The Railway Children (1970)

Children's Classics - each generation will find qualifying examples from its own era, but some stories are rediscovered time and again. In Britain The Railway Children, based on Edith Nesbit's 1906 novel, is an enduring classic from yesteryear that never goes away and nor would I want it to.
The story is about a mother and her three privileged "suburban children." They're forced to move from their comfortable townhouse to a county villa in Yorkshire and live a poor life, without a father. It's simple in construction but remains as welcome and warming today as it was all those decades ago.
The lesson that kindness isn't dependent on social status or material riches is perfectly woven into every relevant part. The ending is a little mawkish, but the journey toward it is direct and smooth, like the train tracks that carry the focus of the faithful children's good nature into their collective midst.

4 proper places out of 5