lightreads: a partial image of a etymology tree for the Indo-European word 'leuk done in white neon on black'; in the lower left is (Default)
2009-09-18 01:33 pm
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Swallowdale by Arthur Ransome

Swallowdale (Swallows and Amazons, #2) Swallowdale by Arthur Ransome


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
More 1930's kids camping/sailing/pirating adventures, this time with a shipwreck! And a cave! And a daring escape!

I think one of the things that's most charming about these books is that they're so detailed. It's not just, 'the Swallows made camp,' it's a five-page explanation of how their tents work, and how they built a fire, and how they made a broom from brush. The educational value is faded with time, but the charm hasn't.

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lightreads: a partial image of a etymology tree for the Indo-European word 'leuk done in white neon on black'; in the lower left is (Default)
2009-08-30 08:27 pm
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Swallows and Amazons

Swallows and Amazons (Godine Storyteller) Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Six children camp out on their very own island and have a series of piratical adventures, both real and imagined.

Pure delightful fun, right from the first page. Full of kids with good sense and great imaginations, and the best kind of adults who aid and abet where needed. And not often ruined by the dubious 1929 background gender and race issues, either. I'm not always the best judge of what kids will like, but I enjoyed the heck out of this now and I would have loved it when I was ten.

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