Landslide [Paperback]

Veronique Day (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Dell Pub Co (June 1966)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440446309
• ISBN-13: 978-0440446309
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,553,465 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A nearly perfect juvenile adventure!, August 31, 2007

By 

Molly Grue "Renaissance Woman" (SF Bay Area, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Monsieur and Madame Colson send their children, Laurent, Bertille and Daniel, to spend their Christmas holidays with their friends the Gunthers, who own a hotel in Montpierre. Laurent, who is fourteen, is placed in charge of his siblings as well as the two Berthier children, Véronique and Alexis, who are vacationing while their mother recovers from surgery.

An introspective and bookish boy, Laurent is overwhelmed by his new responsibilities, especially the care of his naughty and disobedient sister, and decides to take his charges back to Paris after only two days. As the little group is waiting for the train that will take them home, Bertille apologizes for her misbehavior, and Laurent decides they will return to the hotel. During the long, chilly, and wet walk back, Alexis falls and strikes his head, so the children seek refuge in the isolated home shared by Monsieur Nortier, a local inventor, and his sister. The elderly siblings have gone to the village for the day, and the children fall asleep while waiting for them to return.

While they sleep, the rain-soaked hillside collapses on the house, and the children are trapped. Unfortunately, no one is looking for them. When their vacation began, the mischievous Bertille wrote happy messages on a stack of postcards and bribed a little girl in Montpierre to mail one to the Colsons every day. While they are puzzled by the lack of mail from Laurent and Daniel, Bertille's daily postcard assures the Colsons that the children are enjoying their vacation in Montpierre. Because the Gunthers believe the children have returned to Paris, they travel to visit relatives and never see Mrs. Colson's letter about the scarlet fever epidemic that has closed the children's school and extended their vacation by a week.

The children finally figure out a way to send a Morse code message that is seen by a young boy who is bedridden with a sprained ankle, but because Bertille has mixed up the letters of the Morse alphabet, the schoolmaster must help decipher the message. Laurent, who has truly lived up to his responsibilities during this emergency, is becoming sicker and weaker from an infected wound on his arm. Will he die before help arrives?

This wonderful book is very nearly a perfect juvenile adventure. The characters are well defined and resourceful, and the plot exciting and suspenseful. Unfortunately, Laurent's explanations of various scientific phenomena, while considered accurate fifty years ago when the book was written, are now known to be incorrect. Still, this is a minor matter that should not impair the enjoyment of this fine book.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A nearly perfect juvenile adventure!, August 31, 2007

By 

Molly Grue "Renaissance Woman" (SF Bay Area, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Landslide! (Hardcover)

Monsieur and Madame Colson send their children, Laurent, Bertille and Daniel, to spend their Christmas holidays with their friends the Gunthers, who own a hotel in Montpierre. Laurent, who is fourteen, is placed in charge of his siblings as well as the two Berthier children, Véronique and Alexis, who are vacationing while their mother recovers from surgery.

An introspective and bookish boy, Laurent is overwhelmed by his new responsibilities, especially the care of his naughty and disobedient sister, and decides to take his charges back to Paris after only two days. As the little group is waiting for the train that will take them home, Bertille apologizes for her misbehavior, and Laurent decides they will return to the hotel. During the long, chilly, and wet walk back, Alexis falls and strikes his head, so the children seek refuge in the isolated home shared by Monsieur Nortier, a local inventor, and his sister. The elderly siblings have gone to the village for the day, and the children fall asleep while waiting for them to return.

While they sleep, the rain-soaked hillside collapses on the house, and the children are trapped. Unfortunately, no one is looking for them. When their vacation began, the mischievous Bertille wrote happy messages on a stack of postcards and bribed a little girl in Montpierre to mail one to the Colsons every day. While they are puzzled by the lack of mail from Laurent and Daniel, Bertille's daily postcard assures the Colsons that the children are enjoying their vacation in Montpierre. Because the Gunthers believe the children have returned to Paris, they travel to visit relatives and never see Mrs. Colson's letter about the scarlet fever epidemic that has closed the children's school and extended their vacation by a week.

The children finally figure out a way to send a Morse code message that is seen by a young boy who is bedridden with a sprained ankle, but because Bertille has mixed up the letters of the Morse alphabet, the schoolmaster must help decipher the message. Laurent, who has truly lived up to his responsibilities during this emergency, is becoming sicker and weaker from an infected wound on his arm. Will he die before help arrives?

This wonderful book is very nearly a perfect juvenile adventure. The characters are well defined and resourceful, and the plot exciting and suspenseful. Unfortunately, Laurent's explanations of various scientific phenomena, while considered accurate fifty years ago when the book was written, are now known to be incorrect. Still, this is a minor matter that should not impair the enjoyment of this fine book.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A nearly perfect juvenile adventure!, August 31, 2007

By 

Molly Grue "Renaissance Woman" (SF Bay Area, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Landslide (Paperback)

Monsieur and Madame Colson send their children, Laurent, Bertille and Daniel, to spend their Christmas holidays with their friends the Gunthers, who own a hotel in Montpierre. Laurent, who is fourteen, is placed in charge of his siblings as well as the two Berthier children, Véronique and Alexis, who are vacationing while their mother recovers from surgery.

An introspective and bookish boy, Laurent is overwhelmed by his new responsibilities, especially the care of his naughty and disobedient sister, and decides to take his charges back to Paris after only two days. As the little group is waiting for the train that will take them home, Bertille apologizes for her misbehavior, and Laurent decides they will return to the hotel. During the long, chilly, and wet walk back, Alexis falls and strikes his head, so the children seek refuge in the isolated home shared by Monsieur Nortier, a local inventor, and his sister. The elderly siblings have gone to the village for the day, and the children fall asleep while waiting for them to return.

While they sleep, the rain-soaked hillside collapses on the house, and the children are trapped. Unfortunately, no one is looking for them. When their vacation began, the mischievous Bertille wrote happy messages on a stack of postcards and bribed a little girl in Montpierre to mail one to the Colsons every day. While they are puzzled by the lack of mail from Laurent and Daniel, Bertille's daily postcard assures the Colsons that the children are enjoying their vacation in Montpierre. Because the Gunthers believe the children have returned to Paris, they travel to visit relatives and never see Mrs. Colson's letter about the scarlet fever epidemic that has closed the children's school and extended their vacation by a week.

The children finally figure out a way to send a Morse code message that is seen by a young boy who is bedridden with a sprained ankle, but because Bertille has mixed up the letters of the Morse alphabet, the schoolmaster must help decipher the message. Laurent, who has truly lived up to his responsibilities during this emergency, is becoming sicker and weaker from an infected wound on his arm. Will he die before help arrives?

This wonderful book is very nearly a perfect juvenile adventure. The characters are well defined and resourceful, and the plot exciting and suspenseful. Unfortunately, Laurent's explanations of various scientific phenomena, while considered accurate fifty years ago when the book was written, are now known to be incorrect. Still, this is a minor matter that should not impair the enjoyment of this fine book.