How long does it take to read The City Under the Back Steps?
The City Under the Back Steps by Evelyn Sibley Lampman takes about 3 hours 51 minutes to read at 250 words a minute.
About 3 hours 51 minutes
A weekend read
First published 1960. 210 pages, about 57,750 words. Written for children.
8 days at 30 minutes a day
Estimate based on 275 words per page.
At other speeds
| Slow, 150 words a minute | 6 hours 25 minutes |
| Average, 250 words a minute | 3 hours 51 minutes |
| Fast, 400 words a minute | 2 hours 24 minutes |
The page count is the median across 3 editions, so your copy may differ. How we calculate.
About the book
This book is about two children, a brother and sister, who are cruel to some ants under their back steps. The ants shrink the children down to ant size, and the children have to live with the ants as part of the colony. Lots of information about ants; a great introduction to ant behavior. The book also has a great moral focus; reverence for life, respect for all creatures, walking in another's shoes, do unto others...etc. I loved, loved, loved this book as a child; I was fascinated with the science I was exposed to, and enchanted (and a little scared) by the idea of being the size of an ant.
Subjects: Ants, children, colony, live, shrink
