The Kingdom by the Sea

by Robert Westall

Book Overview

During World War II twelve-year-old Harry and a stray dog travel through war-torn England in search of safety. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0374342059
• ISBN13: 9780374342050
• Release Date: January 1991
• Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
• Length: 175 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.4" x 7.9"
• Age Range: 9 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 4 to 7

Customer Reviews

I had never thought ...

I have never thought that a book written especially for youngsters could bring tears to my eyes ? This book actually has done this and not only once ?Maybe, it is because I found myself in a bit of an unstable period while reading this story, but I was really surprised that the choice of words by Robert Westall made me a little emotional at times. On the other hand, main character Harry Baguley?s strong will to survive and his sense of humour never left him, so there was enough that made me smile. I loved the frequently used nice expressions and metaphors in the story and I was really touched by the beautiful description of Harry?s journey back to his hometown, by car in less than an hour. The whole story passes in review, but backwards.What I DID NOT LIKE nor understood was the way the story ended. The book left me with a very unsatisfied and indignant feeling. I had to peruse the first chapters again to see what I had missed ? but even then, I could not find any indications.After all, I am very curious if the story has the same effect on young people as it has had on me ?

Criticism of "A kingdom by the Sea."

Criticism of "A kingdom by the Sea." The book A Kingdom by the Sea reaches out to the reader. I the book a boy's family gets bombed in the 1940's along Britain and he's the only one who survives. Throughout the novel the young boy, Harry Baguley, is on a quest to survive with his new dog. One good "plus" about the novel is the author every once in a while throws out some good action scenes which really allures the readers. Another plus is that in the novel, every conflict leads to another. For example, when the annoying Corporal Merman finds Harry's pillbox, Artie fights with him and teaches him a lesson. A minus is that the author all of a sudden throws out different information, at first it's good, but then it gets annoying. Another minus is that in the first 20 pages, the author makes it difficult for the reader to understand what he is trying to emphasized. Some advice for the author is to make the ending a little more interesting and a little less boring. The plot is an alright one, but along the middle there could be more action such as conflict or maybe even fights. Otherwise the novel exhorted a good sense of conflict and action

An excellent survival story

For my independent reading book this month, I decided to read:The Kingdom by the Sea By Robert WestallI chose this book for two reasons:First of all, when I read the summary on the back cover, I realised that the story was a fight for survival.At the moment, we are studying all about survival stories and survival methods in English Literature.Secondly, the story takes place in England, during World War 2.I am very interested in books and films about World War 2 because my grandfather was a young German soldier in this war.When I was younger, he always used to tell me stories about how he survived the war. He was only a young man of 17 when he was sent to the front lines of Russia to fight for his country. I used to listen to his tales eagerly, trying to imagine how he could possibly survive all the danger he lived through. The Kingdom by the Sea looks at World War 2 from another angle. This time, through the eyes of a 12 year old English boy, the same age that I am now.Harry Baguely lived in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in England during the war. His town was bombed regulary by the German Luftwaffe. One night, he had just made it safely to a bomb shelter, when a bomb drops on his home and wipes out his family and house. Left alone and unsure what the future will bring, he runs away. The story follows his fight for survival, along with a stray dog, who joins him on the way.The story helped me to understand what life was like during World War 2 and how you can't trust everybody you meet. Each chapter makes you want to read on to see what happens to Harry. There's also an amazing twist to the story at the end. I could read this book again!

An outstanding adventure story!

I'm a teacher and I use this book as a class novel. It's a great one for learning about how the war affected families in Britain, but more than that, it is a story with an appealing main character the reader cares about. It grabs you from the first chapter and makes you want to keep reading to see what happens to Harry. It's been very popular with my students. From an instructional point of view, it's a great book for teaching characterization and figurative language. There are many similes, metaphors, and personification. I've read it dozens of times and I still love it!

I think the book The Kingdom by the Sea was good.

The reasons that I like it was that it was easy to visualize. It also had easy vocabulary. I have expectations about reading the other ones. I would also like to read more of Robert Westall.