn study of adolescence from one of Britain's most skilled writers for children。
Reviews
Nicola
，
Really well written but a really disappointing ending given how much drama and tension there was on the lead up to the conclusion。
Chichi
，
I really love the way this book approached being a child。 It's confusing and empowering and you get annoyed a lot at all these things adults seem to want to keep from you， while being able to sense sometimes that the rationale behind it may not be totally sensible。 I liked how realistic Jane's feelings were regarding Plato， how she could really enjoy his company and yet get really frustrated at times when he was behaving in 'childish' ways。 This felt like something that might have happened to me I really love the way this book approached being a child。 It's confusing and empowering and you get annoyed a lot at all these things adults seem to want to keep from you， while being able to sense sometimes that the rationale behind it may not be totally sensible。 I liked how realistic Jane's feelings were regarding Plato， how she could really enjoy his company and yet get really frustrated at times when he was behaving in 'childish' ways。 This felt like something that might have happened to me， honestly， if I found out I'd had a secret brother and sister and I lived with my two aunts。 The sense of doing something on your own for the first time， of being aware to some degree that your fantasies are probably not accurate but being unable to let them go -it was all described pretty perfectly。 。。。more
Mellanie C
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I registered a book at BookCrossing。com！http://www。BookCrossing。com/journal/14584479 I registered a book at BookCrossing。com！http://www。BookCrossing。com/journal/14584479 。。。more
Sarah Crawford
，
The main characters of the story are 13-year-old Jane and her male， 12-year-old friend， Plato。 Jane's mother is dead and her father is away more of the time in his job as a marine-engineer。Jane has been adopted by her two aunts who live together。 While there， she discovers that she has a brother and a sister she had never been told about。 Their mother apparently does not want Jane to ever see them or have anything to do with them。Naturally， she begins to track down her siblings with Plato's help The main characters of the story are 13-year-old Jane and her male， 12-year-old friend， Plato。 Jane's mother is dead and her father is away more of the time in his job as a marine-engineer。Jane has been adopted by her two aunts who live together。 While there， she discovers that she has a brother and a sister she had never been told about。 Their mother apparently does not want Jane to ever see them or have anything to do with them。Naturally， she begins to track down her siblings with Plato's help。 She even finds out she has a grandmother she did not know about in the process。 Through a series of events she finally gets to meet Anabelle and George， her younger sister and brother。Their mother， Amy， is more than a few bricks shy of a full load。 Not all thrusters firing。Anabelle has a deformity and Jane thinks she is the one who caused it。 The rest of the story deals with how she confronts that， tries to spend more time with her siblings， and deals with opposition the loony-toons mother and her own father。Not a bad story， but not a great one， either。 。。。more
Andrew
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Nina Bawden was one of the finest childrens' writers Britain has ever produced。 Her beautifully-crafted stories both intrigued & entertained with their refusal to infantilise her young readers; the proof of that notion is in the fact that I read this tale of a motherless young girl's quest for her sea-faring father's new family with pleasure & relish。 I met Nina Bawden very briefly at her Islington home in the early 1990s when visiting her husband， Austen Kark （a big cheese at the BBC World Serv Nina Bawden was one of the finest childrens' writers Britain has ever produced。 Her beautifully-crafted stories both intrigued & entertained with their refusal to infantilise her young readers; the proof of that notion is in the fact that I read this tale of a motherless young girl's quest for her sea-faring father's new family with pleasure & relish。 I met Nina Bawden very briefly at her Islington home in the early 1990s when visiting her husband， Austen Kark （a big cheese at the BBC World Service & chairman of the small publishing company where I was working at the time）& Nina was charming & welcoming， as she opened her first-floor window above the front-door of the Georgian town-house to lean-out to ask me。。"Are you here to see Austen？。。。I'll be right down！"。 She showed me in， the narrow corridors & stairways a celebration of art-work， & she spoke of her holiday-home in Greece & the wonderful views from the house over the City Road Basin & its wildlife！ Her warmth was genuine & spontaneous，& I was made to feel at home at once。 This humanity is clearly reflected in her children's stories which seem to flow as naturally as tea from a pot， colourful & aromatic。This story， from 1989， of Jane Tucker， her friend & ally Plato Jones & their quest to meet Teddy Tuckers's new family， moves along at a pace & rhythm that had me engrossed - even though I'm not an easy reader of contemporary childrens' fiction - & was full of well-sketched-out characters & enough plot-twists & turns to satisfy any discriminating reader。。。even those of my vintage！ The heroine is an admirable role-model， showing both determination & sensitivity as she negotiates the difficulties caused by selfish & idiosyncratic adult behaviour; she moves from a tentative child to a knowing & wiser young adult in the course of the novel。 I would recommend this example of Nina Bawden's work to any child; & to any adult wishing to recapture the first wonders of the fictional world， when simple， well-told stories with heart & soul， free of vampires，wizards & shape-shifting avatars， & before the era of mobile phones & I-pads， were enough to retain a child's imagination。 A nostalgic trip for me then， but well-worth the detour from adult horrors & blood-soaked crime novels， not to mention literary fiction which so often fails to deliver half the enjoyment of a classic childrens' novel。 。。。more
Kathleen
，
TPL
Sylvia
，
I agree with the 3 and a half stars rating but I don';t know how to add half a star。 For young people between the ages of 11 AND 14 this book is a gripping read about a British girl who suddenly discovers she has half siblings。 The weakest part is the ending because there was a lot of tension in the story until then， when the resolution is way too pat for the foregoing drama。Recommended however for the addicted reader in this age group。 Just learned that Nina Bawden died last August - sad to los I agree with the 3 and a half stars rating but I don';t know how to add half a star。 For young people between the ages of 11 AND 14 this book is a gripping read about a British girl who suddenly discovers she has half siblings。 The weakest part is the ending because there was a lot of tension in the story until then， when the resolution is way too pat for the foregoing drama。Recommended however for the addicted reader in this age group。 Just learned that Nina Bawden died last August - sad to lose an excellent writer， but she was in her eighties。 。。。more
Ybirch
，
Yazmiene Birch October 17，2012 1-2 Sliver The book，THE OUSIDE CHLID，by Nina Bawden，Jane is very different from other kids。She's out side of her from her family。 At thirteen Jane has discovered that she has a little named Annabel and a little brother named George。So Jane is determind to find out who they are ，what they look like and get to know them。So she acts like a different girl。Even if that means destroying her own family。 In my opinion，I think that Jane should of never went to her dads Yazmiene Birch October 17，2012 1-2 Sliver The book，THE OUSIDE CHLID，by Nina Bawden，Jane is very different from other kids。She's out side of her from her family。 At thirteen Jane has discovered that she has a little named Annabel and a little brother named George。So Jane is determind to find out who they are ，what they look like and get to know them。So she acts like a different girl。Even if that means destroying her own family。 In my opinion，I think that Jane should of never went to her dads while he was at work。I think that because she was acting as another girl:and when she was holding the new born ，the mom screamed at her and told her to get away from her baby。In the end， I think she should have wait to meet her little brother and sister。 I would recommend this book a to 5th-6th graders because it's about girl named Jane and she thinks she does the right thing but does the wrong thing。 。。。more
Cheyenne
，
I read this book at the age of 12， and I thought it was brilliant。 I wonder what I will think about it now， though。。。
Douceline Vixamar
，
great book
Petra on semi-hiatus in sombrero-land
，
Interesting idea， that a man's first child who lives with her aunts， discovers that she has a younger brother and sister and how she goes about finding them and what， traumatically and with lots of red herrings， happens。 The ending is just plain stupid。 Would anyone having found their family and getting on well with their half-siblings just say oh well， nice to have known them， back to life-as-it-was-before more or less？ Nah。。。 Interesting idea， that a man's first child who lives with her aunts， discovers that she has a younger brother and sister and how she goes about finding them and what， traumatically and with lots of red herrings， happens。 The ending is just plain stupid。 Would anyone having found their family and getting on well with their half-siblings just say oh well， nice to have known them， back to life-as-it-was-before more or less？ Nah。。。 。。。more
Sasa
，
i love thatt libro
Magda
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I'm pretty sure I've read this British book before。。。 I'm pretty sure I've read this British book before。。。 。。。more
Bettie
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Read by Zelah Clarke。 Broadcast on:BBC Radio 7， 5:45am Monday 26th April 2010Categories:Children's， Drama， Drama， Classic & Period， Relationships & Romance Read by Zelah Clarke。 Broadcast on:BBC Radio 7， 5:45am Monday 26th April 2010Categories:Children's， Drama， Drama， Classic & Period， Relationships & Romance 。。。more
dara
，
just like it， read many times。 Reread again after 6 year（2010）
Catherine Mustread
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Grades 4+。 At age 13 Jane learns that her seafaring father remarried ten years previously and that she has a brother and a sister。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Outside Child
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Outside Child&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Outside Child&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0