What you consider the 10 best books ever

On 30 Mar 2004 12:33:26 -0800, cmashieldscapting.RemoveThis@hotmail.com (Cori)
wrote:

>No one ever seems to talk about my alltime favorite, "Mystery of the
>Witches' Bridge," by Barbee Oliver Carleton. I don't believe it ever
>even shows up as a stumper.
>

I liked it, but it's not one that haunts me. Besides, the local
libraries still have it and I did reread it recently. It's good, but
not a grabber.

>
>I'm surprised how little-obtainable, in the U. S., is "The Little
>White Horse," by Elizabeth Goudge, considering its excellence. Once
>it was revealed as J. K. Rowling's favorite, you'd think it would have
>been reprinted all over!


I've seen it for sale new off and on over the last twenty years. What
makes you call it 'little-obtainable'?


--
Elaine Thompson <Elaine.RemoveThis@KEThompson.org>
 >> Stay informed about: What you consider the 10 best books ever 

On Mon, 29 Mar 2004 22:23:49 +0200, 3Lllama <> wrote:

 >On Sun, 28 Mar 2004 17:06:18 GMT, hayesmstw.RemoveThis@hotmail.com (Steve Hayes)
 >wrote:
 >
  >>On Sun, 28 Mar 2004 09:01:58 +0200, 3Lllama <> wrote:
  >>
   >>>On 19 Mar 2004 04:23:31 -0800, grolton.RemoveThis@picknowl.com.au (Gloria Rolton)
   >>>wrote:
   >>>
   >>>>Last night I was visiting a site where people suggested the
   >>>>Best Books ever in particular genres but they were mostly adult
   >>>>novels.
   >>>
   >>>2. A High Wind in Jamaica (Preferred it to TLOTF somehow. Compelling,
   >>>disturbingly realistic characters.)
  >>
  >>I would never have thought of that as a children's book.
 >
 >Hmm... yes and no. I wouldn't encourage a child of nervous disposition
 >to pick it up - especially if they really *had* been abandoned in any
 >way - but it is written in the form of a children's adventure story
 >(albeit not a very jolly one) and it's not a difficult read. I'd rate
 >it PG rather than 18, along with His Dark Materials. I'd never heard
 >of it until a few years ago when I heard Freeman Dyson mention it in
 >an interview. It had quite an impact on him, apparently.

I first reead "A high wind in Jamaica" as an adult, and perhaps I would have
enjoyed reading it when I was younger, too, but though it is written about
children, I don't think it was written *for* children.

I found quite a lot of it useful to interpret my own experience -- I bought it
to read on a bus journey in England, when I had been there for six months, and
found that a lot of the children's bewilderment in encountering the reality of
things they had read about or been told about echoed my own -- toy shops, for
example. While reading that on top of the bus I glanced down and suddenly
realised that the untidy mass of gegetation at the side of the road was a
"hedge". As St Matthew must have felt when he wrote "That it might be
fulfilled which was written by the prophet so-and-so". I'd read about hedges
before going to England, and terraces too. My picture of the former was of a
neatly trimed garden hedge, not the jungle at the side of the road between
Oxford and Aylesbury. My picture of the latter was the grassy banks of the
lawn in our hillside home.

I don't think many children would have got the allusion to St Matthew.

His dark materials I would rate as a children's book, even though some of the
allusions would probably go over the heads of younger readers there too.


 >
   >>>10. The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper (Has the richness of Ala n
   >>>Garner's books without their slow starts and puzzling aspects.)
  >>
  >>Slow starts?
  >>
 >
 >I remember taking The Owl Service back to the library, complaining
 >that "nothing" was happening. I think I was about ten at the time. I
 >didn't finish it until I picked it up again years later and realised
 >that something was *indeed* happening. (As you can probably gather, I
 >wasn't exactly a precocious child!)


I think of "The owl service" as a teenage book rather than a children's one.
But in the children's ones - Weirdstone, Moon and Elidor, the action begins at
once. A couple of pages to set the scene, and then the menace of an
encroaching other world, or in Elidor, being plunged right into it.





--
Steve Hayes
E-mail: hayesmstw.RemoveThis@hotmail.com
Web: <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.geocities.com/hayesstw/stevesig.htm" target="_blank">http://www.geocities.com/hayesstw/stevesig.htm</a>
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.geocities.com/Athens/7734/books.htm" target="_blank">http://www.geocities.com/Athens/7734/books.htm</a><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: What you consider the 10 best books ever 

In <6047da4.0403301233.7d071878.DeleteThis@posting.google.com> cmashieldscapting.DeleteThis@hotmail.com (Cori) writes:

>No one ever seems to talk about my alltime favorite, "Mystery of the
>Witches' Bridge," by Barbee Oliver Carleton. I don't believe it ever
>even shows up as a stumper.

Every now and then. Its original title is actually just _The Witches'
Bridge_, though; you're thinking of the book-club edition.


>Is "Incident at Hawk's Hill," by Allan W. Eckert, obscure or not? I
>assumed it was fairly well-known due to being a Newbery Honor, filmed
>by Disney, by a well-known author, but our local school librarian had
>never heard of it! I had to run right out and get them a copy!

It's got a little higher profile recently from the publication of a
sequel.


--
Deborah Stevenson
dstevens.DeleteThis@OBSTACLESuiuc.edu
[eliminate OBSTACLES to email me]
 >> Stay informed about: What you consider the 10 best books ever 

On 30 Mar 2004 12:33:26 -0800, cmashieldscapting.RemoveThis@hotmail.com (Cori)
wrote:

> I'm surprised how little-obtainable, in the U. S., is "The Little
> White Horse," by Elizabeth Goudge, considering its excellence. Once
> it was revealed as J. K. Rowling's favorite, you'd think it would have
> been reprinted all over!

It has been reprinted. I have a copy of the Puffin paperback which I
got at Waldenbooks.

Linda
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
"...What they say, don't believe;
Every hope needs room to breathe.
Show me where it says
I can't keep dreamin'.
Ain't no law that says
I can't keep dreamin'..."
......Rupert Holmes, "Show Me Where It Says"
 >> Stay informed about: What you consider the 10 best books ever 

Deborah Stevenson <dstevens.TakeThisOut@OBSTACLESuiuc.edu> wrote in message news:<c4cmt0$abk$1@reader1.panix.com>...
> In <6047da4.0403301233.7d071878.TakeThisOut@posting.google.com> cmashieldscapting.TakeThisOut@hotmail.com (Cori) writes:

> >Is "Incident at Hawk's Hill," by Allan W. Eckert, obscure or not? I
> >assumed it was fairly well-known due to being a Newbery Honor, filmed
> >by Disney, by a well-known author, but our local school librarian had
> >never heard of it! I had to run right out and get them a copy!
>
> It's got a little higher profile recently from the publication of a
> sequel.

It was the sequel (I believe one is written and another planned--check
out Eckert's official website--) that brought up the subject. I told
her she'd be glad to learn there was a sequel, which should provide a
conclusion to the rather inconclusive ending of the original, and was
shocked--SHOCKED!--to discover that she had never heard of the damn
thing! I was easily able to find a used one cheap, which didn't
surprise me; I understood it was fairly well-known. At least she
won't have to wait as long...some of us have been waiting for 30
years! (Yeah, yeah, I gotta read the sequels to "Incident at Hawk's
Hill," "My Side of the Mountain," and "Julie of the Wolves," as soon
as I finish reading the rest of the Newbery golds and a half a million
others.)

Cori
 >> Stay informed about: What you consider the 10 best books ever 

Elaine Thompson <Elaine DeleteThis @KEThompson.org> wrote in message news:<pusj6017rc5l1gnr8plscj2uvdeffig6n8 DeleteThis @4ax.com>...
> On 30 Mar 2004 12:33:26 -0800, cmashieldscapting DeleteThis @hotmail.com (Cori)
> wrote:

> >I'm surprised how little-obtainable, in the U. S., is "The Little
> >White Horse," by Elizabeth Goudge, considering its excellence. Once
> >it was revealed as J. K. Rowling's favorite, you'd think it would have
> >been reprinted all over!

> I've seen it for sale new off and on over the last twenty years. What
> makes you call it 'little-obtainable'?

I have lived at used bookstores, thrift stores, and book sales for
years, and have never seen a copy in any form. I would have
remembered it even before hearing of Rowling, as Goudge is one of my
mom's favorite authors.

Cori
 >> Stay informed about: What you consider the 10 best books ever 

Steffan, Thanks for the recommendation of _The Wheel on the School_ by de
Jong (& thanks for this thread). I retrieved my copy from the depths of my
"to read" shelves & read it yesterday. The children's actions/reactions
seemed so real. What age are they? (Sadly, my copy starts at page 23, so
I'll have to find another one.)

Jane
---
clarkmci.DeleteThis@nospamgil.com.au [remove the "nospam") : Clark McIvor - Brisbane,
Australia
 >> Stay informed about: What you consider the 10 best books ever 

On 30 Mar 2004 23:41:07 -0800, cmashieldscapting RemoveThis @hotmail.com (Cori)
wrote:

>Elaine Thompson <Elaine RemoveThis @KEThompson.org> wrote in message news:<pusj6017rc5l1gnr8plscj2uvdeffig6n8 RemoveThis @4ax.com>...
>> On 30 Mar 2004 12:33:26 -0800, cmashieldscapting RemoveThis @hotmail.com (Cori)
>> wrote:
>
>> >I'm surprised how little-obtainable, in the U. S., is "The Little
>> >White Horse," by Elizabeth Goudge, considering its excellence. Once
>> >it was revealed as J. K. Rowling's favorite, you'd think it would have
>> >been reprinted all over!
>
>> I've seen it for sale new off and on over the last twenty years. What
>> makes you call it 'little-obtainable'?
>
>I have lived at used bookstores, thrift stores, and book sales for
>years, and have never seen a copy in any form.


It's in print now, in fact. Amazon has it new with a ships in 24
hours note. It's NOT little obtainable - as I said, it's been in
print (off and on from my observation) for at least twenty years. But
it's not being pushed by the publisher either. I've never seen it out
on the endcaps or on displays, just in among the rest of the books for
sale.

And I haven't looked for it in used bookstores.

/grumble/ It's getting harder to find the sort of books I like with
both Linden Tree and Borders carving up categories so you have to be a
detective to figure out where they'd have put the books you're looking
for. Fantasy/mystery/series/independent reader/YA/children's/ And
what the heck was GONE-AWAY LAKE doing in mystery????? I don't know
where they'd stick LITTLE WHITE HORSE....



--
Elaine Thompson <Elaine RemoveThis @KEThompson.org>
 >> Stay informed about: What you consider the 10 best books ever 

In article <r2ml60trcvtvi9tlcjletnio4ahthjn4a2.DeleteThis@4ax.com>,
Elaine Thompson <Elaine.DeleteThis@KEThompson.org> wrote:
>On 30 Mar 2004 23:41:07 -0800, cmashieldscapting.DeleteThis@hotmail.com (Cori)
>wrote:
>/grumble/ It's getting harder to find the sort of books I like with
>both Linden Tree and Borders carving up categories so you have to be a
>detective to figure out where they'd have put the books you're looking
>for. Fantasy/mystery/series/independent reader/YA/children's/ And
>what the heck was GONE-AWAY LAKE doing in mystery????? I don't know
>where they'd stick LITTLE WHITE HORSE....

And to top it off, the people who work there don't know where the
books are! If they've even heard of them, that is.....
Thank goodness for my local independent. If they don't have the
book on hand, at least they know about it and can get it to me
fairly quickly.

On the other hand, a *very* efficient Borders employee helped me
during the Christmas rush, finding all ten children's books on my
list in about three minutes. Strangely enough, "Gone-Away Lake"
was one of the books.

- marty
 >> Stay informed about: What you consider the 10 best books ever 

"Clark McIvor" <clarkmci RemoveThis @nospam.gil.com.au> wrote:
 >Steffan, Thanks for the recommendation of _The Wheel on the School_ by de
 >Jong (& thanks for this thread). I retrieved my copy from the depths of my
 >"to read" shelves & read it yesterday. The children's actions/reactions
 >seemed so real. What age are they?

I don't have a copy handy, and don't remember for sure. But it's
a one-room schoolhouse, so they're of different ages. I think the
girl is the youngest (?), and the oldest may be in what we now call
middle school.

--
-Steffan O'Sullivan |
sos RemoveThis @panix.com | "Seek Grailo, Even Better Than the True Grail"
Plymouth, NH, USA |
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.panix.com/~sos" target="_blank">www.panix.com/~sos</a> | -James Thurber sums up the 20th Century<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: What you consider the 10 best books ever 

Hi Gloria and Everyone,

Although I was pleased that I knew and loved most of the books or authors
listed by rec/arts/books/childrens members, there were still a few I had
never read, so I am grateful to add them to my to be read pile.

I can't resist adding my own two cents worth to the list. I'm trying to
list all-time favorites or authors not already mentioned.

My List:

The Beethoven Medal by K.M. Peyton (or Prove Yourself A Hero, The Flambards
Trilogy, and almost any other book she wrote)

Knight's Fee by Rosemary Sutcliff (or Outcast, The Lantern Bearers, The
Shield Ring, Eagle of the Ninth, and almost any other book she wrote)

The Beany Malone and Katie Rose series by Lenora Mattingly Weber

The Road Home by Ellen Emerson White

Enchantress From The Stars (or her Children of the Stars trilogy) by Sylvia
Louise Engdahl

The Innocent Wayfaring by Marchette Chute

Mine For Keeps (or Home From Far) by Jean Little

Saffy's Angel (or The Exiles series, or the Dog Friday trilogy) by Hilary
McKay

The Thief and its sequel The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner

The Children of Green Knowe by L.M. Boston

The Sherwood Ring and The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope

The Forgotten Beasts of Eld (or the Riddle-Master trilogy, or any other book
she wrote) by Patricia McKillip

I think I've cheated and gone over ten! Best wishes to all. Great thread!

Anita



..
 >> Stay informed about: What you consider the 10 best books ever 

hayesmstw.TakeThisOut@hotmail.com (Steve Hayes) wrote in message news:<4069080a.66004880.TakeThisOut@news.saix.net>...
 > On Mon, 29 Mar 2004 22:23:49 +0200, 3Lllama <> wrote:
 >
  > >On Sun, 28 Mar 2004 17:06:18 GMT, hayesmstw.TakeThisOut@hotmail.com (Steve Hayes)
  > >wrote:
  > >
   > >>On Sun, 28 Mar 2004 09:01:58 +0200, 3Lllama <> wrote:
   > >>
   > >>>On 19 Mar 2004 04:23:31 -0800, grolton.TakeThisOut@picknowl.com.au (Gloria Rolton)
   > >>>wrote:
   > >>>
   > >>>>Last night I was visiting a site where people suggested the
   > >>>>Best Books ever in particular genres but they were mostly adult
   > >>>>novels.
   > >>>

   > >>>10. The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper (Has the richness of Ala n
   > >>>Garner's books without their slow starts and puzzling aspects.)
   > >>
   > >>Slow starts?
   > >>
  > >
  > >I remember taking The Owl Service back to the library, complaining
  > >that "nothing" was happening. I think I was about ten at the time. I
  > >didn't finish it until I picked it up again years later and realised
  > >that something was *indeed* happening. (As you can probably gather, I
  > >wasn't exactly a precocious child!)
 >
 >
 > I think of "The owl service" as a teenage book rather than a children's one.
 > But in the children's ones - Weirdstone, Moon and Elidor, the action begins at
 > once. A couple of pages to set the scene, and then the menace of an
 > encroaching other world, or in Elidor, being plunged right into it.

Actually, I'd put *all* those in the Teenage section, seeing my own
difficulties at the time. If I remember correctly, I was quite some
way into Wierdstone before I could see that one thing was leading to
another - intimations of another world don't on their own constitute a
plot, although they were obviously enough to keep me reading - and, to
be honest, I think I would have preferred Susan Cooper's more
straightforward Arthurian adventures, had I known about them. That was
kind of about my level. I got *far* more out of Garner's books once
I'd already read quite widely.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: What you consider the 10 best books ever 

"Elaine Thompson" <Elaine DeleteThis @KEThompson.org> wrote in message
news:vdtj60d33bdpgc7pr5grmgahrkon1o8gau@4ax.com...
> On 30 Mar 2004 12:27:13 -0800, cmashieldscapting DeleteThis @hotmail.com (Cori)
> wrote:
>
> >"D. Gascoyne" <chumleybee DeleteThis @netscape.net> wrote in message news:
> >
> >> Barbara Sleigh, _Jessamy_. Everyone knows the Carbonel books (well,
lots of
> >> people on this list do...), but may not be as familiar with this one.
It's
> >> for slightly older readers than the Carbonels, but also very good.
Again, a
> >> time-slip treasure mystery (is there a theme here??).
> >
> >Actually, "Jessamy" belongs on a whole separate list, of books
> >discussed all the time, but impossible to find a copy of!
>
> /gloat/
>
> I picked one up along with the Carbonels about a year ago, for a very
> reasonable price.
>
/gloat/gloat
I have both the Carbonels, hardcover 1st edition... The Kingdom was mine as
a child, given to me as a Christmas present; _Carbonel_ I bought about ten
years ago at a used book store - I guess before they got scarce and
desirable. I don't have the third one, but don't really want it, as I
didn't like it as much as the first two. I have an old paperback of
Jessamy - I think one of those Knight ones.

Debbie
 >> Stay informed about: What you consider the 10 best books ever