The Swing in the Summerhouse

Hall Family Chronicles #2

by Jane Langton, Erik Blegvad (Illustrator)

Keep Out!When Prince Krishna is called away, he leaves behind some strict instructions for the Hall children about one of the openings in the mysterious summerhouse: Keep Out! As Eddy and Eleanor swing through each of the other openings, they refuse to break the rule, even as their temptation grows. But when Oliver and little Georgie disappear through the forbidden archway, Eleanor and Eddy know that they must either break their promise or risk never seeing their friends again.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Fiction, Childrens, Magic, Adventure, Middle Grade

185 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 1967

About the author

Langton was born in Boston, Massachusetts. She studied astronomy at Wellesley College and the University of Michigan, receiving a bachelor's degree in 1944. She received an M.A. in art history from the University of Michigan in 1945, and another M.A. from Radcliffe College in 1948. She studied at the Boston Museum School from 1958 to 1959.

In 1961 Langton wrote and illustrated her first book for children, The Majesty of Grace, a story about a young girl during the Depression who is certain she will some day be Queen of England. Langton has since written a children's series, The Hall Family Chronicles, and the Homer Kelly murder mystery novels. She has also written several stand-alone novels and picture books.

Langton's novel The Fledgling is a Newbery Honor book. Her novel Emily Dickinson is Dead was nominated for an Edgar Award and received a Nero Award. The Face on the Wall was an editors' choice selection by The Drood Review of Mystery for 1998.

Langton lives in Lincoln, Massachusetts, near the town of Concord, the setting of many of her novels. Her husband, Bill, died in 1997. Langton has three adult sons: Chris, David and Andy.

Series:
* Hall Family
* Homer Kelly Mystery

Reviews

[Christine]

Just stumbled across this title on Goodreads, and suddenly remembered it as a book from my childhood. I don't remember the story in detail, but the cover (first edition) took me straight back to my fourth grade classroom. : ) I also hadn't known that this was part of a series, so now I'm feeling nostalgic and wanting to re-read this second book, as well as the rest of the series. Time to bug my local librarians about warehoused books again...

[CLM · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are three Langtons I absolutely love, The Diamond in the Window, The Swing in the Summerhouse (the sequel) and Paper Chains, a standalone about a girl's freshman year at a college which just might be Harvard.

[Jamie Hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was not BAD, but I was not as impressed with it as with the first book. The firt chapter was honestly pretty poorly written - it "told" instead of "showed" - and all those honest, beautiful little "childhood" moments from the first book were unclear or absent in this one. Plus - I felt it took an overly didactic voice regarding the lessons that the children were supposed to learn from each experience they had. Plus, without a clear antagonist, the focus of the story was lacking.

But it was not BAD. I did consider putting it down after reading the first chapter, which *was* bad. But as a whole, the book was... average. Readable. Pleasant, even. But no where near as good as the first book.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this a loooooooong time ago. I just typed in what I thought the title was and I happened to be right. I had no clue it was part of a series. Need to see if I can get my hands on a copy. I really enjoyed it when I was a kid.

[Jackie "the Librarian" · Rating 5 out of 5]

Creepy fantasy fun for kids! Edward and Eleanor discover that if they jump off the swing in the summerhouse (a magic summerhouse that is the gift of Prince Krishna, a friend of the family) through one of its arches, they will find themselves in another world. They must solve a puzzle in each world to return home. And the puzzles keep getting harder and more dangerous.
They have promised not to go through the last arch in the summerhouse until Prince Krishna comes to see them, but circumstances make that impossible.
If you like Madeleine L'Engle, try this Jane Langton series, the Hall Family Chronicles. They too are allegorical fantasies that have kids in dangerous adventures.

[Gracie Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This a great book about adventure and just being a awesome kid ,personally I could not put the book down in parts and some parts were a litlle boring it always seemed to make me laugh or get very entriged I love when the part with the cash register the most love Jane Langton and I love this mystical mysterious alsome book

[Pattie O'Donnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can't believe Jane Langton is still writing - this is one of my favorite books from childhood. Spooky and atmospheric without blood and gore.

[Christi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kids in Concord Mass. grow up learning transcendentalism through magical experiences... great series for kids.

[Wreade1872 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really very unexpectedly good. I wanted to read the first in the series, especially since its blurb makes it sound like Jumanji, but this was the only one i could find.

Its very much in the vain of E.Nesbit's stories but with some of the surreal darkness of Mary Poppins. However it still stands out as its own thing. Its quite tied to its time and place but that just gives a unique flavour in my opinion.

There are trade off's with the writers style. Its a short and punchy book but that can also mean the characters arn't quite as well developed as some might like, although they still have more personality than many similar characters. Its also very subtle in its lessons but its subtlety might come across as vagueness to others.

The only real issue is a structural one, an element of urgency is introduced but the author isn't ready to deal with it yet so the characters just sort of ignore it.. making them look either foolish or sociopathic depending on your stance :P . Anyway that isn't enough to ruin the story.

Been quite a while since i liked a children's book this much, really nice tone and feel of story.

[Lissa Notreallywolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prince Krishna has left the country, and one of the the Summerhouse arches is boarded up with a warning sign. Eddie notes thhe central hook and fashions a swing, but things go awry when his buddy Oliver comes over. Oliver is all elbows and impulse and crashes through the Keep Out sign, and disappears. Other disappearences follow, and Eddie and Eleanor explore the various arches looking for the missing children. With Uncle Freddy in charge the disappearences don't get strung together until the Witch that lives next door disappears, looking for her daughter. Freddy has a crush on the witch and is suddenly aware the summerhouse preceded the disappearences. Meanwhile his neice and nephew are looking for the lost and learning moral lessons with each arch explored. A great personal growth novel about charac ter formation if ocassionally a bit pedantic.

[Nic]

Another one that I'd like to re-read. I don't remember much from this book at all, other than that I really liked it, and that each chapter brought the main characters (a boy and a girl, brother and sister, I think) to a new place or adventure, not unlike Phantom Tollbooth and Magician's Nephew, two other ones I loved. They would swing and jump through one of the sides of the veranda and when they landed, they'd be in another place or time. I remember one that had to do with a cash register, and I think figuring out the actual worth of a human body (?) but I really don't remember a lot, other than that I liked it, but certainly not as much as the two books mentioned above, which just did it better.

[Megan Palasik · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this from a used book sale when I was in 2nd grade. I had no idea what exactly what it was about (it's just the plain library hardcover without cover art or back description) but I read it and loved it. I've read it a few more times over the years and just recently found out that it is part of the Hall Family Chronicles. Someday I will read more of the series and see what else happens to the children. This book is great though if you have a great imagination.

[Ramsey Hootman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not my favorite in the series, but still utterly charming and magical. If you can forgive the dated gender stereotypes, the moral of the story - sometimes messy is good and we're all happier if we're not bound by strict social rules - is both surprising and valuable. Langton really reinforces how wonderful it is to be a child, as well as the value of growing up slowly, and re-reading these with my own kids I realize she is probably the reason I was content to be a kid.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book about the Hall family, if you jump out of the swing in the summerhouse you find yourself in a magical land of your own making. As fun as it would sound for you to live among the beautiful paper dolls you've just made, imagine what it's like for THEM to be life-sized . . . on a windy day . . . .

[Jonah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think that the author had a lot of great ideas about this book. At the very end it's very fascinating how they turn into statues and come back alive. My favorite character in this book was, I would have to say, Georgie. Because Georgie is a lot like me. She just wants to know everything and she becomes friends with Eleanor even though she is much older than Georgie.

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of my favorite books when I was a kid. I loved to check it out from the school library. I had forgotten most of the details but remembered the basic plot and the line drawings. So glad I found it. The literary and other references kept my attention as an adult. Magical!

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book series just doesn't disappoint. I think it is cool that I have visited the setting which is in Concord. It makes it feel all the more real to me. Jane has such an imagination. Excited to continue the journey with the rest of the series.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

another wonderful Langton story! Three cheers for fun YA books!

[Kailey (Luminous Libro) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wonderful book! I love the writing, the characters, and the story! Fantastic stuff! Read it all in one day, b/c I couldn't put it down.

[Charles Duquette · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most memorable books of my childhood. A wonderful story.
Absolutely fantastic. I'm amazed it hasn't been made into a movie.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Swing in the Summerhouse is the second book in the Hall Family Chronicles by Jane Langton. This is a magical series in the vein of Edward Eager that combines fantasy, history and adventure. The Hall family lives in Concord, Massachusetts and the history of Concord and the transcendental movement are frequently parts of the story. Prince Krishna is called away but before he leaves, he builds a summerhouse for Eleanor and Eddy. The summerhouse is 6-sided, and each side has an open arch with a title printed on the arch. The titles are: The Man-Castle; What are You Worth?; Make New Worlds; Far Bound; Grow Up Now and Your Heart’s Desire. The last opening, Your Heart’s Desire, was boarded up by Prince Krishna before he left, and he warned the children not to enter it under any circumstances. There are 2 new characters added to this book – Georgie, a little girl who lives next door and desperately wants to learn how to read and her mother that Eddy & Eleanor nickname The Witch. This entire series is so good that it makes me sad to realize they can no longer be found on library shelves.

[Patty Kenter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book as part of my ongoing personal challenge to reread some favorite books from childhood. This is the 2nd book in the series, and while I vaguely remember The Diamond in the Window, I didn't have a copy so went with this one. The basic premise of this series is that brother and sister, Eddy and Eleanor who live with their aunt and uncle (who has some ancient magic up his sleeve) go on a series of adventures. As a child, this appealed to me because for the most part, the children have to figure out how to deal with whatever they encounter on their adventures. This book was written in 1967 so, of course, there are parts of it that are quite dated (why is the Eddy the only one who can aspire to be president and not Eleanor?) I didn't remember the adventures being quite so didactic and Eleanor being treated so unfairly just because she's less creative than Eddy but it's still a fun read. Just wish there had been pictures in my edition.

[Heather Marolf]

This book was a Christmas present from my great uncle back when I was 9 years old. It had been many years since I had read it. I didn’t realize it was the second book in a series and, from reviews, it seems the first book gets higher ratings. I was glad to revisit this book and its themes of staying young at heart and enjoying the world and life around you.

[Maggi Rohde · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as the first one, but it was nice to see old familiar characters again. We may read the next one.

[Cienna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Going backwards in the series by accident, so my ratings may be biased. This one was fine, better than the stereoscope maybe? I would have loved this as a child.

[Cyndy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I read this a few times because I liked it so much.

[Janice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prince Krishna and Aunt Lily get called away before Prince Krishna can show Eddy and Eleanor the secrets of the Summerhouse. Before he goes he extracts a promise that they will keep out of one of the arches. Since he hasn’t installed the swing, he thinks the Hall children will be fine. Plus he boarded up the arch he wanted them to stay out of. Then Eddy gets the idea to hang an old hammock and the fun begins. First Oliver decides that he needs to break through the boarded up arch. He does, swings through, and disappears. Eddy at first thinks that Oliver just fell into the shrubs and ran off. Then Oliver’s parents start looking for him. So Eddy and Eleanor begin swinging through the other arches and never run across Oliver but some other interesting scenarios. Finally after Georgie disappears, they go through the forbidden. While there they find statues of Georgie and Oliver, and they begin to turn into statues. The only one immune is Uncle Freddy because he has never really lost his sense of wonder and childlike amusement. Everyone else ossifies. Freddy is able to free them.

Happy ending. Everyone makes it home. Freddy proposes to Georgie’s mother, Alexandra.

[Melody · Rating 3 out of 5]

Light, pleasant fable with strong undertones of how to be a Good Person. I found that the structure and moral underpinning of this book got in the way of the story for me. This happened in the first book as well, but not to the same extent. I liked it well enough, but I did find myself skimming a fair bit. Unless one of the Burtons or CLM gives me a compelling reason to continue, I'm finished with this series.

[Ashley Lambert-Maberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was fun to return to the world of the Halls, but not nearly as unalloyed a pleasure as reading the first book.

(Note: I'm a writer, so I suffer when I offer fewer than five stars. But these aren't ratings of quality, they're a subjective account of how much I liked the book: 5* = an unalloyed pleasure from start to finish, 4* = really enjoyed it, 3* = readable but not thrilling, 2* = disappointing, and 1* = hated it.)

[Mindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure I finished this book. The only part I remember was the opening they jumped through that took them inside a giant person and they were looking out the person's eyes. I'm going to have to read this again.