Customer Reviews

Swift Rivers (The Newbery Honor Roll)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is not only a fast paced adventure, but a picture of a simpler time. It is a glimpse into an era in which, despite its rougher nature, dishonesty and criminality were relatively rare--at least in the circles the main character lives/travels in. I also found it refreshing the things (small and large) those in that time would do for someone else without expecting anything in return.

The book has picturesque language, fast-paced adventure and interesting characters. It also has a certain amount of sentimentality.

I read it with my 10-year-old son as part of the Sonlight Curriculum. It was used as a read aloud, not a reader. I concur with another reviewer that more would be gained from a child several years older than by a 9 year old, if read independently.

My son enjoyed it and got some things out of it, and I got even more out of it. Although it is technically a "children's book", it could also be read by, and hold the interest of, an adult.

The book shows its age (originally published in 1932) particularly in its assorted generalizations about Indians, as well the inclusion of an unnecessary and unbelievable tangent to tie the story to then-President Andrew Jackson. Still, I found the book worth reading for Meigs' engrossingly detailed descriptions of logging on the Mississippi, for the story (likable but far from saintly protagonists) and for its themes of perserverance and devotion.

I read this book some time ago, and while I have no strong emotional impressions of it, the book wasn't that bad. In fact the plot itself was masterfully developed - a true characteristic of Newbery Honor books. But I felt the story was a little difficult to follow and I never attained much interest in Chris, the main character. I'd tell my own nine-year-old to wait a few years before reading this one - it requires a certain amount of patience to get through.

You'll have to read it!