The Swing in the Summerhouse (Hall Family Chronicles, Book 2) [Paperback]

Jane Langton (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up | Series: Hall Family Chronicles

Keep Out!

When Prince Krishna is called away, he leaves behind some strict instructions for the Hall children about one of the openings in the mysterious summerhouse: Keep Out! As Eddy and Eleanor swing through each of the other openings, they refuse to break the rule, even as their temptation grows. But when Oliver and little Georgie disappear through the forbidden archway, Eleanor and Eddy know that they must either break their promise or risk never seeing their friends again.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Born in Boston Massachusetts, Jane Langton studied astronomy at Wellesley College and the University of Michigan and did graduate work in art history at the University of Michigan and Radcliffe College. She is the author of several books for young people, including five other books in the Hall Family Chronicles: The Diamond in the Window, The Astonishing Stereoscope, the Newbery Honor Book The Fledgling, The Fragile Flag, and The Time Bike. Ms. Langton lives in Lincoln, Massachusetts.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (October 7, 1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0064401243
• ISBN-13: 978-0064401241
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #529,153 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I've written an awful lot of books. There are eleven for middle-aged children, mostly fantasies. The ones that have hung around the longest are "The Diamond in the Window" and "The Fledgling." The seventh in the series called "The Hall Family Chronicles" came out last spring, "The Mysterious Circus," and I've just finished writing an eighth, "The Dragon Tree."

All eighteen mysteries for adults have the same protagonists, Homer and Mary Kelly. Mary is the sensible one, but I confess I like Homer's rhapsodic flights of fancy. Most of their adventures happen in Massachusetts, but I've also sent them to farflung places I wanted to visit myself, like Florence, Oxford and Venice. Most of the novels are illustrated with my own drawings, but "The Escher Twist" has ten prints by the mysterious Dutch artist M. C. Escher, and the two historical mysteries are illustrated with nineteenth-century photographs.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Claudia in Venice: This is the Book!, March 1, 2000

By 

A. Felton "voracious reader" (Sacramento, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Swing in the Summerhouse (Library Binding)

Edited February of 2002--Finally, this book is back in print!!!! I read this book so many times as a child and as an adult. I probably borrowed it from the library more often than anyone else in my town. I am buying this book today now that it's back in print!

This is the book you're thinking of. I too read this book as a child and was fascinated by it. There were a number of areas the kids could jump out to through the windows in the Gazebo. I particularly remember one where the children end up inside another person looking out through his eyes. And the last window was "Grow Up Now." I've been looking for a copy of this book for years. Recently I wrote a letter to HarperCollins asking them to consider reprinting it. It's odd that they'd reprint Diamond in the Window but not this one.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WONDERFUL!, January 26, 2000

By 

R. Penola (NYC, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Swing in the Summerhouse (Library Binding)

I did find a copy of this via the net -- and all of my childhood memories of the fantasic story came flooding back to me. I urge the publisher (Harper Collins/Harper Row) to reissue this book, even in paperback. Imagine a swing in a summerhouse that can transport you, via a jump off of the swing in mid-flight, into alternate worlds, and you can imagine the fun you will have reading this book. It is a wise and imaginative adventure story, with terrific characters that resonate on every level -- and for every age.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reread Two Days Ago, Still Fun, March 11, 2002

By 

Ann E. Nichols (Sierra Vista, AZ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Swing in the Summerhouse (Hall Family Chronicles, Book 2) (Paperback)

I read the first three books of the Hall Family Chronicles when I was a girl. I was lucky enough to find hardcover copies of all three at the same library used book sale in 1982. I decided to reread them all again over this past weekend.

Prince Krishna has built a lovely summerhouse for Eleanor and Eddy Hall. This is no ordinary summerhouse. There's a magical adventure built into each archway. You enter the adventure by jumping off the swing. Once the magic starts, there's only so many swings until the summerhouse disappears forever. The bugs haven't been worked out of the last adventure before Prince Krishna has to fly back to his native country to avert war. Prince Krishna takes precautions by boarding up the archway, painting "KEEP OUT" on the boards, getting Eddy and Eleanor to promise they won't go through that archway, and not putting a swing in the summerhouse.

Prince Krishna's precautions are in vain. Eddy hangs a swing in the summerhouse. Of course Eddy wouldn't break his promise, but his obnoxious friend, Oliver, didn't promise anything. Oliver sees the "keep out" notice as a challenge. He swings until he breaks the boards with his feet, then sails off the swing -- and vanishes! What's poor Eddy going to do? Oliver's parents are very worried, but he can't tell them that Oliver jumped off the swing and disappeared into thin air. They'd think he was nuts. Eddy can't go through the SAME archway because of his promise, but that doesn't mean he can't go through the OTHER archways.

Meanwhile, Eleanor is very suspicious of Uncle Fred's new student, Mrs. Dorian, who has moved next door along with her little girl, Georgie, who isn't even in school yet. Eleanor is sure that Mrs. Dorian is a witch and has bewitched Uncle Freddy, because her uncle acts so silly around her. If you're older than Eleanor, you can probably figure out why.

Eleanor and Eddy don't get along as well as they did in THE DIAMOND IN THE WINDOW. Eddy has become a normal, messy boy who loves junk. He makes Eleanor so mad because she's become a prissy prig. Eleanor can hardly wait until she's old enough to wear pretty dresses and go to dances. She hates the fact that her uncle's school isn't making them rich because Uncle Freddy cares more about teaching than making money. Will the summerhouse show Eleanor the error of her ways?

My favorite archway adventure was "Make New Worlds". Sure, the man-castle and the big clipper ship were neat and the giant cash-register can teach you how much you're worth, but what's that compared to having the worlds you create come alive? (If you don't like the world of Princess Cinderellanor, wait until it's invaded by Eddy and Georgie's worlds!)

Time goes by. There's a tick-tock every time the swing is swung. All the adventures before the dangerous one have been tried, but Oliver is still missing. Eddy boarded up the archway after his friend disappeared, but Georgie is tempted. Georgie wants so much to be able to read and add two and two. Georgie is sure that she'll get what she wants if SHE breaks the boards and goes through. Will she? Of course she will. Who's going to rescue her (not to mention Oliver)? Eddy and Eleanor don't know it, but time is running out....