Swallows and Amazons Paperback – July 28, 2010

What did kids do to amuse and entertain themselves before television, video games, computers, and smart phones? They played outside and used their imagination. That's exactly what Captain John Walker, his sister Mate Susan, their sister Able-seaman Titty, and brother the Boy Roger do. Their father, probably in the Royal Navy, is on a ship at Malta but under orders for Hong-King, so for their summer vacation their mother has rented a cottage on a farm at Holly Howe located next to a huge lake. They also have a baby sister, Vicky, who is taken care of by a nurse. The children have been taught how to sail, and they have use of the farm's sailboat, the Swallow. While out on the lake, they find an island where they receive permission to camp. During the course of their adventure, they meet up with the Blacketts, Captain Nancy (real name Ruth) and sister Mate Peggy, who have their own pirate sailboat, the Amazon, along with the girls' uncle James Taylor who lives on a houseboat near the island and becomes "Captain Flint" to the children. The Swallows and the Amazons declare war on each other with victory going to the side who can take the others' ship, then together they declare war on Captain Flint. Who will win? How will a burglary at Captain Flint's houseboat affect their relationship? And what will they do when a huge storm comes up over Wild Cat Island? The book had its beginning long before when as a child author Arthur Mitchell Ransome, with his brother and sisters, spent most of their holidays on a farm at the south end of Coniston and played on the nearby lake, but it was further inspired by a summer in which Ransome taught the children of his friends, the Altounyans, to sail. In fact, three of the Altounyan children's names are adopted directly for the Walker family. Swallows and Amazons, a paean to children's make-believe play and exploring their surrounding world, is a very pleasant story that involves the great outdoors, boats, fishing, and camping, with rich characterization, vivid descriptions, wholesome reading, and old-fashioned ideals. It includes a good deal of everyday Lakeland life in the early twentieth century, from the local farmers to charcoal burners working in the woods. Seldom have I ever come to the end of a book and felt sorry that it was over. If you read it and reach the same conclusion, you're in luck! Ransome wrote eleven more books in the "Swallows and Amazons Forever" series: Swallowdale (1931); Peter Duck (1932); Winter Holiday (1933); Coot Club (1934); Pigeon Post (1936); We Didn't Mean To Go To Sea (1937); Secret Water (1939); The Big Six (1940); Missee Lee (1941); The Picts And The Martyrs: or Not Welcome At All (1943); and Great Northern? (1947). A thirteenth book, Coots in the North, was left incomplete at the time of Ransome's 1967 death and published in an unfinished form in 1988 with some other short works. In subsequent adventures in the series, the children progressively grow older, change their usual roles, and become explorers or miners.

I read this book with my children when my middle son started learning how to sail. It is a delightful read, and I would place it in my top 5 children's chapter books that I've ever read (possibly even my absolute favorite). This is a great book about children living very wild, imaginative lives-- the way I wish my children were able to live. They explore, they dream, they craft, they build... They go outside! They do things that society and culture don't allow nowadays, at least where I live (in suburban California, where people get angry if you let your children explore the wild, open space freely).Some reviews complain about certain aspects of the book that might be outdated... however, I think the fact that it was written almost a century ago adds to its charm. Yes, the children talk about natives , but they were well-off, white British children in the early 1900's... so what do people expect? Besides, while it was written in the 1930's, the cast of characters includes some strong and fiercely independent women and girls. I loved reading a book with a very smart, skilled mother who was willing to allow her children to take risks and learn difficult things. And the two girls who sailed the boat known as the Amazon? They were a joy to read about when they finally made their way into the story.I wish I knew about this book series when I was a girl. I probably would have begged my parents to let me learn how to sail and saved up my money to take lessons.

The kids have a great adventure and brings me back to my childhood. In the background there is some sort of metaphor maybe about colonialism.

I wasn't at all sure how this book, a favorite from my childhood, would stand up for modern readers, like my daughter. We read this together as her bedtime story, and she absolutely loved it. So much so that we will be reading others in the series as bedtime stories in the not too distant future.The book is, however, representative of the time in which it was written, which some modern readers may not be comfortable with. For example, the female characters are - for the most part - expected to take care of the traditional female responsibilities. One example I found especially jarring was where Susan tended to the camp fire and prepared food for everyone to eat while John got to spend some time just wondering around the island doing whatever he wanted. At the same time, my daughter did appreciate that the female characters did get to do more. I suspect she secretly wishes she was Titty, or one of the Amazons. The setting also provided an opportunity for us to discuss the apparent imbalance and compare it to what happens in our own household where chores are more evenly distributed.Overall, I enjoyed the book thoroughly almost as much as I did when I first read it nearly thirty years ago. I would have only given it four stars, but my daughter insisted it deserved the full 5 and she would be very upset with me if I didn't give it the maximum possible score.

Freak book. Such a fun adventure story.

smaller than average books, looks odd on the bookshelf

I read this book many times as a child.It has lost non of it’s charm. It is like a snapshot of a bygone era.However I’m not sure modern children would find it so captivating

For some reason, I never read this classic as a child. (I'm in my 50s now.) Too bad, because it's a wonderfully idyllic tale of family, siblings, imagination, adventure and cooperation, and it would have had a huge influence on me back then. The paperback has a lovely cover design, and the print is large and clear on quality paper. The book contains the author's original line drawings, and the text seems well-edited with no errors or typos. I enjoyed the tale very much and look forward to reading more in this series!

I read my 1945 edition of Swallows and Amazons when I was nine years old. I still have that hardcover volume, the first of the series. I have read and reread the entire series for myself and to two sets of my children. The characters are real and lovable; the writing adventurous and exciting. Hard to put down. The settings vary from the Lake District in this one to the Norfolk Broads and the North of Scotland. Sailing is the common theme and different characters inhabit each setting. If you have children between 6 and 11, read them aloud at bedtime; if not read them silently to your self. You will never forget these people!

I read this as part of the BBC Big Read, and I'm not exactly the target audience. It's a very cute children's book, that places a lot of importance on imagination, but also on the satisfactions and possibilities that come from having skills, being independent, and being fair. So much media now uses heavily flawed protagonists (even children's books aren't immune to this) and sometimes it's just nice to go back to reading something where the main characters consistently act in an admirable way.