- Paperback: 352 pages
- Publisher: Red Fox; New edition edition (1 July 1993)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0099963205
- ISBN-13: 978-0099963202
- Product Dimensions: 17.4 x 10.2 x 3.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 507,651 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Winter Holiday
and over 900,000 other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Amazon.co.uk Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
"There is plenty of excitement, a little danger, a quality of thinking, planning and fun which is delightful and stimulating." -"TLS"
"He makes a tale of adventure a handbook to adventure." -"Observer" --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
"He makes a tale of adventure a handbook to adventure." -"Observer" --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
Product Description
Another adventure by the author of "Swallows and Amazons".
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great introduction to the series,
By
This review is from: Winter Holiday (Hardcover)
I have always loved this series of books since my Dad gave this one to me when I was about seven.
This book, although fourth in the series, is actually the best one to introduce children, uninitiated in the ways of sailing and camping, to the collection of stories. The story focusses on the D's, Dick and Dorothea Callum, who are staying at the farmhouse of their Mother's old nurse for the Christmas holidays. Neither of the children know anything about sailing, signalling or any of the nautical pastimes of the other children in the books. So, when they finally meet the Walker and Blackett children, they are taught, along with the reader, all about those subjects. For a modern child, knowing nothing about boats, the first book in the series, Swallows and Amazons, could be a little daunting, as the reader is introduced to that story through the eyes of the Walker children, who have already learned to sail and have a father in the Navy. Quite apart from introducing the unusual hobbies of the children well, this book has all the elements of adventure and excitement a reader of Arthur Ransome would expect, as well as having the added magic of snow and ice! A great Christmas present for 7 or 8 year olds!!
30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful children's winter adventure,
By A Customer
This review is from: Winter Holiday (Red Fox Older Fiction) (Paperback)
"Winter Holiday" is the fourth volume of the "Swallows and Amazons" series. It features the same Lake District setting as the first two but this time, we encounter the lake and its environs in the depths of winter, rather than summer. The book also introduces two new members to the 'gang': the D's. Indeed, the story concentrates more on the newcomers' activities, as they first meet and befriend - and then try their utmost to keep up with - the more experienced (and world-wise) Swallows and Amazons.Once again, Ransome allows the children's views of the world to dominate over the grown-up, outsider's view. Amongst other inventions, an old barn becomes a signalling station for communicating with Mars; the lower fells the wastes of High Greenland; and the frozen lake a training ground for an expedition to the North Pole. This is one of the very best of the S&A stories. It combines all of the fine features of the earlier volumes - beautifully simple (and yet never condescendingly simplified) prose, enchanting line drawings and an espousing of honest and open values - with an elegantly crafted plot and some moments of true excitement. It also has some cleverly disguised educational content, in the form of lessons in field communications techniques. (And the dangers of misinterpretation that can result from their use!) As usual, Ransome knows precisely how to build the excitement as the tale progresses. From simple beginnings, the book gradually becomes more and more riveting reading, until it is almost impossible to put the book down. It is lovely, too, to see how much the Walker children's characters - as well as their relationships with each other -have developed since the earlier volumes. Seeing them from the perspective of the newcomers makes one realise how much they have grown (and come to function as a team) in the 18 months since the first book! The world was a simpler place when this book was written (1933) and, sadly, the events portrayed within it just could not happen nowadays. But children of all ages can still enjoy tales such as this, to feed their own imaginations and help them to grow into the world as it now is. Who knows? It may yet help lead the world back to times as honest as these.
23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Childhood Revisited,
By A Customer
This review is from: Winter Holiday (Hardcover)
I live in Maine, USA, on a lake with a small island just off shore (Wild Cat Island?). I live here because of my engagement with Arthur Ransome's books covering the adventures of the Swallows and Amazon's as well as the D's. I own the complete set in hardcover, and I am now giving them to my niece, nephew and grandson. I received my first AR - The Picts and the Martyrs for my 6th birthday, I have been an avid fan ever since.The stories are set in a timeless world. While the drawings show a prewar style, non of that time really affects the adventures of the eight children. In fact their childhood is what we would wish for our children today.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews |
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/02/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192198663_.gif){kind=small}
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
