Tim and Ginger

Rating:
Summary: Unforgettable people and story
Review: Writing stories for small children would seem to be a delicate business. If parents read to children, it's nice if a story and its illustrations stay interesting - for at least twenty reads. In addition, it's nice if an author respects a child's ability to be absorbed by an exciting (but not confusing) plot. William Steig and others figured this out. Edward Ardizzone, author and illustrator of this book, has also got it figured out. This book has terrific pen and ink drawings, watercolor-washed, and an unforgettable story. (My kids are grown, yet remember it still.) Tim and Ginger, two boys, are friends who live in an English seacoast town. Without looking for adventure, they find it. A nerve-racking realistically drawn mishap occurs, and is resolved - to the reader's satisfaction.

My children loved this series (this is the first book) when they were young. It has a comforting middle-class British sensibility throughout. Children have parents who occasionally require their presence at home or on excursions, bystanders offer help, people meet at tea-time, and if you get wet you warm yourself, later, by the fire. People get frightened, feel sad, and recover and laugh.

The story has a neat plot that parents reading to young children will enjoy. It's never cloying. The drawings are wonderful, and contribute perfectly to the mood and the message of the story. People come to one another's aid in fresh and interesting ways. There is no preaching, though, in this neat adventure story for kids - ages five and up.