There's one significant subset of summer lit no one's nominated: children's books set in the summertime. I like school books too (and obviously many kids' books fall into one or the other category), but there's something about summer and children. I love the way the books can evoke that sense you had as a child of the endlessness of it and how it was completely divorced from your other life in school.
I'd love to hear people name a few old favorites in this category (we can save the school ones for September!). Some that occur to me are Arthur Ransome's
Swallows and Amazons books and the magic books of E. Nesbit and Edward Eager (who was greatly influenced by Nesbit). I particularly wanted to mention the last, as Eager wrote about bookish kids and I'm charmed by a particular reference which is a nexus between our current read and the current nominations. From
Magic by the Lake:
Quote:
"And nothing scary," said Martha.
"Granted," said the turtle, "and that is absolutely all."
The other three turned on Martha. "What did you have to go and ask that for?" said Jane. "Now it'll be all tame and namby-pamby and watered down! Like those awful children's editions of books Aunt Grace always gives us!"
"That Three Musketeers with Lady de Winter left right out!" said Mark.
"Excavated versions, I think they're called," said Katharine. "You can see why."
|
I hope everyone is enjoying an unexcavated version of
The Three Musketeers!