Welcome to Litsy!

I reread this book and it‘s sequel most summers, but I missed last year. Soooo sweet. Like my Eddy Charcoal. She‘s happy we got power back tonight after two days too. Even with the big generator it‘s a pain. And it‘s happening more; the planet is convulsing. But enough of that, look at that sweet face! And read a good book. 🧡

4 stars ⭐️
This was one of my favorite books in middle school, and let me say, it still holds up! I reread it to be able to write my grad school application on it, and I'm so glad I did. I love how Enright weaves together themes of nature, time, humanity, and kindness. The pair of children with the pair of elderly siblings creates a fascinating parallel that really allows Enright's themes to shine.

I love this book whole-heartedly. I first read it in the early 70s, more than likely, as a child. The picture is of my original edition, from the 1957 printing! It‘s a bit worse for the wear. I bought a new set, including the sequel, which I did not own or read originally, in the 90s. I gave *that* set to my bookworm nephew Donovan, then bought the set I still own, printed in 2000. Ahhhh, if you‘ve never read it I can‘t recommend it enough.

Read this and you will daydream forever about spending a summer rambling around a long lost resort town full of abandoned Victorian mansions. Really enjoyed returning to this childhood favorite, which remains just as charming as ever.

A Newberry Honor book pub. in 1957! I‘ve enjoyed Elizabeth Enright novels!

I didn't read this when I was a kid, but I went through a stage in my early 20s that reignited my love of children's lit & made me want to keep/collect all of the children's classics. It's also when I began to discover the variety & depth of middle-grade fiction. But my early 20s was awhile ago, so there is some truth to the matter when I say that I first read this sweet story when I was "young". ? #goneaway #WinterWonderland @TrishB @Cinfhen

Take time to visit #goneaway lake. You can get there by book or audio. Bring your kids along for the read ❤️❤️ #winterwonderland

1. Gone-Away Lake (Enright), Trixie Belden series, The Lemonade Trick (Corbett)
2. The Dark Room by Jonathan Moore
3. All the bullies in all the books I've read, but to pick one - Matt Drinker from The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle
4. The Twilight series

#tuesdaytidbits @JenlovesJT47
5. I'm a newbie, and all of us newbies have been tagged, which is so appreciated!

#24in48 #bookfromchildhood I‘ve held onto this for years! It‘s one of my favorite middle grade books and it was also the first entry in my first ever reading journal. (Sixth grade) #hour6challenge

Payton, in a chair by the window, was reading a very old newspaper. "Old news is more soothing to read about," he said. "You know that you lived through it all right."

"And then he would gallop around the house holding up a toy spaceship and making a noise like a vacuum cleaner."
[Photo is of the spaceship on the barbecue at the farm where I grew up. It has a vacuum cleaner motor and coloured lights inside, but it no longer works. Built as a 1967 ?? Centennial project to go with the flying saucer landing pad in nearby St Paul, Alberta.]

Delightful middle grade fiction from the mid-20th century. Aside from a little gender role stereotyping, it stands the test of time and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to modern children. Would be an excellent family read-aloud.

"The nanny is named Florence because she reminds me of a cousin I used to have. Not the way she looks. The way she sounds."
"Ma-a-a-a," complained Florence.
"Just the way my cousin used to sound when she was calling her mother."

"Come on, Porsh, let's go see who lives there and ask them where we are-"
"Oh, I don't know--do you think we'd better?"
"Sure! It'll be all right. Would bad people keep a duck? Would they have a rosebush?"

"Hornets make it advisable to live hermetically sealed in summer."
"But couldn't you get rid of them, sir? DDT or something?"
"Tell you the truth I wouldn't want to. I like the feeling of all that coming and going, all that business being carried on upstairs. They're there, but I don't have to know 'em. Like living in a hotel."

"There was a coreopsis flower in his buttonhole."
This book was published in 1957. I like to think that children at that time would have been familiar with this word and the flower. A different vocabulary than we come across in modern children's literature.

It was hot & sunny up there, & they disturbed a large community of ants; not the biting kind, luckily, though they did turn out to be the kind that get into sandwiches, as they soon discovered.
"They don't bother me any," Julian said with his mouth full. "I bet I've eaten 100,000 ants in my time."
"It's them I'm thinking about," Portia told him. "What a horrible death!" And she picked as many out of her sandwich as she could & helped them escape.

Baby-Belle and I ran through the flower garden, where all the hollyhocks had paper blossoms. (Mrs Brace-Gideon would not stand for having her hollyhocks stop blooming; she made new crepe paper flowers for them and stuck them on with glue.)

"The rugs have provided a balanced diet for generations of moths; but the colours are still pretty--"

"What have you got in your mouth?" was the first thing Julian said to Portia.
"Tooth braces," she told him, stretching the sides of her mouth to give him a better view.
"Holy Cat! When you smile, it looks just like the front of a Buick!" Julian said.

Sweet little story about cousins spending the summer together and discovering new places and friends.

#funfridayphoto #librariansareawesome Here are two of my childhood favorites! In 6th grade, our public school librarian got me a special notebook to use as a book journal. Gone Away Lake was a book she recommended that I absolutely loved. I wrote my very first review about it. ☺️ And Sharon Creech is just solid.