- Hardcover
- Publisher: Lippincott
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0224606344
- ISBN-13: 978-0224606349
- ASIN: B00089K3QO
- Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 14.2 x 2.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 408 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
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Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
A winter holiday in the English Lake District in the 1930's
Sep 25 2006
Format:Paperback
Beautifully written children's adventure set in the English Lake District in the 1930's. The same cast of characters as Swallows and Amazons and Swallowdale but with the addition of two new characters - Dorothy and Dick Callum, who also appear later in the series in The Big Six, Coot Club, the Picts and the Martyrs and Great Northern. All about an extended winter holiday on and around the lake as it slowly freezes over. Ice skating, sledging, exploring, rescuing crag-fast sheep, the adventures come one after the other. As well-written as all Arthur Ransome's childrens books were, and an enjoyable time-warped look at what life for the english middle class was like in the 30's in Britain. I grew up reading these books and find them just as enjoyable now as I did when I was 10 years old.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
11 reviews
26 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Wonderful children's winter adventure
Jan 1 2001
Format:Paperback
"Winter Holiday" is the fourth volume of the "Swallows and Amazons" series. It features the same Lake District setting as the first two but this time, we encounter the lake and its environs in the depths of winter, rather than summer. The book also introduces two new members to the `gang': the D's. Indeed, the story concentrates more on the newcomers' activities, as they first meet and befriend - and then try their utmost to keep up with - the more experienced (and world-wise) Swallows and Amazons.
Once again, Ransome allows the children's views of the world to dominate over the grown-up, outsider's view. Amongst other inventions, an old barn becomes a signalling station for communicating with Mars; the lower fells the wastes of High Greenland; and the frozen lake a training ground for an expedition to the North Pole.
This is one of the very best of the S&A stories. It combines all of the fine features of the earlier volumes - beautifully simple (and yet never condescendingly simplified) prose, enchanting line drawings and an espousing of honest and open values - with an elegantly crafted plot and some moments of true excitement. It also has some cleverly disguised educational content, in the form of lessons in field communications techniques. (And the dangers of misinterpretation that can result from their use!) As usual, Ransome knows precisely how to build the excitement as the tale progresses. From simple beginnings, the book gradually becomes more and more riveting reading, until it is almost impossible to put the book down.
It is lovely, too, to see how much the Walker children's characters - as well as their relationships with each other -have developed since the earlier volumes. Seeing them from the perspective of the newcomers makes one realise how much they have grown (and come to function as a team) in the 18 months since the first book!
The world was a simpler place when this book was written (1933) and, sadly, the events portrayed within it just could not happen nowadays. But children of all ages can still enjoy tales such as this, to feed their own imaginations and help them to grow into the world as it now is. Who knows? It may yet help lead the world back to times as honest as these.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Proving that fun isn't limited to summer
Nov 26 2002
Format:Paperback
It's been a year and a half since the Walkers (the Swallows) first met the Blackett sisters (the Amazons) and were plunged into Captain Nancy's adventurous worldview (not that they didn't have one of their own already). Now, for the first time, we see the six from an outside view--though still that of young people: Dick Callum, astronomy buff, and his sister Dorothea ("Dot"), aspiring novelist, are staying at the lake while their parents are off digging in Egypt over the Christmas holidays, and are caught up in the adventures of the senior group when they attempt to "signal to Mars" by night. The Walkers and Blacketts, inspired by the coldest winter the lake has experienced in living memory, are training for an expedition to the North Pole (the far upper end of the lake), "only the beastly Arctic won't freeze." Quite unexpectedly Captain Nancy saves the day by coming down with mumps, which requires all the others to be kept out of school for a month lest they spread the contagion. The Blacketts' uncle Captain Flint reappears too, playing a pivotal role in the expedition's preparations. Much of the story is told from the viewpoint of the ever-imaginitive Dorothea, whose writer's mind puts a unique spin on what she sees. As always there are misunderstandings with the "natives" (local adults, rechristened Eskimos for purposes of the season), and a literally chilling sequence during which the Callums are blown to the Pole by a sudden blizzard. Ransome here proves that it doesn't have to be summer for his Lake Country to provide plenty of good story fodder, and in the process gives us a unique children's adventure tale that should be as eagerly welcomed as a read-aloud as any of the others in the series. Not to be missed.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Adventure knows no season...
Aug 23 2004
Format:Paperback
Coming on the tails of a full-throttle fantasy in PETER DUCK, Ransome comes back down to earth in WINTER HOLIDAY. It's January at the old lake, and now we're seeing things from the viewpoint of Dick and Dorothea Callum, the children of two archaeologists who are digging in Egypt and sent their children to spend their winter holiday with a family friend. The D's, as they become known, are different from the rough-and-ready Swallows and Amazons; Dorothea is a dreamy sort, an aspiring novelist, and Dick is an intellectual, an amateur naturalist and astronomer.
Of course, they meet up with the Swallows and Amazons, quickly making friends and providing their worth to the group with their quick wit and superior ice-skating(!). The group is mourning that soon their holidays will be over when Nancy comes down with the mumps, meaning that the group can't go back to school for another month until they're sure they won't pass the infection to others. Then a huge freeze descends, blanketing the land in snow and freezing the lake.
The story is full of delightful exploring in the snow, something I remember myself from my own childhood. The crew build an igloo, rescue a stranded sheep, and learn field communication techniques (actual practical knowledge there). The D's encounter actual physical danger when they set off for the northern end of the lake after a miscommunication, and end up caught in a blizzard, but all ends well and their place in the group is firmly established when the rest are impressed with their courage and grit.
Again, another delightful adventure from Ransome, something great for kids and parents alike. A good guide for cold-weather adventure, and also a nice antidote to summer heat. Kids will learn the aforementioned field communication bit, but other messages include the importance of good deeds (in rescuing the sheep and also the kids' determination to rescue the D's when they're feared lost), as well as common themes of courage, capability, and that everyone has something to contribute.
Next in the series: The D's take center stage in COOT CLUB.
Of course, they meet up with the Swallows and Amazons, quickly making friends and providing their worth to the group with their quick wit and superior ice-skating(!). The group is mourning that soon their holidays will be over when Nancy comes down with the mumps, meaning that the group can't go back to school for another month until they're sure they won't pass the infection to others. Then a huge freeze descends, blanketing the land in snow and freezing the lake.
The story is full of delightful exploring in the snow, something I remember myself from my own childhood. The crew build an igloo, rescue a stranded sheep, and learn field communication techniques (actual practical knowledge there). The D's encounter actual physical danger when they set off for the northern end of the lake after a miscommunication, and end up caught in a blizzard, but all ends well and their place in the group is firmly established when the rest are impressed with their courage and grit.
Again, another delightful adventure from Ransome, something great for kids and parents alike. A good guide for cold-weather adventure, and also a nice antidote to summer heat. Kids will learn the aforementioned field communication bit, but other messages include the importance of good deeds (in rescuing the sheep and also the kids' determination to rescue the D's when they're feared lost), as well as common themes of courage, capability, and that everyone has something to contribute.
Next in the series: The D's take center stage in COOT CLUB.
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