the date started is not when i started reading it but when i found it and added it to my want to read list

DNF. Not in the mood for children's fiction, after all. I won't mark it, it wouldn't be fair.

Thursday’s Child by Noel Streatfeild is an entertaining and enjoyable children’s/young adult novel that is the first book in the Margaret Thursday series.

This is the first book in Ms. Streatfeild’s lesser known series in what is a vast, impressive, and talented portfolio. It was quick, entertaining, and effortless from a plot and pacing aspect. Margaret is an orphan that is living in a less than ideal orphanage and vows to make her situation better….somehow…

Toss in some quirky characters, an evil Matron, a feisty, plucky, and imperfect small heroine and the reader has an enjoyable afternoon. Somehow I missed this series growing up, and looking forward to reading the next book.

4/5 stars

Thank you NG and Harper 360/Harper Collins Children’s Books for this Arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication.

Noel Streatfield is the author of such beloved classics as Ballet Shoes, one of my all time favourites. I love the way thwt the abandoned babies in her books seem to end up on the doorstep of kind, yet slightly muddled adults which allows rhe child/ren to develop great depth of character anf sense of self.. Thursday's Child features yet another baby abandoned on a doorstep. Margaret Thursday (named after the day she was found) was found in a basket with 3 of the best of everything and a an annual payment of 52 pounds a year delivered mysteriously in the form of a bag of gold coins. All is well in Margaret Thursday's life, until suddenly it isn't. The money stops coming and Margaret is sent off to a terrible orphanage. Of course,she is plucky and resilient and resourceful, all of the traits which make for a great children's heroine that all readers will fall in love with..

The new cover art is fresh and engaging and makes this title irresistible..

My favorite book when I was a child. This is the story of a girl (Margaret) who runs a way from an orphanage in England in the early 1900s because they beat her and punish her. She works as a scullery maid until she can get her friend/(brother?) out. Then she works on a boat pushing the boats through the locks with her feet--I guess this was how they brought boats up and down channels--before becoming discovered and working as an actress in Little Lord Faunteroy. I remember this book vividly although I haven’t read it since 1990. Scary.

In a way, it's about the treatment of children in Industrial England--now that I think about it as an adult.

My favourite, favourite when I was nine or ten. I managed to destroy a copy with excessive reading and had to be bought a hardback copy! ANd what is more, it stands rereading, strong characters, fast pace, multiple setting which appeal to the romantic notions of small girls - orphanage, canal boat, theatre. Vintage Stretfeild.

It started out really good but about halfway through went downhill. Skimmed to end. Meh.

I’ve somehow never heard of Noel Streatfeild before but I feel I’ve certainly been missing out! What a beautifully written “rags to riches” style story set in turn-of-the-century Britain - just my type! I absolutely love Margaret Thursday and her steadfast personality; an inspiration for girls everywhere. The repetition of “found on a Thursday on the church steps, with three of everything, all of the very best quality” is probably my favourite aspect of this story and I loved how it carried on throughout. My only issue was with how quickly and easily the orphanage business was wrapped up, but I suppose it wasn’t tantamount to the main story at that point. Brilliantly written characters (even matron!) and settings that capture the imagination, I look forward to reading more of Margaret Thursday’s adventures.

Margaret Thursday is an orphan who was found with three of everything, of the best quality, and had money left each year to keep and educate her. However one day this money runs out. Margaret is sent to an orphanage where she endures hardship, hunger, and punishment, but her ebullient personality triumphs. This is an un-put-downable book. So readable we discovered that we could walk our dog and read aloud at the same time ! Lovely descriptions of life on a barge and a travelling theatre. Learnt what 'leggers' and 'rough musikers' do, and enjoyed reading about Margaret, looking forward to the sequel.

This was one of my favourite books when I was a child and I decided to test it's longevity by reading it again for Middle Grade March. I'm happy to say it delivered the same bookish thrills I remember. A classic orphan tale where an extraordinary heroine overcomes impossible odds and vile villains. And I just discovered there's a sequel so I'm off to find a copy!

Story of Margaret, who is sent to an orphanage when the mysterious money sent for her upkeep stops coming. She becomes friends with Lavinia and her two brothers, Peter and Horatio. Lavinia goes into service as a scullery maid for Lady Corkberry, but there is no escape for Margaret. When life at the orphanage becomes unbearable because of the evil matron, Margaret and the two boys run away. First they are taken on the Smith's canal boat, but the Smiths cannot keep them forever so they are taken to Mrs. Smith's sister and eventually end up in a traveling acting company. While all this is going on, the hue and cry is up for the missing children, the orphanage matron gets her just deserts, and the boys' grandfather is discovered. Margaret ends up acting in London when Peter shows no aptitude for it, and is eventually reunited with Lavinia and their family, but decides she wants to keep acting. Interesting read, held my attention with no problem at all.

Born on a Thursday, this title caught my attention when I saw it on a page for fans of the author. Book stores closed for quarantine, I had been buying online and excitedly ordered this and the sequel, only to realize I had accidentally ordered digital copies. Determined never to buy a kindle (spend far too much time on screen as it is) I tried again to search for a print copy only to discover they are rare and not inexpensive. During a remote learning day while monitoring email for questions from students on the writing assignment on which they were working, I logged into my Barnes&Noble account and discovered that I could read on my laptop while appearing to be still at work. I felt like Peter, sneaking a book, while supposedly on another task. I still will search for a print copy, but for now will be reading the sequel while “working.”