Titles: The Children of Green Knowe; Treasure of Green Knowe; The River at Green Knowe; A Stranger at Green Knowe; An Enemy at Green Knowe; The Stones of Green Knowe
Author: L.M. Boston
Rating: * (1 star out of 3 possible, "C")
Recommended with Reservations
Audience: 3rd-8th grades
I found it very difficult to categorize this series. L.M. Boston, writing in England in the 1950's, said she wrote these short children's novels to please herself. In a typical, British sort of way, they are imaginative, yet slow-paced; well-written and respectful of tradition, yet somewhat abstruse or difficult to access.
The Children of Green Knowe introduces us to the formerly grand, country river estate and it's visiting young heir, 9 year old Tolly (Toseland). Odd occurrences imply that Tolly is being visited by the ghosts of past generations of children raised at Green Knowe. Only in Great Britain could a family trace their estate legends back to the 1500s!
My concern as a Christian is that ghosts-even friendly, familial ghosts-existing for centuries in a home is theologically misleading and not all that comforting to many children.
I'm glad I held out for the second book, The Treasure of Green Knowe, before making my final judgment. Here the story presents as a time-travel fantasy and Tolly meets up with his 18th century ancestors.
The story is cleverly woven between present and past as Great Grandmother relates family history. The historical family employs a freed black boy to serve as companion to their own blind daughter and readers will find the examples of freedom vs. slavery, prejudice vs. justice convicting. In the end, Tolly solves a centuries-old treasure mystery and the future of the Green Know Estate is secured.
Finally I read The River at Green Knowe, just to solidify my opinions. Here the story changes up, with 3 school kids spending summer vacation at Green Knowe, barely supervised by 2 distracted but well-meaning spinsters.
Again, the line is blurred between actual magic and imagination. The children enjoy their adventures, encountering a hermit and a giant and at one time observing some sort of Celtic worship ritual during the full moon. The overall message here is that adults tend to lose their imagination and childhood should include plenty of time for play and exploration. I can't argue against those points. At their age, I had the run of the forest and the lakeshore and needed only minimal supervision. I wish more kids could be raised with these sorts of idyllic freedoms. Many of our suburb and city kids will only encounter such adventures between the pages of books like these!
In conclusion, I recommend this series with mild reservations about a few scenes or occasional references to supernatural phenomenon, certainly nothing alarming. More to the point, the writing style and expressive tone makes the stories a little hard to follow for some minds. The series may be best received by especially inquisitive, creative children, for instance; an "old soul" who claims to have "nothing to read!" I doubt (unfortunately) many "modern" kids have the patience for the setting and plot. If you'd like to know more about the real manor that inspired Green Knowe, check out this website:
www.greenknowe.co.uk
There are other series that may appeal to a broader audience for families seeking intelligent, imaginative plots. If you love the challenge and the rich language/heritage of British literature, also try prolific children's authors Edith Nesbit writing at the turn of the 20th century (The Railway Children, The House of Arden, Five Children and It) or Enid Blyton writing in the mid-20th century (The Famous Five, The Secret Seven). All feature superior vocabulary and syntax, confident and capable children, mystery and adventure.
If these clever British ladies L.M. Boston, E. Nesbit and E. Blyton can remain in print, our 9 year olds should have plenty to read until they're ready for Dame Agatha Christie!
