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Amazon.co.uk Review
This is not an easy book, and therein lies its charm. L M Boston's classic is a sophisticated mood piece disguised as a children's ghost story. As young Toseland goes to live with his grandmother in the family's ancestral home, the reader is plunged immediately into the world of Green Knowe. Like Toseland, who actually rows up to his new home in the midst of a flood, we have a hard time finding our bearings. Toseland discovers a funny kind of grandmother awaiting him--one who speaks elliptically of the children and animals she keeps around the house: they might be memories, they might be ghosts. It's never quite clear where real life leaves off and magic begins. Toseland admires a deer: "A deer seems more magic than a horse." His grandmother is quick to respond: "Very beautiful fairy-tale magic, but a horse that thinks the same thoughts that you do is like strong magic wine, a love philtre for boys."
With this meshing of the magical and the real, Boston evokes a childlike world of wonder. She compounds the effect by combining gorgeous images and eerily evocative writing. Toseland goes out on a snowy morning: "In front of him, the world was an unbroken dazzling cloud of crystal stars, except for the moat, which looked like a strip of night that had somehow sinned and had no stars in it." The loosely plotted story is given more resonance still through liberal use of biblical imagery and Anglo-Saxon mythology. For those willing to suspend their disbelief and read carefully, the world of Green Knowe offers a wondrous escape. - -Claire Dederer --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
"'What if my great grandmother is a witch?' thought Tolly."
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"A little boy was sitting in the corner of a railway carriage looking out at the rain, which was splashing against the windows and blotching downward in an ugly, dirty way." Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
"A little boy was sitting in the corner of a railway carriage looking out at the rain, which was splashing against the windows and blotching downward in an ugly, dirty way." Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
34 of 34 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I first read this book thirty-odd years ago and have just reread it to my son. It still has the same magical evocation of a childhood world and has lost nothing over time. It tells the story of a very lonely little boy called Tolly, who goes to spend the Christmas holidays with his great grandmother at Penny Soakey in a house called Green Noah, that has belonged to the Oldknowe family for many generations. Gradually he comes to learn more about the children that lived there in times past, and to form some very special friendships. Lucy Boston's delicate yet vivid descriptions are filled with the kind of detail that paints pictures in your mind. This is the perfect book to inspire a child struggling with descriptive writing themselves, or just as an antedote to 21st century life.
27 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
all the elements of the magic of childhood- ghosts, mysteries, Christmas,joy and fear; perfectly crafted story of a boy finding ghostly companions from long ago,with evocative and thrilling details on every page; no children's writer has ever bettered the pace and narrative of lucy boston in this flawless, timeless story of childhood
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio Cassette
This book is one of a series written by Lucy Boston; conjuring a truly magical world just this side of reality. My mother read this book aloud to me as a child, I have enjoyed re-reading it as an adult and my 10 year old daughter is hooked now too. The story introduces us to a wonderful house and the people connected with it...by the end they feel like friends we long to spend more time with. Lucy Boston brilliantly connects with the dreams of children (of all ages).
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A Great Book
The Children Of Green Knowe is a brilliant book. It is about a boy called Tolly who is sent to his great grandmother in the school holidays while his parents are at work. Read more
Published 22 days ago by Ailbhe
A childhood memory
This was one of my favourite childhood books. Although I admit the title had eluded me for several years I remembered the story so well and I was absolutely delighted when I... Read more
Published 2 months ago by J. Foulke
Buy it!
This is a fantastic book for children & I loved it myself as a child. Recently bought a copy for youngsters in my family to read. Highly recommended.
Published 7 months ago by bookshopwanderers
A small review of the Green Knowe Books
The Children of Green KnoweExcellent for children and and young teens. Would be good as a book read out to a group and an excellent look at the changing face of history and the way... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Dicon
the children of green knowe
A great read for children but they need to be of reasonable standard reader,
fun and adventure similar to enid Blyton
fun and adventure similar to enid Blyton
Published 11 months ago by Mrs. Mary Cooper
A deserved classic
I would take issue with Amazon's own verdict that "this is not an easy book". It's not a conventional book - it hasn't even got chapters - but it is easy because the writing and... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Martyn Beardsley
Spine-tingling in a beautiful way
Tolly, a boy whose mother is dead and whose father is absent, is sent to spend the Christmas holidays with a great-grandmother he has never met in her 900-year-old house. Read more
Published 16 months ago by schlockhorror
children of green knowe
I remember this book from childhood and am going to read it to my son soon. I hope he loves it as much as me.
Published on 25 Feb 2010 by S. Elliott
Read the book, then step into its pages!
I came to this book in a back to front way. Most people read the book then visit the Manor at Hemingford Grey, where the story is set. Read more
Published on 20 Sep 2008 by Four Violets
Still a classic for any agegroup
This was a childhood favourite and its good to know that 25 years later it still retains the magic, lovely tale of young boy Tolly coming to live in a big rambling house with his... Read more
Published on 28 Jun 2008 by bluecougar25
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