I never liked Hike very much in the past but in the last few years I've come to really appreciate it.
It certainly covers only a short time span.
Somebody's won a wonderful scholarship or something, and the boys have got two days tacked on to a week-end to celebrate!
They're leaving Friday after breakfast and have to be back at 3 pm on Tuesday. (I think that's an odd time - why not give them until the evening? Because then there wouldn't have been the need to go by police car? )
Hannah wrote: ↑12 Feb 2024, 21:21
I never liked Hike very much in the past but in the last few years I've come to really appreciate it.
It certainly covers only a short time span.
Somebody's won a wonderful scholarship or something, and the boys have got two days tacked on to a week-end to celebrate!
They're leaving Friday after breakfast and have to be back at 3 pm on Tuesday. (I think that's an odd time - why not give them until the evening? Because then there wouldn't have been the need to go by police car? )
Yeah, although the eerie feel of the settings, and the dearth of any likeable characters / humour are the main reasons, I think the fact that it's only a few days holiday is another part of the different 'feel' that I don't like as much about the book.
Still planning on re-reading it again soon to see if I can appreciate it any more having read so many positive reviews about it on here.
I'm currently reading "Five Go Off To Camp" which I probably haven't read since I was at school.
However, I noticed in the early part of the book some rather contradictory writing/illustrating. Towards the end of Chapter 1 when Julian and Dick had loaded the trailer of Mr. Luffy's car with their camping gear it states the following:
'Soon everything was on the trailer and Julian made them safe with ropes.'
Then just a few paragraphs later at the beginning of Chapter 2 when Mr Luffy was driving too fast around corners it states the following:
'Julian looked behind at the trailer in alarm, afraid that something would leap out of it at some sharp bend. He saw the bundle of sleeping bags jump high into the air, but fortunately they remained on the trailer'.
On the opposite page is a full page picture of the car and trailer with the bundle in the air above the sides of the trailer with no sign of any ropes that Julian was supposed to have 'made them safe' with.
"You can't change history as that won't change the future"
Good catch, John BB — and that's even before we get to the sheer stunning impracticality of using a steam train to carry smuggled goods to the secret location. I get the impression Enid didn't know terribly much about steam engines and had no idea just how long it takes to get one steamed up before it can go anywhere!! (To be fair, I didn't think of that either as a 7- or 8-year-old first-time reader, but I grew up in a time when steam locomotives were long obsolete and only used for tourist railways, and I'd never seen a real one. Enid had no such excuses. )
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It was a nuisance. An adventure was one thing - but an adventure without anything to eat was quite another thing. That wouldn't do at all. (The Valley of Adventure)
I am reading The Three Golliwogs, enjoying it as they are so mistaken for one or the other. The birthday chapter was hilarious .
The Chief looked at Fatty. "Brains are good, courage is excellent, resourcefulness is rare," he said, "but generosity crowns everything, Frederick. One of these days I'll be proud of you!" - "Vanished Prince".
I finished the Secret series, which I had not read as a kid. The last ones were OK, but the first two are the best, particularly the first one (The Secret Island).
Then I read the first Naughtiest Girl book, a series which I also hadn't read as a kid. This is what I wrote in goodreads:
I think this series is less well-known than Blyton's other two boarding school series (Malory Towers and St. Clare's), but it's a quite interesting and enjoyable read for children.
Unlike the more traditional girl schools in the other two series, the school in the Naughtiest Girl series, Whyteleafe, is a "progressive" boarding school, co-educational, and run as a democratic community, with the children governing themselves with some adult supervision.
Nevertheless, like in the other school series, there's a theme of the main character learning to adapt and accept the values of the school community over her own wild, spoiled ways. This was written in 1940, and it was a different time. Nowadays people tend to value individuality more than the embrace of the community's values. I can certainly see the value in both approaches, and perhaps a middle way would be valuable, for it is easy to go too far in both directions.
The way the children's self-government is depicted in the book is quite interesting. They do that in quite a responsible way, punishing offenders moderately and more as a way to help them than out of anger or spite. On the other hand, it can be seen, particularly from a modern perspective, as a bit overbearing. I think it's a very interesting theme to discuss with your kids after reading this together.
---------------------------------- “I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?” ― Stephen King, The Body
Boatbuilder wrote: ↑12 Feb 2024, 22:52
I'm currently reading "Five Go Off To Camp" which I probably haven't read since I was at school.
However, I noticed in the early part of the book some rather contradictory writing/illustrating. Towards the end of Chapter 1 when Julian and Dick had loaded the trailer of Mr. Luffy's car with their camping gear it states the following:
'Soon everything was on the trailer and Julian made them safe with ropes.'
Then just a few paragraphs later at the beginning of Chapter 2 when Mr Luffy was driving too fast around corners it states the following:
'Julian looked behind at the trailer in alarm, afraid that something would leap out of it at some sharp bend. He saw the bundle of sleeping bags jump high into the air, but fortunately they remained on the trailer'.
On the opposite page is a full page picture of the car and trailer with the bundle in the air above the sides of the trailer with no sign of any ropes that Julian was supposed to have 'made them safe' with.
Dick and Ju need some time in the Scouts it seems.
Go Off to Camp is one of my fav books.
"Poor old Wooden-Leg Sam" who broke his glasses the threw a cinder at Dick has always stuck in my mind. Great character, and he only appears in I think two or three scenes.
I just started The Adventurous Four, what a spine tingling book....I am at the big storm and how the boat was going up and down on the waves, very frightening. I know what is going to happen but I still feel that fear when they battled that storm especially when they lost most of their sail. Andy is like a pillar, does not really show any fear and knows what to do although he was only fourteen.
The Chief looked at Fatty. "Brains are good, courage is excellent, resourcefulness is rare," he said, "but generosity crowns everything, Frederick. One of these days I'll be proud of you!" - "Vanished Prince".
Thank you Pete90125, maybe could do that. Its a wonderful book and I am looking forward to reading a bit more this evening.
The Chief looked at Fatty. "Brains are good, courage is excellent, resourcefulness is rare," he said, "but generosity crowns everything, Frederick. One of these days I'll be proud of you!" - "Vanished Prince".
Hannah wrote: ↑12 Feb 2024, 21:21
I never liked Hike very much in the past but in the last few years I've come to really appreciate it.
Fond memories of Hike as it was the only hardcover FF my parents ever bought me (probably because I was going into hospital to have my tonsils out). And all my life since I have never forgotten "two trees, gloomy water, saucy Jane and Maggie knows". If only I had the same ability to remember stuff that is actually important.
Hike is definitely one of my favourites. I like the story, but it also has special connections too, as it was the only FF book my father owned and which he's now kindly handed on to me. I think it's a 1st edition, but sadly it was given to him by a schoolfriend and has the other boy's name scribbled inside in several places, plus there are other pen marks and the book is in quite a scruffy condition.
Still, it's perfectly readable which is the main purpose of a book.
)
(To be fair, I didn't think of that either as a 7- or 8-year-old first-time reader, but I grew up in a time when steam locomotives were long obsolete and only used for tourist railways, and I'd never seen a real one. Enid had no such excuses. 
)
.
