Posted by Elizabeth on December 10, 2007 at 19:02:35 from 24.22.115.46 user Elizabeth.
In Reply to: Re: "real" vs "made up" posted by Rob Marshall on December 10, 2007 at 18:16:10:
Big Six. Hmmm....I certainly didn't question the turnaround of local attitude as a child. It doesn't seem to be very different than the rest of the series in my opinion. I read them in order, at least as far as my local library was able to provide them. I know they had SA, PD, WH & SD. When I read PD the first time, I took it at face value, although it seemed to my child mind a bit far-fetched. Possible, but only just. And pretty unlikely the various parents wouldn't stop the voyage, or at the very least CF would be in the dog house once back. Once I found the reference to having made up the story in the winter holiday, that slipped into place and cleared any slight doubts. ML, after that experience, settled in as "made-up" right away. GN? didn't. I was a avid birder (the right sort) by the time I read it, so for me the story was one of the best. I loved the deviousness of the plan to outwit Mr. Jemmerling, loved the interactions witht he Gaels, and loved the climactic ending. All good rolicking AR adventure!
So, back to B6--attitudes of adults toward young boys changes as often os does the boys' behaviour. Having raised a couple of them and been in charge of numbers of them off & on, if there is one thing Ihave learned, it is not to turn your back and not to assume any of them will use their developing reasoning skills when offered a chance to goof off wih their friends. Any adult who knew those boys at all probably knew the high-jinks they had been up to over the years, and would not instantly assume they couldn't have done such a thing--it's pretty realistic that they would assume just the opposite!