The Borrowers Book & Bite | Potato Soup & Extension Activities

The Borrowers

By Mary Norton

🥄 Snack: Creamy Potato Soup ♡

Directions:

Gather one tiny family beneath the floorboards, a houseful of useful treasures, and a curious human boy. Borrow a button here, a matchbox there, and just enough courage for an adventure much bigger than anyone expected.

Recipe notes: Life is always an adventure when you’re only a few inches tall! The Clock family makes clever use of everything they can borrow from the human world... including their food. When we first meet the Clock family, they're gathered around a tiny pot of homemade potato soup, the perfect comfort meal after a day of borrowing.

🥄 Dine Like a Borrower

Make potato soup together and serve it in small teacups, espresso cups, or even tiny hollowed-out potato cups inspired by the story. Then add a few Borrower-sized snacks like grapes, cheese cubes, crackers, or berries to complete your miniature feast.

💜 Another Tasty Idea

Later in the story, the Borrowers enjoy “cinnamon breadcrumbs, crispy golden, and lightly dredged with sugar.” Turn that delicious detail into bite-sized cinnamon French toast squares dusted with cinnamon sugar for a sweet dessert after your Borrowers’ feast.

The Borrowers Soup Recipe →

💬 Talk About It

The Borrowers believe that human “beans” exist partly to provide things for Borrowers. Do you think borrowing something without asking is really borrowing? Why or why not?
If you discovered a family of Borrowers living in your house, would you keep their secret? Why or why not?
Arrietty is fascinated by the world beyond her home, even though her parents see it as dangerous. Would you rather have stayed safely beneath the floorboards or explored the big world like Arrietty?

Ingenious

(in-JEEN-yus)

Clever, inventive, and good at finding new ways to solve problems.

⭐ The Borrowers are wonderfully ingenious. They turn ordinary human objects into exactly what they need.

Pairs Well With

🎬 Movie Night:

Continue the adventure with these family-friendly adaptations inspired by The Borrowers.

The Secret World of Arrietty (Studio Ghibli)
This beautifully animated film reimagines Mary Norton’s story with breathtaking artwork, gentle storytelling, and a fresh perspective on Arrietty’s adventures.
The Borrowers (1998)
This live-action takes plenty of creative liberties, but it’s a funny, imaginative family film packed with clever Borrower-sized details.

🔍 Tiny Challenge:

Look around you and find five ordinary objects a Borrower could turn into something useful.

🧶 Borrow a New Skill

Inspired by Mrs. May teaching Kate to crochet, try learning a few basic crochet stitches or even finger knitting. Who knows? Maybe you’ll create something a Borrower would be proud to borrow!

Books & Bites