The Children of Green Knowe

This is not an easy book, and therein lies its charm. L M Boston's classic is a sophisticated mood piece disguised as a children's ghost story. As young Toseland goes to live with his grandmother in the family's ancestral home, the reader is plunged immediately into the world of Green Knowe. Like Toseland, who actually rows up to his new home in the midst of a flood, we have a hard time finding our bearings. Toseland discovers a funny kind of grandmother awaiting him--one who speaks elliptically of the children and animals she keeps around the house: they might be memories, they might be ghosts. It's never quite clear where real life leaves off and magic begins. Toseland admires a deer: "A deer seems more magic than a horse." His grandmother is quick to respond: "Very beautiful fairy-tale magic, but a horse that thinks the same thoughts that you do is like strong magic wine, a love philtre for boys."

With this meshing of the magical and the real, Boston evokes a childlike world of wonder. She compounds the effect by combining gorgeous images and eerily evocative writing. Toseland goes out on a snowy morning: "In front of him, the world was an unbroken dazzling cloud of crystal stars, except for the moat, which looked like a strip of night that had somehow sinned and had no stars in it." The loosely plotted story is given more resonance still through liberal use of biblical imagery and Anglo-Saxon mythology. For those willing to suspend their disbelief and read carefully, the world of Green Knowe offers a wondrous escape. - -Claire Dederer

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Breaks all the rules - Rated
It is a sheer delight to read such a beautifully written and imaginative story in today's world of formulaic writing for children. "The Children of Green Knowe" defies categorisation but somehow captured the imagination of 40-something Mum and 7 year old son alike.

The language and some of the concepts involved in the book seem, superficially, to be beyond the scope of younger readers but somehow, when read aloud, the gist of the meaning on a number of levels can be picked up by children. The descriptive passages are beautifully evocative: you can see the greenness of the garden, feel the sharpness of the yew and hear the crisp footprints on new-fallen snow. I read the book to my son at Christmas-time which added to the atmosphere.

Perhaps what I loved most was the room for mystery and wonder, and for questions that don't all get answered. Are the children ghosts or spirits? Is the house itself alive in some way?

Finally, the woodcuts by Peter Boston are enchanting and further add to the other-wordly feel of the book.

A childhood classic - Rated
I read and reread the Green Knowe books when I was a child. Boston wrote about her own house, fictionalising its history for her books. It is possible to have guided tours around the house which is still in Boston's family, and people make pilgrimage there every year in homage to these fantastic books. Each book in the series deals with a different historical period of the house's existence. The story is told through the experiences of Tolly, a small boy whose parents live abroad and who send him to live with his grandmother in the house Green Knowe during his school holidays. Tolly encounters the ghosts of previous generations of children and has exciting adventures with them. They are spooky without being truly scary and really adventurous exhilarating reading. The language can be a little old fashioned, as these books were old when I was a child, but I recently started reading them to my eight year old daughter and she loves them as much as I do. In this book, Tolly first comes to Green Knowe and meets Toby, Alexander and Linnet, three ghost children who help him explore the wonderful house and grounds.

Absolutely classic children's novel - Rated
I was first introduced to The Children of Green Knowe through the BBC's TV adaptation which, like the Box Of Delights, was a brilliantly memorable piece of children's television for the festive season (they really don't make them like that anymore). My best friend had all of the books and after I watched it on TV I immediately sat down and read them all. I feel so fortunate to have discovered them. As children's classics go the whole series is up there with the Chronicles of Narnia, although the Green Knowe books are arguably better written - yes, I know CS Lewis was an Oxford don, but Lucy M Boston writes such beautiful, vivid, flowing prose. I'm just re-reading the Children of Green Knowe again now and it's still as beautifully written, as captivating and as poignant as I remember it. I still have the rest of the series (I collected a set of my own after I read my friend's copies) and after I've enjoyed The Children of Green Knowe I'm going to read them all. What a treat! The Children of Green Knowe is a perfect Christmas read, whatever your age, and if you're looking for a book to read aloud this one is perfect. I'm glad my 1988 Puffin editions have the Peter Boston illustrations though, they're much more evocative and magical than the new illustrations.

Lovely! - Rated
I am reading this book to my 6(nearly 7!) year old little boy now and I really am not sure which of us is enjoying it more! Unlike the other reviews I didn't read this as a child. So, rather than wondering how quickly or how little I can get away with reading at bed time we've been late every night!I thoroughly recommend it!

A Forgotten Classic - Rated
The Children of Green Knowe is an enchanting story. It is beautifully written, the descriptions are vivid and Lucy Boston's characters are drawn superbly well. A lonely little boy - Tolly Oldknowe - goes to live with his great-grandmother and has a series of haunting and charming adventures around and in the house that his family have lived in for centuries. A lovely story which deserves to be as well known as Narnia and Alice in Wonderland.