September Island

by Rosalie K. Fry, Margery Gill (Illustrator)

Children can easily recognize themselves and their aspirations in the delightful stories of Rosalie Fry, and many will identify themselves with Martin, aged eleven, who had long planned to be an explorer. His father had given him the idea (and the inspiration) by his description of that 'moment of delight' that awaits the discoverer who is prepared to endure hardship and danger. Martin therefore kept his haversack stocked with his most treasured equipment for the event - maps, a notebook and a compass among other things. The time came when he found himself on caravan holiday with his mother and his little sister Linda in a district of sea, rivers, woods and sandhills - explorer's territory without a doubt. It looked as if opportunity was beckoning him.

112 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1965

About the author

Rosalie K. Fry was born on Vancouver Island. She made her home in Swansea, South Wales. During World War II she was stationed in the Orkney Islands, where she was employed as a Cypher Officer in the Women’s Royal Service. She wrote many stories and executed many drawings for a variety of children’s magazines in Great Britain. She was also known as a maker of children’s toys.

Reviews

[Hilary · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Rosalie K. Fry is a wonderful story teller and teamed up with Margery Gill, a favourite illustrator of mine makes this book really enjoyable adventure story.

Two children are staying in a caravan with their mother for the summer holidays when heavy rain strikes. The flooded landscape provides an excellent playground for the children and when they see an accident happening they set off to help and the adventure begins.

We didn't enjoy this quite as much as Snowed Up, it wasn't as exciting and perhaps more enjoyable to a younger child than our previous read by this author. This was a gentle adventure with nothing worrying. We did note the old fashioned ideas of pet care, the dog in the story was described as fat, not good for any pet but particularly not good for a dachshund. They say he doesn't like to walk and they give him sweet tea to drink with extra sugar sprinkled on top which was shocking. The dachshund is a lovely character but we would like to have seen him better cared for.

I did enjoy this gentle adventure and the accompanying illustrations suited the story perfectly. An interesting look at how water changes our landscape, submerging some areas and building new ones.

Read on open library.

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Young Martin had always wanted to be an explorer, and longs for a grand adventure - one that will bring him that "moment of delight" of which his father likes to speak. But what sort of adventure can an eleven-year-old boy have on caravan holiday, when his six-year-old sister Linda and his spoiled city-dog Ben are always tagging along? With an unexpected storm, a flooded river and estuary, and a stranded witch-girl-writer, quite an extraordinary one, as it turns out!

I first came across the children's author Rosalie K. Fry after seeing the movie The Secret of Roan Inish, which is based upon her novel, Secret of the Ron Mor Skerry (now sadly renamed after the movie...). As someone who loves folktales and stories about selkies, I was immediately captivated, and decided to seek out other books by this excellent, but now mostly forgotten, writer. Imagine my delight when I found September Island, which has the added charm of being illustrated by that wonderful artist Margery Gill, whose work graces most of the Ruth M. Arthur novels, as well as Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper.

This short novel was a pleasure to read, and served as a welcome reminder to me that children's books don't have to be epic quest fantasies, or terribly serious "issue-driven" novels, to communicate something valuable about the state of childhood. I sometimes think that as adults, we look back upon childhood as a magical time, full of extraordinary discovery and high emotion. We forget that from the child's perspective, life can seem like a flat expanse, too infrequently punctuated by moments of extreme wonder. That childish longing for adventure, for the extraordinary, for "something to happen," is so perfectly expressed in September Island, that the fulfillment of the desire is deeply satisfying...

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

slight, but pleasant.