I am so glad you share my love of these books. I never tire of reading them - I am currently rereading The Children of Green Knowe - and the passage at Midnight Mass is quite unforgettable. I hope to fit in The Dark is Rising too! But I should also have mentioned A Christmas Carol, which I love. I have a reading of it by Anton Lesser, which is extraordinary, and will certainly listen again before Christmas! Thank you very much for taking the tiome to read it x
Wonderful Anton Lesser. Meant to say, so pleased you mentioned that you can visit Green Knowe. My friend Catherine Phipps took me there - magical - and I couldn't resist bringing a mouse home either!
What a lovely post. So pleased to see Lucy M Boston's atmospheric Green Knowe books mentioned - with those powerful illustrations. I read them as a child, wept over Stranger at Green Knowe (heartbreaking) and was terrified by An Enemy of Green Knowe. The Dark is Rising was the first of that Susan Cooper sequence I read as a child - I think it's the best of them all. So compelling, so clever in the way in moves between the ancient past and the present, layering time. A superb book. My annual Christmas re-read is The Christmas Carol, which always works its magic on me.
Ah, I found a pdf copy of 'A Christmas Carol' that I dipped in and out of as I wrote a slightly irreverent fiction yesterday about two fellow writers here on Substack, placing them as Dickensian imaginings within a version of 'A Christmas Carol' that Dickens wouldn't have recognised. But it reminded me what a brilliant tale it is, and how gloriously written. I shall be treating myself to a new copy as I gifted mine to my Mum last year.
I was having a little down at heart wander through the substack halls, when I found this post. Anything to do with The Dark is Rising sequence and I'm in there like a shot, and joy! Green Knowe also. TDIR gets re-read every year, to the point where I have retired the actual book to its shelf after many copies fell apart.
We don't have rooks here in my part of the Essex fringes, but we have their brother crows, and I feel like beckoning them in when I hear them, and seeing what clever beaky mischief they cause.
I am so pleased you share my love of these books. They are so evocative of late December and I have a huge fondness for them. Crows are such intelligent birds and so brave. In my garden yesterday one took on a Cormorant ( you can see it in my IG page) and I was astounded. Thank you very much for such a lovely comment.
They took on a cormorant!? Good lord. My friend in San Fran has 2 that guard her house. If she's away they get very cross with her, and knock on the door relentlessly until she feeds them nuts. They also eat spicy hot Takis snacks, but wash the spice powder off in a puddle first!
An absolutely delightful delicious post! I’ve just enjoyed reading all the comments too. I hadn’t read ‘The Children of Green Knowe’ before but from your description couldn’t resist buying a copy, it arrived yesterday and I’m loving reading it. I may have the body of a middle aged woman but I retain the heart and soul of my magical nature lovingly seven year old self. I hope you enjoy the winter solstice in Norfolk.
I am so delighted. I just finished it again and I like to think I retain that magic too! It is the perfect book to read at this time of year, and although written for children, she doesn't "talk down" which is why I think it captivates all ages.
Beautiful rook! I've been enthralled by the rooks that live near my workplace and although I've read The Dark is Rising I don't associate them with darkness, just noisy family life.
As soon as I saw your image of the cover of The Dark is Rising it took me right back to when I was also about 12 and was transported by these books into a vivid fantasy world. I was given the first one by a friend of my Godfather and loved it. I read The Dark is Rising while on holiday in Wales, with the brooding mountains all around me. I even set some of the words to my own badly-written tune, which I see Johnny Flynn has bettered in his version though I can still remember all of mine, such had the magical world captured my imagination! I still have my original books and must re-read. And I love the sound of the Children of Green Knowe - and can see why you gave the wonderful little mouse a home! I have SO many books on my reading pile(s) but will save this post so I can re-read and remind myself to find it.
The rooks here circle daily in our trees, perhaps more visible in the winter. I had forgotten their place in being omens of darker things - because they frequently hop and stomp about quite comically on the way to pick up fallen seeds from our birdfeeders, having to wait until the much smaller goldfinches have messily spilt some. Your photos of them in flight, and the linocut, are beautiful.
Aren't they magical books? They have become a Christmas reading tradition! Like you, I find rooks the most benign and intelligent birds and I am greatly looking forward to watching their rookery activities next month.
Save The Children of Green Knowe until next Christmas as I really do think it is best read now and you will also have a treat in store!
I am so glad you enjoyed the post and thank you, as always, for reading it xx
There is so comforting about listening or reading to good children's literature, especially at this time of year and I am so glad you discovered the Children of Green Knowe for your daughter.
I nearly mentioned "Christmas Days", which I treated myself to in a hardback when it came out as it was so beautiful. I found her Christmas memories of friends so touching. Happy Christmas!
I listened to The Children of Green Knowe on audiobook a year or two ago and loved it! Thank you for linking to The Dark is Rising radio production as well, I will definitely check that out! As a child, I would read “The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe” around this time of year. I also enjoyed “The Snow Queen” picture books and “The Nutcracker Prince” cartoon (which I still have on VHS!) “Little Women Part 1” is also a wonderful Christmas read 😊 Newer novels I recommend are “Once Upon a Wardrobe” by Patti Callahan and “Snow & Rose” by Emily Winfield Martin. Wishing you a peaceful holiday season!
I do hope you enjoy the radio production, it is so beautifully done and so atmospheric. "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" is another favourite which was read to us at school. The same teacher read "Tom's Midnight Garden" too so she chose very well! I love "Little Women" too and went to visit there some years ago and it was a wonderful place. I have noted your new books too - thank you! Happy Christmas!
I hope to visit Orchard House next year since I live in New England now 😊 And someday in the future I would love to fly out to England and visit the houses of all my favorite authors! There would be a long list so I’d need to stay a week or two haha
I have never read these books, but they certainly sound interesting. And those illustrations! I think my favorite children's (pre-teen, probably) book was "The Brownie Scouts at Snow Valley." With my own kids we always read "Babar and Father Christmas" and "The Pokey Little Puppy" along with, of course, "The Night Before Christmas." Here in Portland we often get an Alfred Hitchcock swarming and roosting of crows late in the afternoon. The noise they make is haunting and kind of scary. They seem to be very determined to be seen as a loud and threatening bunch. I much prefer our Alaska ravens, who will sometimes seem to be talking to us. They listen, and they seem to answer our silly attempts to communicate. Very smart birds.
It is not too late! They really are magical evocations of winter. Corvids are such intelligent birds, but ravens are quite remarkable. I love their croaking sound and see them when I go to Wales, which is such a treat. I will look uo your books, and all are new to me, so thank you!
I adore both these books (and in fact watched that BBC adaptation of The Children of Green Knowe on DVD just a couple of weeks ago). I recently treated myself to the entire Dark is Rising sequence, and look forward to reading the other four books. Your rook is quite brilliant. x
They are such beautifully written and comforting books and I try to now read onw or the other just before Christmas each year. The DVD is magical, isn't it? I was nervous of watching it again, in case it wasn't as I remembered it, but happily I wasn't disappointed. I am so pleased you like the Rook! xx
What an absolute delight of a post, Deborah ... apart from pushing me to write more, I love Substack for the salve it offers to my curiosity. Posts like this remind me just how much there remains to be discovered, just how many trails of breadcrumbs are laid for us to follow. Two new books for me, and so beautifully illustrated too. Thank you.
How wonderful! She was such an extraordinary woman and I thoroughly enjoyed her memoirs too. I very much look forward to reading it when it comes out. Thank you very much for reading my piece, you have quite made my day!
They are both magical! I was so thrilled to watch it on DVD and was astounded by the connection to my past life! They are books to be treasured. So pleased you like my rook x
You are in for a treat! Both capture these midwinter days so perfectly and are a joy. I think Substack is the best thing I have done this year, for just the reasons you say. It is such a warm and welcoming community!
I am so glad you share my love of these books. I never tire of reading them - I am currently rereading The Children of Green Knowe - and the passage at Midnight Mass is quite unforgettable. I hope to fit in The Dark is Rising too! But I should also have mentioned A Christmas Carol, which I love. I have a reading of it by Anton Lesser, which is extraordinary, and will certainly listen again before Christmas! Thank you very much for taking the tiome to read it x
Wonderful Anton Lesser. Meant to say, so pleased you mentioned that you can visit Green Knowe. My friend Catherine Phipps took me there - magical - and I couldn't resist bringing a mouse home either!
Indeed, wonderful Anton Lesser! He is the best reader of Dickens. The mouse is irresistible but I am still waiting for him to squeak!
Wonderful piece- I am just writing about Lucy Boston’s memoir now - so a serendipitous discovery of your post, thank you!
What a lovely post. So pleased to see Lucy M Boston's atmospheric Green Knowe books mentioned - with those powerful illustrations. I read them as a child, wept over Stranger at Green Knowe (heartbreaking) and was terrified by An Enemy of Green Knowe. The Dark is Rising was the first of that Susan Cooper sequence I read as a child - I think it's the best of them all. So compelling, so clever in the way in moves between the ancient past and the present, layering time. A superb book. My annual Christmas re-read is The Christmas Carol, which always works its magic on me.
Ah, I found a pdf copy of 'A Christmas Carol' that I dipped in and out of as I wrote a slightly irreverent fiction yesterday about two fellow writers here on Substack, placing them as Dickensian imaginings within a version of 'A Christmas Carol' that Dickens wouldn't have recognised. But it reminded me what a brilliant tale it is, and how gloriously written. I shall be treating myself to a new copy as I gifted mine to my Mum last year.
It is a book that you must own!
I shall correct this gap on the shelf!
It is indeed a brilliant tale - lends itself to riff-ing on, which is a sign of a classic.
It is! x
Just out of sheer brazenness, I'm adding a link to my nonsense ... best after a couple of port and lemons!
https://justwriteright.substack.com/p/a-christmas-payroll
Barrie
Sometimes, we really need to be brazen!
Every now and again!
I was having a little down at heart wander through the substack halls, when I found this post. Anything to do with The Dark is Rising sequence and I'm in there like a shot, and joy! Green Knowe also. TDIR gets re-read every year, to the point where I have retired the actual book to its shelf after many copies fell apart.
We don't have rooks here in my part of the Essex fringes, but we have their brother crows, and I feel like beckoning them in when I hear them, and seeing what clever beaky mischief they cause.
I am so pleased you share my love of these books. They are so evocative of late December and I have a huge fondness for them. Crows are such intelligent birds and so brave. In my garden yesterday one took on a Cormorant ( you can see it in my IG page) and I was astounded. Thank you very much for such a lovely comment.
They took on a cormorant!? Good lord. My friend in San Fran has 2 that guard her house. If she's away they get very cross with her, and knock on the door relentlessly until she feeds them nuts. They also eat spicy hot Takis snacks, but wash the spice powder off in a puddle first!
I wish mine were that eccentric, that is delightful! They few me from afar, but I am so glad if their presence.
I love hearing them shouting to each other every morning. Magpies do it too, but our crows here are much more vocal!
I have discovered cormorants do it too - they make a strange honking sound, but have yet not been successful in recording it!
Well I never. I don't know what I thought a cormorant sounded like, but it wasn't this! https://youtu.be/cA0A1QQ69zs?si=A_rCKcPnIOHqQeXi
That's delightful.
An absolutely delightful delicious post! I’ve just enjoyed reading all the comments too. I hadn’t read ‘The Children of Green Knowe’ before but from your description couldn’t resist buying a copy, it arrived yesterday and I’m loving reading it. I may have the body of a middle aged woman but I retain the heart and soul of my magical nature lovingly seven year old self. I hope you enjoy the winter solstice in Norfolk.
I am so delighted. I just finished it again and I like to think I retain that magic too! It is the perfect book to read at this time of year, and although written for children, she doesn't "talk down" which is why I think it captivates all ages.
The coast is very wet but wonderful nonetheless!
Beautiful rook! I've been enthralled by the rooks that live near my workplace and although I've read The Dark is Rising I don't associate them with darkness, just noisy family life.
I confess I don't find them at all unsettling,but love their business and curiosity too!
As soon as I saw your image of the cover of The Dark is Rising it took me right back to when I was also about 12 and was transported by these books into a vivid fantasy world. I was given the first one by a friend of my Godfather and loved it. I read The Dark is Rising while on holiday in Wales, with the brooding mountains all around me. I even set some of the words to my own badly-written tune, which I see Johnny Flynn has bettered in his version though I can still remember all of mine, such had the magical world captured my imagination! I still have my original books and must re-read. And I love the sound of the Children of Green Knowe - and can see why you gave the wonderful little mouse a home! I have SO many books on my reading pile(s) but will save this post so I can re-read and remind myself to find it.
The rooks here circle daily in our trees, perhaps more visible in the winter. I had forgotten their place in being omens of darker things - because they frequently hop and stomp about quite comically on the way to pick up fallen seeds from our birdfeeders, having to wait until the much smaller goldfinches have messily spilt some. Your photos of them in flight, and the linocut, are beautiful.
Aren't they magical books? They have become a Christmas reading tradition! Like you, I find rooks the most benign and intelligent birds and I am greatly looking forward to watching their rookery activities next month.
Save The Children of Green Knowe until next Christmas as I really do think it is best read now and you will also have a treat in store!
I am so glad you enjoyed the post and thank you, as always, for reading it xx
I always look forward to your posts so much. And you are doing so much better than me at a proper schedule, which is great for your readers! xx
That is so lovely of you to say so, thank you. I am trying really hard to keep going! Xx
Two such good choices.
I reread the whole Dark is Rising series last winter--mostly on audio in the studio. Love them so much especially TDIR.
And the Children of Green Knowe! I was quite a bookworm as a kid but I didn’t discover that one until my daughter was little.
I haven’t settled in to a good kids book reread yet but yearning for one.
Right now I’m doling out chapters of Jeanette Winterson’s Christmas Days.
There is so comforting about listening or reading to good children's literature, especially at this time of year and I am so glad you discovered the Children of Green Knowe for your daughter.
I nearly mentioned "Christmas Days", which I treated myself to in a hardback when it came out as it was so beautiful. I found her Christmas memories of friends so touching. Happy Christmas!
I so loved The Dark Is Rising series. I was only introduced to these books this year and thorougly enjoyed listening to the audio versions.
There is something very comforting about hearing these books read to you in an audio book!
I listened to The Children of Green Knowe on audiobook a year or two ago and loved it! Thank you for linking to The Dark is Rising radio production as well, I will definitely check that out! As a child, I would read “The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe” around this time of year. I also enjoyed “The Snow Queen” picture books and “The Nutcracker Prince” cartoon (which I still have on VHS!) “Little Women Part 1” is also a wonderful Christmas read 😊 Newer novels I recommend are “Once Upon a Wardrobe” by Patti Callahan and “Snow & Rose” by Emily Winfield Martin. Wishing you a peaceful holiday season!
I do hope you enjoy the radio production, it is so beautifully done and so atmospheric. "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" is another favourite which was read to us at school. The same teacher read "Tom's Midnight Garden" too so she chose very well! I love "Little Women" too and went to visit there some years ago and it was a wonderful place. I have noted your new books too - thank you! Happy Christmas!
I hope to visit Orchard House next year since I live in New England now 😊 And someday in the future I would love to fly out to England and visit the houses of all my favorite authors! There would be a long list so I’d need to stay a week or two haha
It is as though the family have just left for a moment and am certain you will love it. I hope you make it to England too x
I am also a December baby, and these two books are my absolute favourite midwinter reads, along with “The Box of Delights” ... ✨
I meant to mention "Box of Delights" at the end and then forgot , so thank you!
Very serendipitous... glad we are on the same wavelength!
We are!
I have never read these books, but they certainly sound interesting. And those illustrations! I think my favorite children's (pre-teen, probably) book was "The Brownie Scouts at Snow Valley." With my own kids we always read "Babar and Father Christmas" and "The Pokey Little Puppy" along with, of course, "The Night Before Christmas." Here in Portland we often get an Alfred Hitchcock swarming and roosting of crows late in the afternoon. The noise they make is haunting and kind of scary. They seem to be very determined to be seen as a loud and threatening bunch. I much prefer our Alaska ravens, who will sometimes seem to be talking to us. They listen, and they seem to answer our silly attempts to communicate. Very smart birds.
It is not too late! They really are magical evocations of winter. Corvids are such intelligent birds, but ravens are quite remarkable. I love their croaking sound and see them when I go to Wales, which is such a treat. I will look uo your books, and all are new to me, so thank you!
I adore both these books (and in fact watched that BBC adaptation of The Children of Green Knowe on DVD just a couple of weeks ago). I recently treated myself to the entire Dark is Rising sequence, and look forward to reading the other four books. Your rook is quite brilliant. x
They are such beautifully written and comforting books and I try to now read onw or the other just before Christmas each year. The DVD is magical, isn't it? I was nervous of watching it again, in case it wasn't as I remembered it, but happily I wasn't disappointed. I am so pleased you like the Rook! xx
What an absolute delight of a post, Deborah ... apart from pushing me to write more, I love Substack for the salve it offers to my curiosity. Posts like this remind me just how much there remains to be discovered, just how many trails of breadcrumbs are laid for us to follow. Two new books for me, and so beautifully illustrated too. Thank you.
How wonderful! She was such an extraordinary woman and I thoroughly enjoyed her memoirs too. I very much look forward to reading it when it comes out. Thank you very much for reading my piece, you have quite made my day!
They are both magical! I was so thrilled to watch it on DVD and was astounded by the connection to my past life! They are books to be treasured. So pleased you like my rook x
You are in for a treat! Both capture these midwinter days so perfectly and are a joy. I think Substack is the best thing I have done this year, for just the reasons you say. It is such a warm and welcoming community!