Posted by Mike Dennis on July 04, 2006 at 07:39:57 from 84.68.208.165 user MTD.
In Reply to: Back to basics posted by Joe Windsor on July 03, 2006 at 19:56:19:
'They could gain so much more from AR and participating in AR / S&A type achievements.'
But they would have to be organised, adults would have to be involved and so on and so on. Once you do that then the whole point of the books is lost.
When I first read them as a child the fact that these children, who seemed just like me, had a life of their own that they organised etc was just so entertaining to read. These children did things for themselves, sure they had parents and went to school but there is never any mention of being involved in things such as Scouts (in fact I would imagine they would all be horrified by such an organization!) or church groups etc.
What children need is the ability to do such things without the heavy hand of parental authority, I realise few will get that chance but you cannot re-create Ransome's adventures for the modern child - they have to find it for themselves.