4.06 avg rating — 1,738 ratings

"Magic, family secrets and puzzles in verse are combined to create engaging adventures for a brother and sister team that want to save their family’s house from being repossessed by the bank. This is not like other magical adventure books- there is something so immediate here that the reader is drawn completely into the story. There are interesting references to historical figures of the Transcendalist movement that give it texture and depth. I love this remarkable book- and am sad that it has not really attained the classic status I think it should have.
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4.06 avg rating — 96 ratings

"Humor, mystery, a bit of fantasty, adventure. Filled with memorable characters that are firmly rooted in the Bavarian countryside and a time probably early in the last century. Great fun.
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4.28 avg rating — 2,292 ratings

4.13 avg rating — 36,570 ratings

3.79 avg rating — 3,074 ratings

4.12 avg rating — 8,806 ratings

"What child has not wanted to discover a lost place and create a special hidden retreat known only to herself and maybe a few friends? That’s what we read about here, an abandoned summer colony of houses, currently peopled with two older characters that have retreated from the world. Summertime is practically a character here- the feel of hot sun, the sights and smells of the natural world, all lyrically described and overall giving an idyllic feel of what childhood summer used to be, or perhaps never was but what we hoped it could have been. Great book!
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4.05 avg rating — 27,891 ratings

"Summer, time travel and magic infuse this classic children’s fantasy. I loved this book as a child, and the story stayed with me for decades. Even more delightful, this is one of the books where the magic translated to a new generation- my daughter loved it as much as I did. This is a bit haunting- not quite as light hearted as some of my other picks- that depth? melancholy? mystery? Great book."

really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 9,947 ratings

"Summer, time travel and magic. This is an old fashioned mystery, with magical overtones. The language is lyrical and the story is almost dreamlike in parts with reality and fantasy (or two realities) overlapping in an intriguing way. As I understand it, the author moved to an old house in England and this inspired her series of Greene Knowe children’s books (this was the first). The characters of Tolly, Linnet and Alexander have stayed with me all these years. This is a classic fantasy deserving of wider readership."

4.02 avg rating — 32,797 ratings

"This is such a great adventure book. It probably should be introduced as a read aloud book for even the most advanced of middle readers as the vocabulary is often old-fashioned and the sailing terminology could be off putting. But once the children have sailed off on their island adventure (without adult supervision I might add) the fun begins. They meet two sailing sisters from a nearby community and the sailing competitions and exploring commences. What is great about these stories is that they are idyllic, but also perfectly possible. The characters are operating in a very real place (England’s Lake District) and a very real time (between the two World Wars) but what colors the stories even more so is the love of sailing and of the natural world. Living in a rather rural area, I can actually see current day children recreating some of these kinds of adventures.
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4.31 avg rating — 5,335 ratings

4.18 avg rating — 3,088 ratings

4.01 avg rating — 39,791 ratings

4.04 avg rating — 3,650 ratings

4.08 avg rating — 15,339 ratings