The Summer Birds: Difference between revisions
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'''''The Summer Birds''''' is a children's novel by British writer [[Penelope Farmer]], published in 1962 by Chatto & Windus. |
'''''The Summer Birds''''' is a children's novel by British writer [[Penelope Farmer]], published in 1962 by Chatto & Windus, and receiving a [[Carnegie Medal]] commendation. |
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It is the first of three books featuring the Makepeace sisters, Charlotte and Emma,<ref>Anita Silvey, ed: ''Children's books and their creators'' (New York, Houghton Mifflin, 1995), p. 238.</ref> These three books are sometimes known as the ''Aviary Hall'' books.[http://www.kidlit.co.uk/chars/c/xc030403.htm] |
It is the first of three books featuring the Makepeace sisters, Charlotte and Emma,<ref>Anita Silvey, ed: ''Children's books and their creators'' (New York, Houghton Mifflin, 1995), p. 238.</ref> These three books are sometimes known as the ''Aviary Hall'' books.[http://www.kidlit.co.uk/chars/c/xc030403.htm] |
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==Background== |
==Background== |
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At the age of twenty-one, Penelope Farmer was contracted for her first collection of short stories, ''The China People''. One story originally intended for this collection proved too long to include. This was rewritten as the first chapter of ''The Summer Birds'' (1962), her first book featuring Charlotte and Emma Makepeace, writing about the story, "It was too big an idea, too bony as a short story."<ref>'Penelope Farmer' in ''Something About the Author'' 105 (1999) p. 67</ref><ref>'Penelope (Jane) Farmer'. In ''[http://www.bookrags.com/biography/penelope-jane-farmer-dlb/2.html Dictionary of Literary Biography].''</ref> |
At the age of twenty-one, Penelope Farmer was contracted for her first collection of short stories, ''The China People''. One story originally intended for this collection proved too long to include. This was rewritten as the first chapter of ''The Summer Birds'' (1962), her first book featuring Charlotte and Emma Makepeace, writing about the story, "It was too big an idea, too bony as a short story."<ref>'Penelope Farmer' in ''Something About the Author'' 105 (1999) p. 67</ref><ref>'Penelope (Jane) Farmer'. In ''[http://www.bookrags.com/biography/penelope-jane-farmer-dlb/2.html Dictionary of Literary Biography].''</ref> The main settings of the book are a small village school in the [[South Downs]] in southern England, and Aviary Hall, the girls' home. |
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According to Farmer, Charlotte and Emma, who grow up in their Grandfather Elijah's house, were originally based on her mother and her mother's sister as children, having no parents and "…having to be everything to each other," one being the responsible one, the other being rather difficult.<ref name="Penelope Farmer 1985 p. 77">'Penelope Farmer' in ''Something About the Author'' 40 (1985) p. 77</ref> |
According to Farmer, Charlotte and Emma, who grow up in their Grandfather Elijah's house, were originally based on her mother and her mother's sister as children, having no parents and "…having to be everything to each other," one being the responsible one, the other being rather difficult.<ref name="Penelope Farmer 1985 p. 77">'Penelope Farmer' in ''Something About the Author'' 40 (1985) p. 77</ref> |
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The children spend an idyllic summer flying above their village and the downs. As summer draws to an end, the boy offers to take the children back to his country, a paradise where the children will forever have the ability to fly, and where they will never need to have adult responsibilities. The children prepare to go with the boy to his country. Charlotte realises that the boy's offer must have a hidden catch, and that the cost of following the boy is that they will never be able to return to their homes and their loved ones. Charlotte forces the boy to admit the truth to them. The children decide that this indeed is too high a price to pay, and all decline to travel with the boy, with the exception of one girl, who has neither parents, nor a happy life to return to. |
The children spend an idyllic summer flying above their village and the downs. As summer draws to an end, the boy offers to take the children back to his country, a paradise where the children will forever have the ability to fly, and where they will never need to have adult responsibilities. The children prepare to go with the boy to his country. Charlotte realises that the boy's offer must have a hidden catch, and that the cost of following the boy is that they will never be able to return to their homes and their loved ones. Charlotte forces the boy to admit the truth to them. The children decide that this indeed is too high a price to pay, and all decline to travel with the boy, with the exception of one girl, who has neither parents, nor a happy life to return to. |
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==Awards== |
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''The Summer Birds'' received a Carnegie Medal commendation in 1963. |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 13:29, 16 January 2012
| Author | Penelope Farmer |
|---|---|
| Sprache | Englisch |
| Genre | Children's novel |
| Publisher | Chatto & Windus |
Publication date | 1962 |
| Publication place | Vereinigtes Königreich |
| Media type | |
| Followed by | Emma in Winter |
The Summer Birds is a children's novel by British writer Penelope Farmer, published in 1962 by Chatto & Windus, and receiving a Carnegie Medal commendation.
It is the first of three books featuring the Makepeace sisters, Charlotte and Emma,[1] These three books are sometimes known as the Aviary Hall books.[1]
Background
At the age of twenty-one, Penelope Farmer was contracted for her first collection of short stories, The China People. One story originally intended for this collection proved too long to include. This was rewritten as the first chapter of The Summer Birds (1962), her first book featuring Charlotte and Emma Makepeace, writing about the story, "It was too big an idea, too bony as a short story."[2][3] The main settings of the book are a small village school in the South Downs in southern England, and Aviary Hall, the girls' home.
According to Farmer, Charlotte and Emma, who grow up in their Grandfather Elijah's house, were originally based on her mother and her mother's sister as children, having no parents and "…having to be everything to each other," one being the responsible one, the other being rather difficult.[4]
Sequels
A second book, Emma in Winter, set roughly two years later, with Emma as the main character, followed in 1966. Charlotte Sometimes followed in 1969, set slightly before the events of Emma in Winter, which follows Charlotte's first term in a London boarding school.
Plot summary
Charlotte and Emma Makepeace are children living with their grandfather, Elijah, in a country house in the South Downs in southern England. Named Aviary Hall, the house is decorated with stuffed birds and images of birds. On the way to their small English village school, they meet and befriend a mysterious boy who tells them that he is able to teach them to fly. Over the following days and weeks, the boy teaches Charlotte to fly, and then the other children at the school learn this ability. The boy remains invisible to the adults, with the exception of the schoolteacher, Miss Hallibutt, who herself, as a child, had wished that she could fly. The boy tells her that he is unable to teach her to fly: he can only teach children.
The children spend an idyllic summer flying above their village and the downs. As summer draws to an end, the boy offers to take the children back to his country, a paradise where the children will forever have the ability to fly, and where they will never need to have adult responsibilities. The children prepare to go with the boy to his country. Charlotte realises that the boy's offer must have a hidden catch, and that the cost of following the boy is that they will never be able to return to their homes and their loved ones. Charlotte forces the boy to admit the truth to them. The children decide that this indeed is too high a price to pay, and all decline to travel with the boy, with the exception of one girl, who has neither parents, nor a happy life to return to.
Awards
The Summer Birds received a Carnegie Medal commendation in 1963.
References
- ^ Anita Silvey, ed: Children's books and their creators (New York, Houghton Mifflin, 1995), p. 238.
- ^ 'Penelope Farmer' in Something About the Author 105 (1999) p. 67
- ^ 'Penelope (Jane) Farmer'. In Dictionary of Literary Biography.
- ^ 'Penelope Farmer' in Something About the Author 40 (1985) p. 77