Swallows and Amazons (Godine Storyteller)

Rating:
Summary: A classic deserving of a wider audience
Review: I didn't discover Ransome's series until I was in my 20s, but I picked the first one up out of curiosity and was hooked.

As a child, I was a great explorer, going all over the local landscape, giving names to the different topographical features. I loved to camp and ramble. I loved boating, although I never sailed, and a picnic on an island in the river nearby (and a chance to explore said island on my own while everyone else was fishing) was a joy I'll never forget.

This book, and the others in the series, recapture those happy days for me. This one is very innocent, with no real violence or menace, but full of joyful adventure. The children are great role models; they're feisty and independent, yet still respectful of their elders. They're imaginative but know when to set aside their fantasies and deal with realities.

The book also conveys the joy of adventure and the great outdoors, and also shows that everyone has something important to contribute. Sure, one member of the group might be more interested in cooking and provisions, but that's necessary.

The adults take a back seat in these books, generally, but they're there. This one, especially, can be seen as a test by the parents to see how responsible their children are, and it's implicit that the kids are doing their best to prove themselves to their parents. The parents don't neglect them, they're there if they're needed, and check up on them regularly, but they also give them space to ramble and have an adventure.

Today it may seem as if these parents are letting their kids run wild; but I think families today could use books like this. When you have kids who are shuttled back and forth to band practice and swim team and heaven knows what else, they need the time to just relax and let things happen. When kids live in front of the TV and play video and computer games all day, they need to be reminded that there is all sorts of adventure outside. When kids are smothered by overprotective or controlling parents, they need space to be independent and prove themselves.

The only caveat I can give this book is sometimes the language can be confusing. The accumulation of sailing terms can bog a novice down, and there are some Britishisms that may puzzle some American readers, like referring to something called "bunloaf" and calling dessert "pudding." But heck, that's only minor, and ideally will inspire readers to do some research.

I highly recommend this for older readers, for children who enjoy the great outdoors or for children who have the opportunities and need to be inspired to take them. Adults, like me, who have happy memories of exploring will enjoy this as well, and it may inspire more adventures! These books may inspire you to buy more camping equipment, so beware! :)

Rating:
Summary: Timeless Delight
Review: I first read this when I was a child, and remember crying buckets when it finished because I thought there was no more - in fact I was wrong, there are eleven more books, all wonderful. These stories are full of joy, inoocence and adventure, and are a tonic in our dark and uncertain times. I visited the scenes of some of them in England, and was surprised at how geographically exact they are. The characters are real, the stories believeable, and, with the various illustrations by the author, they create a truely magic world. They are also books about how to do things. You can, for example. p[ick up quite a good education in sailing and seamanship from reading them, along with how to smelt gold, burn charcoal, survey tidal mudflats, and all manner of other things. Hal GP Colebatch's book, "Return of the Heroes," which I have reviewed in its own page, sets out a good deal about Ransome, and among other things indicates some relationships between him and Tolkien. If you love sailing, and the innocent, sunny golden days of childhood, buy these books and do yourself a favour. If you have hildren, buy these books for them!

Rating:
Summary: Childhood inspiration for life
Review: I read this book when I was 12 in England ... as did thousands of other English children. It was the 'classic' of it's time and is claimed to be more responsible for getting young people started into sailing, than any other single source. I can well believe that. That book, coupled with a sailing experience at age 10, sold me on boats for ever. At 16, I rented a yacht on the Norfolk Broads and with two non-sailing friends, we closely followed the adventures of Mr Ransome's heros. We had ALL read the book and were totally enthralled. I graduated in music early on, but at 18, I switched to study naval-architecture - all part of the influence of Mr Ransome ! Later, as a leading Canadian naval architect, I was designing large ships - (some 57 were built in Canada to my designs) - but now, into early retirement - I'm back to two things. Back to the music that I loved and left ... but also back to be recaptivated, by reading 'Swallows and Amazons' yet again !! Oh yes, I completed my first boat at 14 and so did my chum. And you can guess what they were called ... right on!! "Swallow" and "Amazon" and I have a photo to prove it !! Need I say more ??? (PS: Why this series of books are not more readily available beats me .... they are presently not generally available even in the large Canadian book stores, without special order). Thank goodnes we have Amazon.com

Rating:
Summary: Ramsome's ageless children's masterpiece
Review: In a lifetime of reading, I don't believe I have ever found a book that I loved as much as I did (and do) SWALLOWS AND AMAZONS and the other books of Arthur Ransome. Set in The English Lake district between the wars, the books tell of the adventures of a group of children unbound by parental restrictions, something totally unheard of in my world. These fortunate children, with whom the reader immediately identifies, are allowed to sail the English lakes alone and to enjoy the carefree and innocent adventures that were possible in this world. The only writer who comss close to Ransome in my experience is the late Iris Murdoch, but of course Ransome is a children's writer and in that he cannot be surpassed. I discovered the books at about 10 years of age but was grown before I realized that other people had read them too and loved them as much as I had. I think these books are the best literary companions I can think of for the older child.

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful tale of times gone by
Review: Recently I've started going back and re-reading some of the books I loved as a child - something insprired by Francis Spufford's wonderful "The Child That books Built".

One of my favorite series from my childhood was the Swallows & Amazons series. How I loved the idea of sailing off with the Walker and Blackett children; I had the biggest crush on Nancy that I've ever had for a fictional character!

So, here I am re-reading them and they are truly as marvellous as they ever were. If you have any interest in sailing, camping, the lake district or just plain good story telling, read these books.

The first in the series, Swallows & Amazons, is also, arguably, the best of the bunch. This is the tale at it's purest and before more and more characters come in to dilute the stories a little. Don't get me wrong - a number of the other books are also five star candidates but there will always be a special place in my heart for the one that started it all.

For children today, I think these tales will still give something. For their time the girls in the stories were very strong characters - in particular Nancy Blackett holds her own with any of the boys. And where we do find some rather ... examples (the girls cook while the boys mend sails) I think we can easily put it in the context of the time, and use it as a touchpoint for how far equality has come (or perhaps to use examples of families where it really hasn't changed much).

Arthur Ransome is very detailed about the specifics of sailing; for me that was part of the beauty of the books. I never did learn to sail but I always thought I could after reading his novels! But, if that's not your cup of tea, feel free to skip those parts - you won't lose much by doing so.

Rating:
Summary: A timeless tale of childhood adventure
Review: The great strength of Arthur Ransome's "juveniles" is that he never talks down to his young readers (which makes the books equally enjoyable by adults), and despite his own years, he seems to be able to slip effortlessly into an underage mindset and share the wonder and imagination of young people living what is in essence a fantasy life with a very solid grounding in reality (preparing their own meals, sailing to Dixons' Farm for their milk each morning). Set in the gorgeous Lake Country of Northern England, it follows the four Walkers (John, Susan, Titty (presumably her real name is Letitia!), and Roger (baby sister Vicky is too small to take part in their adventures), as they go camping on the small island they have observed from the farm where they're spending their summer holidays, explore the lake and its shores, and meet the Amazons--sisters Nancy ("Shiver my timbers!") and Peggy Blackett, who were "born on the shores of the Amazon River, which flows into this ocean." Living on a houseboat anchored in a nearby cove is the Amazons' uncle, whom the six (following on Titty's declaration that he must be "a retired pirate") quickly christen Captain Flint. When he accuses John of setting off a firecracker on his cabin roof, war is declared. Meanwhile there's a thrilling cutting-out expedition by dark of night as the Swallows try to capture the Amazons' boat so John can be Commodore of the Fleet, an encounter with the charcoal-burners known as The Billies (Titty. ever the most imaginitive of the group, calls them "savages"), and a burglary of the houseboat (not, of course, by the children). The story climaxes with the Fleet's assault on the houseboat and a splendidly described thunderstorm.

All six of the child characters are individuals sketched with loving and lifelike attention, who behave like real children; that they're British and growing up in the '30's may take some adjustment (and explanation to younger audiences), but it doesn't detract from the joys of the book. The imagery and names they use for their surroundings are wonderful. Like all the series, it would make a splendid family read-aloud.

Rating:
Summary: A timeless tale of childhood adventure
Review: The great strength of Arthur Ransome's "juveniles" is that he never talks down to his young readers (which makes the books equally enjoyable by adults), and despite his own years, he seems to be able to slip effortlessly into an underage mindset and share the wonder and imagination of young people living what is in essence a fantasy life with a very solid grounding in reality (preparing their own meals, sailing to Dixons' Farm for their milk each morning). Set in the gorgeous Lake Country of Northern England, it follows the four Walkers (John, Susan, Titty (presumably her real name is Letitia!), and Roger (baby sister Vicky is too small to take part in their adventures), as they go camping on the small island they have observed from the farm where they're spending their summer holidays, explore the lake and its shores, and meet the Amazons--sisters Nancy ("Shiver my timbers!") and Peggy Blackett, who were "born on the shores of the Amazon River, which flows into this ocean." Living on a houseboat anchored in a nearby cove is the Amazons' uncle, whom the six (following on Titty's declaration that he must be "a retired pirate") quickly christen Captain Flint. When he accuses John of setting off a firecracker on his cabin roof, war is declared. Meanwhile there's a thrilling cutting-out expedition by dark of night as the Swallows try to capture the Amazons' boat so John can be Commodore of the Fleet, an encounter with the charcoal-burners known as The Billies (Titty. ever the most imaginitive of the group, calls them "savages"), and a burglary of the houseboat (not, of course, by the children). The story climaxes with the Fleet's assault on the houseboat and a splendidly described thunderstorm.

All six of the child characters are individuals sketched with loving and lifelike attention, who behave like real children; that they're British and growing up in the '30's may take some adjustment (and explanation to younger audiences), but it doesn't detract from the joys of the book. The imagery and names they use for their surroundings are wonderful. Like all the series, it would make a splendid family read-aloud.

Rating:
Summary: Childhood Adventure
Review: This series appears to inspire fanaticism in those of us lucky enough to read them as children. Included with a bunch of Enid Blytons from my grandmother this was one of my favorite books of childhood and has become an odd literary touchstone in my older friendships. An interesting adventure story that remains rooted in reality yet gives life to the childrens' fantasies this is a book I can always retreat into. I only wish my vacations had been like those of the Walkers and Blacketts. Their camping and sailing adventures in the English Lake District are not overly dated(considering they were written in the 1930's) and probably the least sexist childrens books from that era and from today- the girls and boys have equal responsibilities and the most charismatic character is Nancy Blackett, captain of the Amazons. I don't understand how these books have remained in such relative obscurity for so long.

Rating:
Summary: Swallows and Amazons
Review: This was a pretty good book. It was a bit boring in places with hard to understand words. But other than that it was good. The characters are a bit hard to believe beause they never fight! This is not normal...

Rating:
Summary: Hauntingly Beautiful Children's Adventure
Review: When I first read these books in the 70's, the last vestiges of the "exploring lifestyle" of American childhood were fading. Swallows and Amazons (and the rest of the series) is a wonderful childhood fantasy in which adults melt into their proper background and a couple of sailboats become sources of high adventure. Of course, there was no chance of replicating the imaginative travels of the kids in these books - but they were fulfilling nonetheless.

Now that even twilight hide-n-go-seek and firefly hunts are threatened by the ever encroaching world, the stories of Swallows & Amazons seem even more remote - and become more beautiful in their portrait of a childhood that will never be again, and perhaps never really was.