Ratings

Content Ratings based on a 0-5 scale where
0 = no objectionable content and
5 = an excessive or disturbing level of content

Guide to Rating System

LANGUAGE

VIOLENCE

SEXUAL CONTENT

ADULT THEMES

Ratings Expanation

Violence:  The children have nightmares during which any injury received carries over to when they are awake.  During these dreams the children become trapped in a giant shell, caught in an avalanche of building of blocks and are chased by an evil man with a long sword who eventually falls on it, ending his life.

Adult Themes:  Ed and Eleanor are orphans cared for by their parents’ siblings.  Their Uncle Eddy has suffered severe emotional trauma due to the disappearance of his younger siblings Ned and Nora.  He is shunned and teased by the townspeople.  Aunt Lily’s love, Prince Krishna, turns up missing as well after trying to find the two missing children.  The bank threatens to take the family’s home if back taxes are not payed.  Eleanor and Eddy worry where they will live.

Synopsis

Eleanor and Eddy Hall live in an eccentric old house in Concord Massachusetts.  The children are in the care of their deceased parents’ siblings, Uncle Freddy and Aunt Lily.  Uncle Freddy was once a respected authority on the local transcendentalism (Emerson, Alcott and Thoreau are historical residents there), but after the disappearance of his younger siblings, Ned and Nora,  Uncle Freddy’s mind is never the same.  Aunt Lily does her best to hold the family together and support them by teaching piano lessons until the bank shows up demanding that all the back taxes on the home be paid by a certain date.  Eleanor and Eddy worry what will become of them all.  The town already looks on them as outcasts.  One summer day changes it all when the two go exploring in the attic.  They find  a room that seems to have remained untouched since Ned and Nora’s time.  It had two little beds and a collection of toys and is lit by a colored glass window.  Upon closer inspection, the window reveals a message or poem of sorts with the title Transcendental Treasure. Intrigued by a possible treasure that may help them save their home, Eddy and Eleanor beg to move into the attic.  Once settled, the children find their dreams at night go along with clues from the poem etched on the window.  They also discover that the dreams are somehow real.  Whatever happens, good or bad, is reflected in the real world when they awake.   They also catch glimpses of Ned, Nora and Aunt Lily’s love, Prince Krishna.  They do find treasure throughout their adventures, but not the kind that brings them money.  Their adventures became more and more dangerous the closer they come to the final clue.  In the end, Eleanor and Eddy break the spell holding Ned, Nora and Prince Krishna prisoner all these years and return them to a recovered Uncle Freddy and a grateful Aunt Lily.  They also come away with a greater understanding of the treasures life has to offer.

I don’t think this book is in print currently but, it is available through places like Amazon.  It is actually a first in a series of the Hall Family Chronicles by Jane Langton.  A truly unique children’s book with a great mixture of adventure and true life lessons.  I am a little partial, because I too am a fan of Emerson, Alcott and Thoreau.   One of my favorite Uncle Freddy quotes is ‘… we are all sculptors and painters, and our material is our own flesh and blood and bones… So carve yourself well!” A great read for young and old.

©2009 The Literate Mother