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Farm School #2
Cherry Tree Perch
The Summer term finds Annis and Kitty back at the Farm School, where they have discovered a new vantage point - high up in an old cherry tree from which to survey their world. Life at the Farm School is always exciting, and this term is no exception; the arrival of eccentric Miss de Vipon however, endangers Annis and Kitty's friendship for a time, and Annis also has trouble solving a puzzle which concerns some fired haystacks.
- GenresSchool StoriesChildrens
188 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1939
About the author
Josephine Elder
23 books6 followersJosephine Elder was the penname of Dr. Olive Gwendoline Potter, a British children's author who is primarily known for her girls school stories. Of the ten novels she published in this genre, Evelyn Finds Herself (1929), is usually considered the strongest. Elder was also a prolific short story writer, and her pieces were often included in girls annuals.
Elder was educated at Croydon High School and later at Cambridge University, where she studied medicine. In addition to her career as a children's author, she wrote six novels for adults (as both Margaret Potter and Josephine Elder), and was a practicing doctor from 1923 to 1983.
Elder was educated at Croydon High School and later at Cambridge University, where she studied medicine. In addition to her career as a children's author, she wrote six novels for adults (as both Margaret Potter and Josephine Elder), and was a practicing doctor from 1923 to 1983.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 11, 2019
The second book in Josephine Elder's Farm School series, Cherry Tree Perch returns to the story of British schoolgirls Annis Best and Kitty Forrester, who both attend the small, rather unconventional school run by Kitty's family. Annis is happy to be returning to Sutton Malherbe for her second year, but her peace of mind is soon disrupted by her first major disagreement with Kitty. How is it possible that the two friends could have such different reactions to the same person? Was Annis' dislike of Miss de Vipon - the Farm School's eccentric new neighbor - based on nothing but jealousy?
I enjoyed this sequel to Exile for Annis , although I understand that my edition, printed in the 1950s, was significantly revised from the original version of 1939. Just as Annis learns that unconventionality is not necessarily something to condemn in the first volume of the series, so in this book she comes to understand that different kinds of friendship are not mutually exclusive. Her gradual maturation is a pleasure to witness, as are her daily activities, from horseback riding to chemistry experiments.
Like Exile for Annis , the one discordant note is Elder's characterization of Kenneth Forrester, and the general secrecy that the Forresters maintain around his existence. I understand that this reflects the sensibilities of the time, but it is still a disappointment in a family that is meant to be so "enlightened." Despite that caveat, I continue to enjoy the series, and must now look about for the final volume...
I enjoyed this sequel to Exile for Annis , although I understand that my edition, printed in the 1950s, was significantly revised from the original version of 1939. Just as Annis learns that unconventionality is not necessarily something to condemn in the first volume of the series, so in this book she comes to understand that different kinds of friendship are not mutually exclusive. Her gradual maturation is a pleasure to witness, as are her daily activities, from horseback riding to chemistry experiments.
Like Exile for Annis , the one discordant note is Elder's characterization of Kenneth Forrester, and the general secrecy that the Forresters maintain around his existence. I understand that this reflects the sensibilities of the time, but it is still a disappointment in a family that is meant to be so "enlightened." Despite that caveat, I continue to enjoy the series, and must now look about for the final volume...
August 20, 2022
Cherry Tree Perch is the second in a series and sometimes it feels it: you are launched into the premise with very little preamble and asked to simply catch up. It works, for the most, but there are quite a few moments where new readers (such as myself!) will struggle to figure out quite what is happening. Once you've worked out what's happening and who's who and what's actually going on, you're presented with a very interesting and rather charming novel that is a little bit Antonia Forest at its best and a little bit Enid Blyton "shut up, I've got to get this done by lunch" at its worst.
The premise is a farm school where the children learn animal husbandry and all of the practical skills that running a farm involves. Upon first reading, this focus on real world skill felt very post-war to me and I was so interested to realise that this was published in 1939. That's not to say that books like this did not exist at the time but rather to say that they weren't all doing this sort of thing. Elder positions the children here as the future (that should be a song, right?) but also as the makers of that future. There's interesting.
What's also interesting here is how the adults are understood as being a little bit messy. That's not a description that can be applied to all of the adults, because this is still children's literature of a certain period and time and there are certain politics that it needs to accord to, but there are adults here who don't quite know everything. And everybody knows that they don't need everything. That's also interesting.
One of the girls develops an admiration for an adult in a way that, only thirty or so years earlier than this in an Angela Brazil, would have had her swooning over every other page. But Elder doesn't go for that. She goes for the much more interesting angle of letting her have the admiration, the pash (so to speak), and examine this through the filter of her established friendship with people of her own age. There's some strong character work here and this book is so good and indeed, rather spectacular, when it just allows two young children to talk about friendship.
It's important to note that there are certain elements here, such as the treatment of the disabled elder brother Kenneth and the way people refer to him, that read very poorly now. Please bear this in mind prior to reading.
The premise is a farm school where the children learn animal husbandry and all of the practical skills that running a farm involves. Upon first reading, this focus on real world skill felt very post-war to me and I was so interested to realise that this was published in 1939. That's not to say that books like this did not exist at the time but rather to say that they weren't all doing this sort of thing. Elder positions the children here as the future (that should be a song, right?) but also as the makers of that future. There's interesting.
What's also interesting here is how the adults are understood as being a little bit messy. That's not a description that can be applied to all of the adults, because this is still children's literature of a certain period and time and there are certain politics that it needs to accord to, but there are adults here who don't quite know everything. And everybody knows that they don't need everything. That's also interesting.
One of the girls develops an admiration for an adult in a way that, only thirty or so years earlier than this in an Angela Brazil, would have had her swooning over every other page. But Elder doesn't go for that. She goes for the much more interesting angle of letting her have the admiration, the pash (so to speak), and examine this through the filter of her established friendship with people of her own age. There's some strong character work here and this book is so good and indeed, rather spectacular, when it just allows two young children to talk about friendship.
It's important to note that there are certain elements here, such as the treatment of the disabled elder brother Kenneth and the way people refer to him, that read very poorly now. Please bear this in mind prior to reading.
April 14, 2021
First time reading Girls Gone By Unabridged edition. Lovely evocative book of past times.
December 31, 2013
Like Exile for Annis, to which this is a sequel, Cherry Tree Perch is a fascinating piece of social history as well as an interesting children's story. Again, the element that shocked me most from my twenty-first century perspective was people's attitudes to Kenneth, the "idiot". Kitty describes him as "like some rather precious pet" (p. 126) and no matter how important pets are it seems a strange way for her to describe her older brother. Once again everyone works hard and does brilliantly, and the villain of the piece is an untidy spinster who doesn't finish things.
November 6, 2013
This one probably wasn't as good as the first, I guessed quite a few things early on. Shame I didn't find the third when I found these two second hand, because I would still like to know more. A very tentative four stars.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews