It is strange when there is a connection found between dissimilar things in our everyday life. While I was reading this book by Frederick Marryat, I read on a plaque on my nightly rounds at the museum that the artist Thomas Chambers used Marryat's naval writings as an inspiration for some of his seascapes. It shows how famous Marryat was back in the 1800s. Now he has been forgotten, although there is much that is sweet and charming about this story of 4 orphan children who have to make a life from scratch after their father is killed in a war between the Roundheads (those in favor of Cromwell) and the Cavaliers (who wanted to keep the monarchy in place) of England and their ancestral home is burned by the Roundheads, as their father fought for King Charles.A kind and loyal forrester of Colonel Beverley (the children's father) takes them into his forest home and they are incognito as they were thought to have perished in the conflagration. The Forrester teaches the 2 boys and 2 girls how to survive and live off of the forest. Marryat is not a great wordsmith and it is simply told, the worst errors come in the conversations between the brothers, who don't talk in a natural manner, but seem to be making lists of things to each other. The girl's characters are underdeveloped and not as interesting as the boys are so I think this would be enjoyed by boys more than by girls.

This is a novel I like a lot, which I've experienced in different ways at different points in my life. I first read it when I was six or seven, and thought it was a great story. There are these kids, and they find a castle, and a magic ring. At first they think it's an invisibility ring. Then, to their surprise, they find it can make inanimate objects come to life, or make you rich. After a while, they come to a truly startling conclusion: the ring can do anything at all! When its latest power wears off, the owner can just tell it what new power it is to acquire. They come up with some creative ideas, which are a lot of fun; one of the best ones is where they find that the statues in the castle's grounds come to life at night, and they can themselves become living statues. One of the statues is a life-size brontosaurus. Like many seven year olds, I loved dinosaurs. This ring was amazing! The rest of this review is available elsewhere (the location cannot be given for Goodreads policy reasons) 

I read this because it was available free on Kindle (now I am on a "Kindle"-ing spree).This book carries with it a childhood memory for me. I used to buy comics from the Higginbothams' bookstall in the railway station (they still have stalls all over railway stations in South India, but carry mostly magazines) - Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, Casper the Friendly Ghost, Bugs Bunny... freely available in those days and costing the lordly sum of one rupee. My father on this occasion, however, decided to "improve" my reading and picked up a few children's books from the shelf. This book was one of them.It was a beautiful edition with a glossy cover and enthralling pictures, but my dad was not impressed. He told me there were much better books by Kipling (true!) and put it back on the shelf, and I went for my comic. But the book remained in memory.However, I am glad I did not get it then - I would have been totally lost! Because in this series of connected stories, Kipling does a masterly job of weaving together England's mythology, legend and history. Compered by the fairy "Puck" from The Midsummer Night's Dream, the narrators range from Puck himself, a knight, a roman soldier and a Jew. The timeline shifts between the mythic, sylvan past of the Island through the Roman occupation and medieval intrigues up to the signing of the Magna Carta.It is typical Kipling - each story is sandwiched between a couple of poems (which are sometimes much better than the tales). The mundane and the magical seamlessly weave together to create a brilliant tapestry, familiar to all Kipling fans. But the tales were, I felt, rather mediocre. From the creator of The Jungle Book one expected a bit more.The author's intention here - made explicit in the last poem - is to inculcate pride and love for the motherland in the heart of youngsters and maybe get them to study the culture of their country in detail. Very laudable, but it has not aged well like The Jungle Book or Just So Stories.

Basil--famous sleuth of mousedom--lived in the cellar of Sherlock Holmes' house. A devoted admirer of the great detective, he had learned his craft by listening at the feet of Holmes himself. The Mystery of the Missing Twins was one of the strangest cases in Basil's career. He had only a few crumbs of clues with which to find solutions to such baffling questions as: Who had masterminded the plot? Where were the twins, Angela and Agatha, being kept?

Professor Wormbog is missing a Zipperump-a-Zoo from his collection of beasts, so he sets off in search of one—a search that takes him all over the world. If you open almost any of award-winning author/illustrator Mercer Mayer’s 250+ children’s books you’ll see dragons, cuddly monsters, wonderful creatures, and endearing critters. Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, Mr. Mayer spent his childhood hunting lizards and snakes in the swamps by his home. During his teenage years, he lived in Hawaii where he attended the Honolulu Academy of Arts. He later received additional training at the Art Students League in New York City. Upon completion of his studies he set out with pen and ink to write and illustrate adventures he experienced as a child.

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