Francie on the Run (Van Stockum, Hilda, "Bantry Bay" Series.)

Rating:
Summary: Better than Tom Sawyer
Review: Read any of Hilda van Stockum's three Bantry Bay books, and you will come to the conclusion that she is one of the finest authors of children's fiction. Period. And six year-old Francie O'Sullivan is perhaps her finest creation. Francie will make you his friend, nay, his admirer. This bold little boy has all the panache of Tom Sawyer as well as the goodness and piety Tom lacks. FRANCIE ON THE RUN tells of Francie's adventures on his roundabout journey home to County Cork after he sneaks out of a Dublin hospital where he is recovering from surgery. This novel, the second in the series, can be read on its own. I suggest, however, that you read THE COTTAGE AT BANTRY BAY first; you'll want to find out how Francie's impoverished family was able to send him to Dublin. All three books, but especilly FRANCIE ON THE RUN, are first and foremost corking good stories: my three year old never tires of having them read to him; yet older children, even teenagers (and adults too), will find them thoroughly enjoyable reading. The greatest beauty of these stories, however, is the author's masterful way of teaching children virtue without sounding preachy.