Customer Reviews

Playing Beatie Bow (A Puffin Book)

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Young Abigail is a fairly typical teenager--blind to the needs of her mother that seem to run contrary to her own needs, and yet concerned enough over the frazzled, tired look on the face of the woman next door to take the neighbour's children, Natalie and Vincent, off her hands for a while. They go to the park where other children are playing a game they call Beatie Bow. Both Natalie and Abigail are very taken by a strange girl that Natalie calls "the little furry girl", who is closely watching the game. But the little girl flees, squawking, when they talk to her. Later, wearing a dress she has made from some Victorian crochet lace, Abigail sees the little furry girl again. When the child flees from her she follows--to soon find herself in streets she no longer recognises.

Young readers might find this time-slip novel a little slow to start, even for a book published in the 1980s, but if they persist they will soon find themselves in a thoroughly absorbing, and often terrifying, tale. While it might have surprised Abigail that the undersized, illiterate girl who was always screeching "I'll punch ye yeller and green!" became someone of considerable importance, I doubt young readers will be surprised. Beatie Bow is a thoroughly unforgettable character and Ruth Park's prose is always a joy to read.

It made me sad to see the reviews here posted by students who were forced to "study" the book at school. This is a serious disservice to everyone concerned because all it's likely to do is turn young people against reading. Fiction should be for fun not for study.

Playing Beatie Bow was an interesting book because of the extensive historical content and because it told the story of a young girl growing up. I enjoyed reading in the Victorian dialect and seeing the cultural differences between modern times and Victorian times. I especially liked seeing everything from Abby's point of view because she is a girl my age who has some of the same feelings I do. It was a good book and I enjoyed reading it.

Playing Beatie Bow is a book which recognises the inherent childish qualities of 14 year olds, and how time and experiences can turn teenage girls into wonderful adults. It looks at life through many eyes, and at the changes which society has made - both for better and for worse - in the past 150 years. Reading this book has been an annual event for me for 14 years, and I am only 25. I can thoroughly recommend a book which will have you smelling and hearing "The Rocks" in Sydney well before the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House were even physically possible!

I got this book a few years ago. It was actually in a box marked 'discarded' since a family member brought it home from a library that was cleaning out their stocks. I was bored and finally decided to turn the pages. I couldn't stop because it was so interesting. History, adventure and a bit of romance all in one. Beatie and all characters were excellent. I read it every summer and count it as one of my favorites.

I bought this book when I was 11 years old. I started to read it a few times but always ended putting it back down after the first chapter or two. As a kid I thought it was kinda boring and I couldn't understand the old English dialect. However..........I am now 25 years old and a week ago I picked up the book again (something told me to keep it all these years)and read the entire book. I am so glad I kept it!! It was so good. I recommend this book to everyone who likes to read. And, if it is boring the first time, keep it and then try again. That worked for me!!

I thought this was an absolutley fantastic book! I am only 13 but this book really reached inside and touched my heart. I fell in love with Judah's character and i bet in real life he is pretty alright. If you haven't read it i assure you it is fantastic!

We had to study Playing Beatie Bow in class for English. It was an OK book, but I would have enjoyed it more if we got to read it of our own free will. However, after I read it, I found myself wanting to read it again. It WAS actually quite enjoyable, and the movie was good too.

My best friend in Seattle gave this to me before I left for Manila to study. I was 13. I used to live in Australia and have an enormous love for fairies and anything old, so I immediately gobbled up the story. And you see how young, cynical Abigail changes into a young woman wise beyond her years, all in the span of a few months! At 22 I still love it, but I sorely want a new copy to replace my tattered one!

I have loved this book since I first read it when it came out, and I was 19. I laughed, cried, and loved along with Abby, whose character I understood so well. When I finally got to visit the Rocks on a trip to Australia, I delighted in seeking out the places mentioned in the book, but alas, no Mitchell Tower, and it was all so clean! It is a pity that as a set text, school kids are forced to read Playing Beatie Bow, as it takes away the magic of discovering the book for themselves. It will always be one of my favourite books, right up there with Jane Austen, and I recommend it to women of every age who ever felt like a misfit, fell in love too young, or dreamt of being born 100 years ago.

Okay, I'm not actually under thirteen (I am 13) but anyway....

This book is beautiful. It's evocative, passionate and has an elusive, mysterious aura about it. The characters are all loved by Ruth Park, even the obnoxious Beatie and the hypochondriac, Gibbie.
I loved the way Abigail was so independant, and so strong. I completely fell in love with Judah and I don't think Robert will replace him- not for Abigail or me, actually.
Ruth Park is a fantastic author so I would recommend other books by her, particularly the Harp in the South- a look at suburban Sydney in the 1940's.