Puck of Pook's Hill (Wordsworth Children's Classics)

If you like Harry Potter, this book is for you!The British have a wonderful tradition of excellent adult authors writing fantasy children's books that are also fun reads for adults. J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter", C.S. Lewis' "Alice in Wonderland" and "Chronicles of Narnia", and J. M. Barrie's "Peter Pan" all spring to mind. Even J.R.R. Tolkien's "Hobbit" and "Lord of the Rings" were YA accessible and appropriate. But who would have thought Rudyard Kipling falls into this category?The book Puck of Pook's Hill follows two children, Dan and his sister Una, as they spend an enchanted summer in the English countryside. When they perform Shakespeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream" under the oldest hill in England three times in a row on Midsummer's Eve, who should appear, but the magical faun Puck.In a series of short episodes, Puck introduces Dan and Una to various characters from England's history, including a Roman legionnaire, a Nobleman, a money-lender, a blacksmith, and one of the old pre-Christian pagan Gods -- Weyland. The story-telling is masterful, the writing lyrical, and the plot moves along quite quickly. The story is interspersed with lots of poems by Kipling, who was, after all, a master poet. Puck is the type of book you can read out loud to your children in the evening, and they won't get bored. Each chapter is just the right length for a bedtime story. Or, you can keep it all to yourself and savor every last word of it. The only problem with reading it to your children is that they will ask you millions of questions about it. There are some historical references that non-British readers may not understand, for which I would recommend the reference list at [...]Puck of Pook's Hill was first published in 1906, and is available for free on Amazon and other on-line sites.

The entire book is printed with each line centered. It's really difficult to read in this format, as at the start of every line your eyes have to search for where to start reading. It's a distraction, and I'll be purchasing an alternate copy to actually READ the darn stories.

English history as a fairy tale. What better way to learn history?

This book had no main over- arching plot and the chapter stories were mostly uninteresting. The main characters never grow and we don't even really get to know them at all.

I'm surprused this book isn't better known. It's a charming tale of the stories told by an elf to two children.I was surprised, upon reading it, to see the plot-lines of many, many "Prince Valiant" comics from my childhood. Obviously, hal Foster had read "Puck of Pooks Hill!"

Rudyard Kipling. Puck, Roman soldiers guarding the Wall, medieval lords fighting and having adventures, The Wild Hunt. This was written for children, but I still enjoy it. I have an old bound copy, but it was good to see this book offered for Kindle.

I liked this because of it's locality, I lived just by Pooks Hill at the top of Willingford Lane and not far from Kipling's own house. I also enjoyed the historical story of events around the area, and the characters, A childrens' book of it's time.

What a surprising delight. Kipling slyly unfolds the history of England (well, the juicy parts) from Roman soldiers at the wall, to Knights of old, Pirates, smugglers, to the Magna Charta. The woodland imp Puck orchestrates these tales to the amusement and awe of two young children. This is called a book of children's tales but no more so than Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings.

I like Kipling. He writes in quite a fresh style, keeps things moving and does not use words for he sake of it, despite writing around 100 years ago.This book, intended I guess for children, is really a kind of historical novel about a place in the south of England, hung on the idea of an ancient 'fairy' that introduces the story windows.The only thing that modern readers may well stumble over is a curious story about the influence of Jews in the reign of King John. It reflects the ideas of some people in Kipling's time that the Jews somehow controlled the power of the nations through gold. An idea that has lead to some terrible persecution. It is interesting to hear what he says but maybe not an idea you want to impart to your children.

Two children meet Puck (the fairy from Shakespeare's A Midsummer's Night's Dream) and, by magic, they meet characters from different historical periods, who recount their adventures. These are not famous people, but, for example, a Roman soldier fighting at Hadrian's Wall, or a knight battling against Vikings. I found the stories engaging, but to enjoy them you do need to know some British history (and I resorted to googling for information at times!) Consequently, although this was clearly written as a children's story, I suspect only adults would enjoy it these days. An added bonus are Kipling's own verses at the start of each chapter.

I first read this book as a child and I'm sure it's inspired a lot of my own writing.Despite Kipling's Victorian attitudes, it's still a book full of magic and interest and is based in part on many of the old British folk tales and mythology that so many people have now forgotten.

A spice of magic woven into a tale for children - delicious book, a long-term favourite, as is most of Kipling's work for me.

A charming book of short children's stories.