In this, the fifth Green Knowe book, Tolly AND Ping come to spend the summer with Tolly's great grandmother, Mrs. Oldknow, and do battle with the forces of evil as personified by a newneighbor, Melanie Powers.
Absolutely wonderful -- my favorite part is the very end, where everything comes together serendipitously to defeat Miss Powers, leaving you to feel that all is right with the world.
Green Knowe is a place whose past haunts its present. Mrs. Oldknow relates to the 2 boys an incident out of Green Knowe's past, when the mysterious Dr. Vogel took up residence at Green Knowe as the family tutor in the year 1630. Dr. Vogel became caught up in some nefarious activity, and as the boys soon learn, the evil force that was unleashed by Dr. Vogel still lurks in the present day. They must confront this challenge to Green Knowe and its proprietor in a series of hair-raising events -- although written for children, this book is not for the faint of heart.
The Green Knowe books differ from one another quite a bit, but in my estimation this one ranks w/ Children of Green Knowe as the best. While that one was delightful for its innocence, this one is notable for the way in which it gives the reader chills.
Boston's prose is graceful & intelligent & is recommended for the literate grade schooler. These books are the logical starting point for a reader to progress to the works of Susan Cooper, Alan Garner, and Robert Holdstock.
No mention of the Green Knowe books would be complete w/o mention of the marvelous illustrations by Peter Boston. Unfortunately, the Odyssey Classic reprints chose hideously garish covers, although to their credit they preserved Peter Boston's interior illustrations. Still, their choice of covers probably explains why these books are now out of print.
The story is that of a young girl, named Sara, who is looking for the perfect "no-present" for her Russian grandmother. In this search, Sara reflects on many of the wonderful things about her grandmother, and finally comes up with a "no-present" for her grandmother, "Catherine the Great".
The story is not just about Sara's search, but also brings into light some of the characters' histories. Grandma is "Catherine" because when they came to America, "Ekaterina" just seemed too odd. Even in this "New World", grandma has managed to keep much of her Russian-ness about her, speaking in Russian and keeping Russian traditions. Sara is definitely more "American", but still loves her grandmother very much, and has an interest in keeping some of her heritage about herself as well.
I very much enjoyed the occasional phrases in Russian. I know to many people, these are unreadable and extraneous, but they are very sweet if you are fortunate enough to be able to read them.
List price: $40.00 (that's 30% off!)
It is sumptuous, penetrating and great art. The book is long out of print and this re-print (not quite perfect as some of the pictures appear a little soft) is a rare opportunity to own it without forking out hundreds of pounds for an original (not that they come on the market).
If you are interested in photography, the Western Isles, Scotland or even just life and people, buy it!
List price: $24.99 (that's 30% off!)
List price: $17.95 (that's 30% off!)