Secret Water
Swallows and Amazons Series
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Narrated by:
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Allison Larkin
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By:
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Arthur Ransome
About this listen
This book follows the adventures of the five Walker children after their parents leave them on a "desert island" with provisions for a long stay - and a blank map to fill in.
Listen to more in the Swallows and Amazons series.Public Domain (P)2009 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Swallows and Amazons
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- Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins
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Swallows and Amazons, the book that started it all in 1930, introduces the Walker family, the camp on Wild Cat Island, the able-bodied catboat "Swallow," and the two intrepid Amazons, plucky Nancy and Peggy Blackett.
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Idyllic, Funny, Vivid Childhood Adventure-Play
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The four Melendy children live with their father and Cuffy, their beloved housekeeper, in a worn but comfortable brownstone in New York City. There's thirteen-year-old Mona, who has decided to become an actress; twelve-year-old mischievous Rush; ten-year-old Randy who loves to dance and paint; and thoughtful Oliver, who is just six-years-old.
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Excellent for children and adults
- By Dale on 05-15-04
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The Last Archer
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“That was a great story.”
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GRANDMA WAS JIGGING
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A century before Heather and Picket's adventures in The Green Ember, a displaced community fights for hope on the ragged edge of survival. Whitson Mariner and Fleck Blackstar face old fears and new enemies, forging a legend that will echo through the ages.
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Swallows and Amazons
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Excellent for children and adults
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Overall
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“That was a great story.”
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Told from four-year-old Laura's point of view, this story begins in 1871 in a little log cabin on the edge of the Big Woods of Wisconsin. Laura lives in the little house with her pa, her ma, her sisters Mary and Carrie, and their trusty dog, Jack. Pioneer life is sometimes hard for the family, since they must grow or catch all their own food as they get ready for the cold winter. But it is also exciting as Laura and her family celebrate Christmas with homemade toys and treats, do the spring planting, bring in the harvest, and make their first trip into town.
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GRANDMA WAS JIGGING
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The Black Star of Kingston
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Performance
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An All-Time Favorite!
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Very dissappointed , too much cussing.
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What listeners say about Secret Water
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
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- BertieGirl
- 04-18-20
UK Suffolk coast
I am listening to this entire series again after having read them as a child - and I’m still a fan!! Alison Larkin’s narration is great with easily identifiable voices for all the characters. Arthur Ransome’s Secret Water is set on the Suffolk coast close to Pinmill where I spent time sailing as a child with my family. I love the lively imagination & outdoor survival smarts of the Swallows, Amazon’s and Eels. It reminds me of my childhood but is a long way from today’s kids lives. Great to hear the freedom & independence of the Secret Water ‘explorers’. some of the imagination IS reminiscent of the time when this book was written (1939) so don’t expect it to entirely match today’s beliefs. But a good read nonetheless. Start with the first book (Swallows & Amazons) to get the backstory.
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Overall
- Mama C
- 09-06-10
Disappointing
From reviews I read I thought this book would be a "Boxcar Children" or "Nobody's Girl" type story, with the children living on their own for the summer and devising ways to survive. That was always my favorite type of story as a child. However, I was so disappointed with the book that I never finished it. The characters were flat, their adventures dull, too many descriptions of boring things. It just didn't satisfy.
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- Gentle Reader Jill
- 08-08-20
Horribly Racist--Can Audble drop this one?
I like other books in this series--in fact, We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea is one of my favorites--but the racism in this book shocked me down to my toenails.
The children in the series love role-playing games, and usually "pretend" one game through a whole book. For example, in the first book, Swallows and Amazons, the pretend is pirates versus law-abiding sailors. They had a pirate flag to hoist, and talked "Shiver my timbers!" and generally had fun.
But in Secret Water, their ongoing pretend is white people (called Whites) versus people of color (called Savages). All the children unquestioningly play the white people (Whites) as patronizingly superior beings, and the people of color (Savages) as superstitious ignorant beings who practice cannibalism and human sacrifice. And the author presents all that with approval.
This is toxic. It needs to be pulled.
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