Ice Skates & Supplies

Reviews

This was my all time favorite book when i was younger. I also loved the two in the others in this series including The Magic Locket and, The Silver Slippers. I read all of these at least twenty times because i never got sick of them!

This book tells the story of the ability to dance on the ice for the children. The Shiny Skates teaches the young skater to follow her dreams. It also gives the skater the ability to gain self-esteem and confidence. The charms of the skates are also included in the book.It is good reading for any age group. Our granddaughter, 8 years old, really likes the book.

This book features tells story of the ability to dance on the ice for the children. The Shiny Skates teachers the young skater to follow her dreams. It also gives the skater the ability to gain self-esteem and confidence. The charms of the skates are also included in the book.It is good reading for any age group. Our granddaughter, 8 years old, really likes the book.

Reviews

First published in 1865, "Hans Brinker" (or alternatively: "The Silver Skates;" probably the better title) is something of a classic - one that you've probably never heard of before. Extensively drawing on the culture and history of the Netherlands for her story, Mary Mapes Dodge tells a rather sentimental and moralistic tale about the virtue and suffering of the hardworking Brinker family. One reader's treasure is another reader's bile, and depending on how you feel about old-fashioned values, reverence for the innate purity and integrity of the poor, a hefty amount of moralizing and a rather Dickensian use of coincidence, you'll either feel moved or irritated by "Hans Brinker". Think Little Women: in Holland, including the warm humanity, but minus the sense of humour. Ten years prior to the beginning of the story, Raff Brinker fell off a dyke and was severely brain-damaged, leaving behind a wife and two children to care for him in a run-down hut that is soon known as "the idiot's cottage". Shunned by most of their neighbours, the Brinker family struggle to make ends meet due to that fact that none of them have the slightest idea where Raff concealed their life savings. Fifteen year old Hans has prematurely become the man of the house, sacrificing his school work in the attempt to look for work, whilst his little sister Gretel continually worries that she cannot love her father as a daughter should; nursing her pointless guilt in a way that only 19th century females of literature know how. A further mystery in the household is the watch that Raff entrusted to his wife before his accident. Not knowing where it came from or who it belongs to, the family keeps it safe despite their need for the money it would earn them. Yet the most pressing concern in both children's minds is the upcoming ice-skating race to be held between all the children in the attempt to win a pair of beautiful silver skates. Torn between duty to their family and the desire to own the skates, Hans and Gretel are left to make the right decisions in a very difficult situation - and it could be a chance meeting that turns the tables on their fortunes. The children are sympathetic enough and their plight certainly tear-inducing, though your enjoyment of the tale probably depends on how cynical you are while reading it. Like most Victorian stories, it is heavy on moralizing, sentimentality, and appropriate comeuppance for its various characters - but then of course, this is a given considering the period in which it was written. To be honest, it's difficult imagining any but the most thoughtful child readers of today getting much out of "Hans Brinker," for although it's obviously still in print, it doesn't quite carry the same weight as other like-minded stories such as Little Women, Black Beauty, and A Little Princess. There is a very strange plotting decision made about halfway through the story, in which a chapter ends with the Brinkers hearing a scream coming from their cottage. But the reader is left hanging at this point so that Dodge can abruptly turn her attention to an ice-skating expedition held by a separate group of children. Reading almost like a travelogue of the countryside, it's interesting on its own merits, with plenty of insight into the history and geography of Holland, but has virtually nothing to do with the plot-line of the Brinkers. Readers will be excused from flipping ahead a few pages in order to see what that scream was all about, and though I'm not usually one for abridged copies, in this case a version that cuts out extraneous chapters may well help the book's success with newer readers. Other aspects are more successful, such as the inclusion of an English boy in order to get a more familiar point of view on what is (for most readers) a foreign country, and the retellings of such famous customs and stories such as Saint Nicolas and the boy who stuck his finger in the damn, which as it turned out, was originally more of an heroic tale than a cautionary one. My copy of the book was translated by Nora Kramer - editions may vary, but an interesting aspect of my particular text is that several words remain in Dutch, such as the use of "mynheer" and "vrouw" when addressing people. Likewise is the linguistic tendency to add a "the" to the noun when referring to one's parents; that is, calling them "the father" and "the mother." It adds to the texture of this "ode to Holland," complete with vivid descriptions on exactly what you'd expect from a book set in this particular country: bright tulips, turning windmills and rivers of glistening frozen ice. Depending on what version you have, "Hans Brinker" is a slow-going but ultimately worthwhile book that ensures the characters rely just as much on hard-work and unselfish decisions as they do on lucky coincidence - or as the Brinkers would believe; Providence.

Likely, this story could be divided into two parts: The first part of story brings me back to my childhood, it also works as a tourism guiding book telling us the history and anecdotes on Holland. The second part of story is purely a very happy legend, whose chance of occurring in real-world is indeed very small.

Set in Holland during the wintry 1860's this children's classic has proven a literary staple for generations. American author Mary Mapes Dodge revels in introducing English-speaking readers to the charm of the Netherlands--while displaying her knowledge of its art, customs and proud history. In this land of tulips, storks and windmills the people wage a relentless war and exercise constant vigilance against the encroachment of the sea, which is above the level of the land. Despite quaint customs and folksy costumes the characters remain alive almost a century and a half later, thanks to human attributes which are universally recognized: family values, responsibility, love, friendship, dedication to a common cause, patriotism, generosity, honesty, compassion for those less fortunate. The Brinker family barely survives on the fringe of society ion a humble hut--known locally as the idiot's cottage. Ten years earlier, Raff, the father, fell off a dike, suffering severe brain damage. A danger both to himself and to others he has caused no end of heartache and despair to his harassed wife, who struggles to raise two young children in poverty. As the story opens 15-year-old Hans, now the substitute man of the house, is a remarkable and honest teenager, trying to pursue studies on his own. His 12-year-old sister, Gretel, has never known her father in his right mind, though she bravely tries to help her mother and not fear the man too much. Scorned by Broek snobs as a mere goose girl, Gretel trembles in the face of recurring domestic disaster; she feels guilty about her private, conflicting emotions toward her father. Two mysteries haunt the Brinker cottage, keeping readers in suspense until their separate denouements: the location of the missing family fortune of 10,000 Guilders and the identity of the owner of a fine watch bearing the initials L. J. B. If only the invalid could answer all their questions, for these objects changed location the very night of the dike disaster. Throughout the 332 pages the young folks along the canals are excited at the prospect of a Great race in late December, for which the winners in each category will receive a special pair of silver skates. What a prize! But how could poor riffraff like the Brinker siblings afford decent skates even to compete? Stylistically the pacing is uneven; after introducing mysteries and juvenile antics the author seems to get bogged down for many long chapters when the boys take an extended trip to various Dutch cities--leaving readers wondering about the latest crisis in the Brinker home. Thanks to Ben, an English cousin of one of the boy's in Peter's gang, We see Holland through foreign eyes--for nationalistic contrast. Despite its dated style, this book is a pleasant read with mild hints for social reform and moral promotion for human compassion, with a very tidy ending.

Hans Brinker is an interesting book on many levels. As an adult I enjoyed the historic look at where "Hollanders" originated and why some of their traditions are as they are. I also enjoyed the moral aspects of honesty, hard work, integrity and care for family. These are all strong positives for the book. Unfortunately, the plot and story telling left me a bit disappointed. At one point the story shifts dramatically from the Brinker family to an adventure (almost travel narrative with tour guide notes) with other teens who took a skating trip to see other parts of Holland. This just did not fit well together with the main story. The main story is about Hans and his sister Gretel and their parents. The father has had a severe head injury while working on protecting the dikes. I think kids might find the reading tedious and difficult to follow.

Hans is great, he's a good boy. The Dutch are great, they work with integrity. All is great about the Dutch- but the plot. Those Dutch children are not a riotous bunch. After reading about ice canal for the umpteenth time...I fell asleep. Ice is lovely, but not for 20 pages.