Fantasy: The Children of Green Knowe

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Boston, L.M. 2002 (org. 1954). The Children of Green Knowe. Illus. by Peter Boston. NY: Odyssey/Harcourt Young Classic NY: Harcourt, Inc. ISBN: 9780152024680.

BOOK REVIEW
A midst a flood, young Toseland arrives in a rowboat to the ancient house of Green Knowe where his great-grandmother, Mrs. Oldknow, resides. Tolly, as he is soon nicknamed, becomes instantly enchanted by the mysterious and magical house and its surroundings. He is particularly drawn to the portrait of two ladies and three children, who were all once Green Knowe’s residents many generations ago. Through Mrs. Oldknow’s stories of the three children (Toby, Alexander and Linnet) that weave together the magical tapestry that crosses time and space, Tolly begin to discover that the children have never truly left Green Knowe after all these years. Inspired by her time and love worn manor house near Cambridge, England, Lucy M. Boston’s eloquent and sophisticated level of writing brings together the story of a boy, who’s father and stepmother tend ignore, finding a kindred spirit connection with a great-grandmother that he never met and the three children as he learns the rich history of the house and of his ancestors. The sprinkling of biblical and Anglo-Saxon mythology and the occasional detailed black and white illustrations by the author’s son add to the overall appeal of this treasured book. Originally published in 1954, Boston’s first book of the Green Knowe Chronicles continues draw readers all generations into its magical charm.

CONNECTIONS
*Continue to read Boston’s The Green Knowe Chronicles: The Chimneys of Green Knowe, River at Green Knowe, A Stranger at Green Knowe, An Enemy at Green Knowe, and The Stones of Green Knowe.