FOR YOU TO READ

Dominion, Volume 35, Issue 50, 22 November 1941, Page 14

FOR YOU TO READ

Kiwi's Book Corner IT is fun to go away on a trip, but everyone knows, wherever they live, that homo is the best place of all. This week Kiwi tells of some books which have been written about several kinds of homes and what they mean to the people who live in them.

Home, to Sally, Simon, Hugh, Daniel, ail'd Gyp, was a flourishing sugar plantation'in the West Indies. It was surrounded by warm blue seas, and sparkling tropic sunshine. But trouble came to this happy isle. It was stirred up among the native labourers who worked for their father, and it culminated in an evil plot to murder him in a lonely old house where he had agreed to address a big meeting. How the plot was foiled in the nick of time by none other than the five resourceful youngsters themselves in the story of Ino Rescue Party,” by Nora Lloyd (J. M. Dent: London).' Other thrilling incidents are sandwiched in with the tale. An alligator hunt, swimming and boating, and fast and furious chases by cars, add to the general excitement. But “The Rescue Party” is not just a breath-taking chapter of events. There is a great 'deal more in it than that, as you will find out for yourself when you re'ad it

Storjny days and sea winds remind us of the sailors and the courageous lives they lead aboard their floating “homes.” People who love the sea are always keen to know something about the men and the ships of the Navy. At times we find long items about their wonderful feats in the news. Then there come long silences. But all the time, by night an'd by day, in seas smooth and stormy, the work of the Navy goes on; protecting our shores, securing our food supplies and patrolling the oceans. Naval activities have fascinated boys since the beginning of time. “Our Navy” (Loudon:' Ward

Locke), will tell you all you want to know about them, simply and in easily understandable terms.

“Why We Need a Navy”; “The Fleet Air Arm”; “Destroyers at Work”; “Under Water Craft” '“Naval Action,” are some of the chapter headings that make us want to explore them right away. For “Our Navy” is a book with so many vivi'd stories and pictures that it never becomes “dry” or formal. The scene of “The House in the Mountains,” by Averil Demuth (Hamish Hamilton: London) is set far away among the mountains of Switzer-

land. It is a fanciful tale and at times it seems to stray right over the gossamer borderline of fact into fairytale form. Max and Lisel fell into the bad books of the evil old Baron Mnrtigrad (nicknamed “Old Nosey”) because they rescued Mr. Trog, a large an'd loveable bear whom the Baron was hunting. Then Max and Ernstli the boot-cleaner boy upset the Baron’s housekeeper, another nasty element, and that meant MORE trouble. The Baron happened to be taking lessons on Magic in his spare time I There is a mysterious kidnapping. And that leads to some exciting and very quaint adventures for the four of them, including Mr. Trog. Books can give us queer adventures, and they can also give us some endearing friends, and Mr. Trog, the loveable bear in this enchanting tale, will go straight to your heart