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alicegunther
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| Posted: Jan 08 2007 at 10:54pm | IP Logged
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Alison, you will love them, love them, love them.
I would tell you not to wait until summer and to read Winter Holiday with us this February, but I do think it is better to form a relationship with the characters in the earlier books. Winter Holiday will mean so much more to you.
MacBeth will be able to field the nature study question far better than I, but I would say you could cover practically every aspect of it within those perfect pages.
Lots of camping, sailing and fishing by England's Lake District in "Swallows and Amazons," spelunking and camping in "Swallowdale," mining and geology in "Pigeon Post," oceans and more sailing in "We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea," birding and sailing in "Coot Club," tropical life in "Peter Duck," the China Seas in "Missee Lee," mapmaking and shorelife in "Secret Water," geology, camping, and general hilarity of every kind in my personal favorite, the lesser known jewel of the series, "The Picts and the Martyrs."
"Winter Holiday" is another gem with astronomy, weather, orienteering, and exploring all perfectly packaged for your family to read again and again.
Can you tell I am a fan?
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Alison
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| Posted: Jan 08 2007 at 11:09pm | IP Logged
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Thank you for your prompt reply Alice! I was just about to go off line!I wonder what time it is for you( 3.30pm as I post here ). Actually its summer here in Adelaide right now which is why I thought it'd be good to start at the beginning/read them in order. The children have watched the video of Swallows and Amazons though so do you think it would spoil it to read it as well or just to start reading from the second book? We are going to start more formal learning later this month...at present we're enjoying our long summer holidays. Wouldn't mind a bit of rain though!
blessings
Alison
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Aliadelaide/
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alicegunther
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| Posted: Jan 08 2007 at 11:21pm | IP Logged
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I would start with Book Number One, Alison. It is too good to miss! Wouldn't I love to have the fun of re-reading it for the first time again!
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Love, Alice
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MacBeth
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| Posted: Jan 09 2007 at 8:52am | IP Logged
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I'll second that. The film leaves out a bit of the book, and the kids and you will want to savor every bit.
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MacBeth in NY
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Meredith
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I second Alice's enthusiasm for these books, they are books for a lifetime!!! We're starting Winter Holiday too for the first time as we missed it last year!!
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Meredith
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KellyinPA
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We read Swallows and Amazons many moons ago when my son who will be 20(!) this month was about 9 or so. I wish I would have read this thread back then. The good news is I have two more up and coming to share it with. We are just starting chapter books so I'm not sure they are quite ready yet but I'm going to hang onto this thread for when they are.
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Kelly
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Carole N.
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| Posted: Jan 11 2007 at 9:58am | IP Logged
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I am captivated by the description of these books. Can I begin reading them but start with Winter Holiday or do I need to begin with the first book. I see that they are available at Amazon, but the first book would take several weeks to arrive.
And since we have no real "nature" study, I would love to use these books as a starting point.
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 Carole ... in Wales
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MacBeth
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We read Pigeon Post and Winter Holiday out of order, and it was fun to go back and see how the whole story fit together. It was a bit difficult at first to tell who is who, but in the end, it worked out well.
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MacBeth in NY
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alicegunther
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| Posted: Jan 11 2007 at 10:20am | IP Logged
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Carole, I would say that you could read them out of order, but I wouldn't. Winter Holiday is just so wonderful when you know the cast of characters already. Dorothea and Dick meet the Swallows and Amazons, but in the early chapters, they are merely observing them from afar. The book is so interesting when you and the children already know something the D's don't. (Dorothea and Dick, that is.)
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MacBeth
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Alice is correct here. When the "Ds" are speculating about the "S and As," and our kids know them already, the book is much more amusing. 
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MacBeth in NY
Don's wife since '88; "Mom" to the Fab 4
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Shari in NY
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We are reading Winter Holiday now. Some rabbit trails: astronomy, morse code/semaphore, Nansen's sledges, the Fram, Arctic ice flows, boat building (google the Fram and you get several good sites. The building of this boat is fascinating!!)
Shari in NY
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Carole N.
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| Posted: Jan 11 2007 at 11:42am | IP Logged
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Thanks, ladies. I guess we will start with Amazons and Swallows and work our way through the series. I am very excited about it. Of course, I have big ideas, but if nothing else, the reading experience will be worth it.
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alicegunther
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| Posted: Jan 11 2007 at 11:47am | IP Logged
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Carole N. wrote:
| Thanks, ladies. I guess we will start with Amazons and Swallows and work our way through the series. I am very excited about it. Of course, I have big ideas, but if nothing else, the reading experience will be worth it. |
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So very true! And chances are you will be reading and re-reading them over the years, so there will be plenty of time to meander down all the rabbit trails in days to come.
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Love, Alice
mother of seven!
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mary
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| Posted: Jan 15 2007 at 8:43am | IP Logged
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oh alice, thank you for this. i have never read these books as a kid and am looking forward to a new series. i did contact kind mr. woolf about the cd. the s/h is very expensive ($44) although he offered to decrease it to $40 because "alice has been so kind"
so, for those of you with the cassettes (since i'm looking for a more economical way to "read" these books) - can you give me an idea as to how much they are? did you purchase the series of books? do you prefer the audio version to reading the books themselves?
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MacBeth
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I have a few, and I really love the readings; others I have borrowed from a friend . Still others I have read aloud. Either way, they are great stories. Economically, of course, the books are the best way to go, but they are our favorite long-car-ride audio. I also like the reader's accent, his pauses, his emphasis, all of which add to the story.
If I could only afford one of the audio books, I'd get We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea, as I think it can be the driest to read through, though it is a magnificent listen.
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MacBeth in NY
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JennGM
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This is a very old thread, but one that has remained in my memory....
I think next year or two will be our Swallows and Amazons year, and I've been gradually adding the books (we only have two), but I really want the audio cds by Gabriel Woolf.
Has anyone bought these from afar?
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Erin
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Jenn
We are currently re-visiting S&A with our 3rd ds. Old friends
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JennGM
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Erin wrote:
Jenn
We are currently re-visiting S&A with our 3rd ds. Old friends |
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What age, Erin? What age did you usually start?
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Erin
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The first time around the boys were about 11 & 9 or maybe 10 &8 but that was when we first heard of them. This time Malachi is nearly 12 but he is a late reader, wasn't reading for pleasure till 10/11. These are his second set of chapter books. I know your G is only 7/8 but being such a strong reader I think he could well enjoy them. If not now maybe next year.
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Tina P.
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My three boys were about 12, 8, and 6 when we listened to the first set of CDs. Gabriel Woolf is very accomodating to American fans.
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Tina, wife to one and mom to 9 + 3 in heaven
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4Real Forums : Living Literature
Topic: Swallows and Amazons Forever!
