YOUNG READERS’ BOOK-SHELF

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30633, 26 December 1964, Page 4

YOUNG READERS’ BOOK-SHELF

The owners of Castle Vannich in Scotland are trying to maintain the castle by turning it into a hotel. The Cameron children and their aunt help with the final preparations. In CAMERONS AT THE CASTLE (Macmillan, 151 pp.) Jane Duncan tells how lain, the baby of the family, solves the problem of the white hind and the lost jewelled crucifix and brings luck to the owners. A thoroughly pleasant story. In THE BALLET FAMILY AGAIN (Methuen, 183 pp.) Mabel Esther Allan continues her story of the balletomanic Garlands. The mother is a prima ballerina, the father an orchestra conductor, Pelagia is in the corps de ballet, the children dance and their cousin Joan is a budding choreographer. There are new problems in a London winter and new solutions in a Paris spring Girls 11 years and upwards will enjoy meeting this delightful family. Eleanor Farjeon s MARTIN PIPPIN IN THE DAISY FIELD (Hamilton, 294 pp.) was first published almost thirty years ago. This is the third edition of a classic of children’s literature. A collection of enchanting stories and poems set in the Sussex countryside, it will be read and reread by delighted children, parents and grandparents.

K. M. Peyton's THE MAPLIN BIRD (Oxford University Press, 177 pp.) is a tale of the hardship borne by the orphaned Emily and Toby, of domestic service in the home of the austere Mrs Seymour, of smuggling and of a dream which came true. A convincing story set against a realistic picture of life in England at the end of the last century. Life was dull for the four Linnet children until they came under the guardianship of their uncle. Nan, the elder sister, is responsible for looking after the others and is most deeply involved in the childrens’ relationship with Lady Valerian. Daft Davie on the hill and the sinister Emma Coblev from the village store. Elizabeth Goudge's new children’s book. LINNETS AND VALERIANS (Brockhampton

Press, 232 pp.) is a joyful event and will be welcomed eagerly by all who enjoyed “The Little White Horse.”

Mick Ryan grew up in Paddington. Sydney, during the depression. The family was on the dole and Mick was familiar with the problems of boarders, political meetings and making a little go a long way. The sketches describing episodes in Mick’s career are varied in mood and clearly autobiographical in origin. The author is described as one who has travelled widely in Paddington. His style is succinct and the flavour is vividly Australian. PADDO, by Arthur Staples, (Ure Smith, 124 pp.) is a talented and entertaining description of hard times in Sydney.

Alexander is an exhausting ten-year-old, possessed of an insatiable appetite and a genius for doing and saying the wrong thing. In ALEXANDER’S ELEVENTH YEAR (A H. & A. W. Reed, 160 pp.) Heather Marshall writes entertainingly of the activities of her son and the hazards of everyday life in a New Zealand household. Alexander has few restful moments and after a time his record of unrelieved perversity becomes a little tiresome.

It was a rare day that the wind did not blow fiercely across the island. This was a special day; it was windless and Donald and Morag’s father was coming home from the hospital on the mainland. There were lots to be done; sheep to be brought in, firewood to be collected and bread to be baked. A DAY WITHOUT WIND (Hamish Hamilton, 64 pp) by William Mayne is a gentle story of everyday duties on the island, well illustrated end suitable for six to nine-year-olds.

The S.S. Kariba, on her last voyage before she is broken for scrap, is battling against a severe gale. Before the night is over she is mortally damaged. Richard Armstrong’s THE BIG SEA (Dent 160 pp.) is a splendid and wholly convincing story of how the two apprentices, David and Jonty, learn something of the qualities of true seamanship in a time of great danger. Five boisterous Parisian students are enjoying a ski-

ing holiday in the French Alps with Maurice, supported by Minus his St. Bernard, as guide and instructor. At the same time the police are making a determined bid to capture the dangerous outlaw Calixte. Daniel Roberts’ CALIXTE (Oxford University Press, 114 pp.) tells how the students become involved in the outlaw’s problems. An excellent story that has an idea as well as action and interest.