Henry WinterfeldCríticas

Three children find a rubber raft in which they hop into and decide to adventure the water
near the Australian coast. then they wish they had not even put there feet in that old
rubber raft, for as far as they all could see, they were stranded on an island that was covered
in tiny homes, tiny animals, tiny cars and trains and even real tiny people!!!
the three children find themself breaking front porches, running from tiny police men
with tiny pistols with ammo stuffed inside the pistol, their adventures in Lilliput are fantastic
and i think any child would love to read this book!

As an adult reader, I couldn't really enjoy this book. The science fiction is too fantasy and not at all sciencey, starting from the moment the protagonist explains to the earth children that she fell out of the window(!) of a space ship. Children on Asra ("Asra is a star"), she continues to reveal, live with their families in spherical houses set in gardens... with thornless roses... and love to go to school... and on and on... everything is different and idyllic and paradisaical. The big reveal in the last chapter is that the human-looking 87-year old little girl, who can breathe Earth air, is from Venus.

This might, or might not, have bothered me even when I was small. Even children's science books in the 1950s reported that Venus was impenetrably cloudy: Heinlein and Bradbury could almost make it plausible that humans could inhabit the mysterious second planet, but "The sun always shines on Asra" would be ... no. Of course, nobody knew how inhospitable the planet was until 1962 when NASA's Mariner discovered that Venus's surface temperature was above 800F!

On the one hand, the everything-is-perfect society reminds me of E. Nesbit's saccharine description of a future society inspired by "the great reformer" [HG] Wells; but the narrative fits most comfortably next to Emil and the Detectives (mentioned in this book), another German book for children featuring the same tropes -- child not-from-here arrives in town with problems, must avoid adults and authority figures, receives help from gang of children.

I might have liked it as a child. I liked Tatsinda and I mildly enjoyed the Mushroom Planet books. And I have to say that the illustrations with little boys all in lederhosen give a charming European flavour to the book!

Readers learn about ancient Rome in spite of themselves as they follow the adventures of Roman schoolboys who arrive at school to find...

Very funny, great for the time I read it

Une ville sans parents ? Le rêve ! Et pourtant, la situation n'est pas si idéale... Comment remettre le téléphone en marche, remplir le réfrigérateur, et lutter contre la bande des Pirates dirigée par le redoutable Oscar ? Avec un peu d'astuce, de bonne humeur et d'organisation, les enfants devraient pouvoir s'en sortir !

The book takes place in Cold War time Europe. all the Adults leave town to teach their kids a lesson. But then can't get back for a few days... Very interesting seeing how the kids react and the way they deal with the crisis. Some want to just party and some take a bit of a longer view.

One of my favorite library books as a kid. :)

I will start my summary now. In detectives in togas seven roman boys find out a mystery. It all starts when

Griechisch pauken, mathematische Beweise verstehen, Geschichtszahlen lernen: So sieht der Schullalltag der Patriziersöhne Marcus, Rufus und Caius aus - und der ihrer Freunde. Doch plötzlich wird einer von ihnen beschuldigt, ein schweres Verbrechen begangen zu haben: Rufus soll "Caius ist ein Dummkopf" an einen dem Kaiser geweihten Tempel geschmiert haben. Wenn sie Rufus' Leben retten wollen, dann müssen die Jungen den Fall schleunigst aufklären und den wahren Schuldigen finden.
Ein fesselnder historischer Schülerkrimi.

Ceux qui ont lu "La Guerre des boutons" trouveront quelques similitudes dans ce court roman. Sauf que les parents en sont complètement absents, ayant commis la lâcheté de s'enfuir au lieu de fixer quelques règles. Car c'est bien cette originalité qui fixe le roman de Winterfeld. En l'absence de ces parents partis pour fuir les difficultés posées par quelques trublions, les enfants ne voulant pas sombrer dans l'anarchie et le déshonneur sont obligés de se prendre en main et de s'organiser pour faire repartir la vie d'un village et contrer le désordre.

C'est un appel à la responsabilité qui est lancé, un appel qui force les uns et les autres à entrer dans un monde adulte alors que les adultes sombrent dans le caprice et l'imbécilité. Un beau retournement qui trouve une fin heureuse.

Un livre très sympathique à lire par tous les jeunes... et les plus grands.

A lively and entertaining story about the misadventures of a group of Roman schoolboys. I enjoyed this a great deal. It's funny, fast-paced, and the scrapes the boys get into while trying to solve the mystery feel authentic.

The picture of ancient Rome portrayed in this novel reminds me of some of my early Latin classes, which seems to me appropriate since the book was written at a time and place when children were commonly taught Latin in the schools, and I think some of the appeal is particular for someone with that background. (At least one fairly important clue to the mystery is made quite clear - perhaps too clear - for someone with a knowledge of Greek as well as Latin, however.)

One of the blurbs on the front said "Humorous". I did not find this book humorous. It was not suspensful. They were not detectives. I could not keep track of which boy was which. It was a struggle to keep trudging through. Too much book for not enough story.½

This is a great book about Roman culture and intrigue. The plot was complex for my young children (5 and 8) and yet they always wanted to go on to the next chapter. I had difficulty with the number of characters but we likely read the book over too long a time. There is some violence but it isn't graphic. I would definitely recommend for older elementary aged children and parents.

I would have to say that Children's literature is and always has been my favorite genre and I've read thousands upon thousands of children's books. When I say this is one of my favorites of all time, I mean it as high praise indeed. My 4th grade teacher read it to our class back in 1962 and I was captivated by it from the first page. Two brothers and a sister, Ralph, Jim, and Peggy, drift too far out to sea when they are rafting off the coast of Australia. In the darkness of night they do eventually wash up onto a shore...but it is certainly not a familiar shore in any way! It seems the kids have washed aground in Lilliput, the very land where Gulliver's story unfolded long before. There have been no other "giants" in Lilliput since Gulliver's Travels and the Lilliputians are as amazed and unsettled by this event as the children. Lilliput has continued to change and develop in the years since Gulliver's visit and theirs is a modern world not unlike the one the children have left behind, only much, much smaller. The descriptions are really delightful such as when one of the Lilliputians gives poor Peggy a bedspread to wipe her tears. The youngest brother finds ways of getting everyone into trouble and causing some hilarious predicaments. This book has lots of action and is such good food for the imagination that it stuck with me for over 40 years and is still as fresh in my mind as the day my teacher read it. Do the kids ever get home to Australia? Well...wait and see, but don't miss this book, it's the greatest.

"Caius is a dumbbell", in Rufus's handwriting, is found scrawled in red paint on the wall of the temple of Minerva. Such desecration is enough to send Rufus to prison. Rufus swears he is innocent, and in a fight against time his schoolmates (including, as the matter grows serious, even Caius) set out to find the real culprit. As their search grows warmer, the clues become frightening in their political implications, and a terrifying visit to the soothsayer nearly spells disaster. - back cover. Good historical details (aside from the illustrator's peculiar decision to depict CAIUS IS A DUMBELL written in English) and plenty of humour: I'll look for a copy of this book next time I have a boy of later elementary school age interested in, or studying, Ancient Rome.½

This book was alright. I remember it being weird.

This Book is like a Mystery Book. I Really liked it. I read this one twice too. It was really good. I would really recommend it. I read it in 7th grade and then in 9th and it was good both times. It is interesting i don't ever remember it being boring. READ IT!

I like this book the best .

During school, Rufus wrote this and snuck up to the bourd and hung up these words: "Caius is a Dumbell". The next day, these same words appear on the temple wall!

My daughter loved this book and highly recommends it.

Caius is a dumbbell! At least, that's what Rufus wrote. During school hours, no less. But then somebody swipes the slate and imprints it on the temple wall! A desecration! AND THEY THINK RUFUS DID IT!....so it's up to his classmates to figure out who really did it...but they keep messing up, so it's really funny.
--Saro

This one is a mystery in the sense that "Scooby Doo" is a mystery. You need some sort of plot in which to intertwine the jokes. Set in ancient Rome, "Mysteryof the Roman Ransom" tells the story of seven boys--all classmates and sons of famous senators. They buy a slave, Udo, as a birthday gift for their tutor and it turns out that Udo was unwittingly involved in a plot to murder one of the boys' fathers. But which father is threatened and how will they save him? The book plays out like a good sitcom with lovable characters and amusing twists to the story. 'Tis definitely worth checking out.
--J.

Match found in the German National Library.

I have not yet read this book.

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