The books of John Rowe Townsend

In search of a less restrictive way to live, two young people break away from their colony of Persons on the planet Earth, become involved with the inferior Creatures who inhabit Earth, and are thrust into the forefront of a revolution.

In the summer of 1939 a sixteen-year-old boy and girl considered the “perfect couple” by their families secretly begin seeing and falling in love with another girl and boy. –This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Forgotten by the faraway Mother Country, the islanders of tiny Halcyon lead a hard but peaceable life, untouched by the 20th century. Then one day an incomer arrives from the mainland bringing with him a powerful short-wave wireless set on which Halcyon hears disturbing news.

Townsend admirably attempts to portray the seriousness of a boy’s emotional problems, creating a real world with a compelling voice at its center. Rob, 11, is lonely and confused, and turns to an imaginary tropical island for solace after a series of changeshis parents’ divorce, his mother’s remarriage and new baby, his best friend’s moveleaves him friendless for the summer. At first the island, peopled by Rob’s favorite literary characters and starring himself, lives up to its name, Paradise Island. As visits by Rob’s father decrease and as Rob feels more pressure from his mother and stepfather to adapt, the island assumes aspects closer to its second name, Perilous, and the literary characters become more familiar, and more real. Just when it seems that Rob has a new friend and his father might be settling into a new life, the island takes over, with frightening results. After such a complicated and remarkable set-up, it is hard to believe that Rob’s problems with reality are not far more serious than the story’s resolution implies. Still this is an imaginative and thought-provoking depiction of a boy’s struggle to adjust. Ages 9-13.

WRITTEN FOR CHILDREN by John Rowe Townsend. 25th Anniversary Edition 1990 Softcover 4th Revised Edition 372 pages including Index. Harper Trophy

Grade 7-12– These people-living-on-a-doomed-volcanic-island may have Greek-sounding names, but they are not Greeks, and this is not Atlantis, Townsend carefully explains in a prefatory note. So here readers are in Townsend’s schema, even though some of the dialogue would lead them to swear that they were in Britain in 1989. Eleni, with her atypically black hair and blue eyes (nobles have blond hair and blue eyes; plebians have black hair and dark eyes), is the Messenger. And it has been prophesied that the Messenger will save the people of Eleni’s isle from oppression and starvation and see the Living God. Eleni sets off for the home of the Living God and the royal family, even though she is not a believer. She travels in the company of Andreas, a believer, and Nikos, who wants to see “a bit of life” and make his fortune singing. Eleni sees the Living God but doesn’t become a believer, and she learns that she is the daughter of the king. A lot happens: “All this kinging and godding,” is what Eleni calls it. One keeps reading to find out what happens next, and readers will probably be willing to accept the few points of convenient coincidence (what really happens to Nikos when he is snatched away on one page and re-appears out of the blue about 130 pages later). There is some fine, even delectable, active narration in the first two chapters: “. . .Eleni. . .added a few remarks about his appearance and parentage. The man compared her to various female animals, indicating that the latter were cleaner and physically more attractive.” But Townsend then slips into reportage in which readers merely observe and are asked to imagine that Eleni in fact becomes the Living God. And yet when asked about her beliefs, she replies: “I just honestly don’t know.” Could one remain unaffected by that variety of religious experience? In the end, this narrative distancing leaves readers as unaffected as Eleni. Townsend entertains with this fantastic adventure, but shouldn’t all this kinging and godding signify something?

There was something weird about the stranger, something that Arnold didn’t like. He made him feel uneasy and suspicious. Always poking his nose in where it wasn’t wanted and winding Arnold up. All Arnold wanted was for him to go away and leave him alone but there was only one way he could stop him…This exciting story was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal and was the winner of the Silver P.E.N. Award (Children’s Section). It is now reissued in a smaller, mass-market paperback format.

This revised and updated edition provides children’s and young adult librarians, teachers, literature classes, and library school classes with an authoritative history and analysis of the best British and American children’s literature through 1994, with a new 2003 postscript including such recent phenomenons as J.K.Rowling and Philip Pullman. Written for Children traces the development of children’s literature from its origins through the beginnings of the multimedia revolution. In effortless and entertaining style, Townsend, a world-renowned authority in the field, examines the changing attitudes toward children and their literature and analyzes the various strands that make up this important field. While examining many well-known American classics, Townsend also looks at British works that American audiences may have overlooked. With illustrations and bibliography.

Abandoned by their uncle and aunt, Kevin and Sandra run away to Gumble’s Yard, a deserted row of cottages on the canal bank. But the cottages are not as empty as they thought. Strange people come and go, mysterious boxes keep arriving, and the children soon find themselves caught up in a dangerous chain of events. This book was unique when it was first published and over the years has come to be recognized as one of the ground-breaking books of the millennium. John Rowe Townsend is a significant author, without whom writers such as Robert Cormier and Judy Blume might not have been recognized. This gripping story has stood the test of time in the way the children are left alone to become completely self-reliant. John Rowe Townsend lives in Cambridge.

The inhabitants of Halcyon Island are ruled by the laws of the Deliverer and follow the same customs and traditions that have prevailed for hundreds of years. The laws state “no incomers,” but when Thomas and Molly find a shipwrecked canoe with a boy and girl, barely alive, they are determined not to reject them outright. The effect that the newcomers have on the close-knit community is beyond anyone’s predictions.