The Adventure Series!

[Bertie]

The polar bears is a perfect example, Boodi.
I keep seeing a current advert for a nature programme that shows Polar Bears fighting each other and all bloodied up. They're using that as a selling point for the show! Well, that's another that I certainly won't be watching.

I suppose in nature, between birth and death an animal's life essentially consists of eat, mate, sleep. If they restricted these programmes to just sleeping, they'd get a touch dull!

I think it would be a mistake to gloss over how nature works. Children (and adults, I suppose) do need to know that individual animals die in their billions regardless of what humans do.

It's each to their own, of course, but I just don't agree that it's necessary to show animals being hunted, and eaten, with as much frequency, and almost revel, as these types of shows do. They gleefully show it as a form of entertainment. As if people should enjoy watching one animal hunt, kill, and rip apart it's carcass just as if they're watching a drama or comedy show. It's perfectly possible to show plenty of footage of positive and beautiful parts of nature, as all the different animals scurry about with their day. It's an incredibly sad reflection of humanity that they'd find that boring and tune out, but would find seeing animals fight and kill each other as a form of entertainment worth watching. Sadly, I think you're right. More people would tune out if it was like the former, and tune in to watch the latter. Which is, obviously, why so many shows feature so much of it. As an animal loving vegetarian, I'm not one of them, so it's just something I don't agree with and wish shows would give more / some thought to those who don't revel in watching the more violent and macabre sides of life.

Anyway, as Boatbuilder mentioned, this thread has gone completely off the topic of the Adventure series so sorry for my part in that as well.

[Anita Bensoussane]

Much of a wild animal's life is about finding food so I'm not surprised that kills are shown. I don't know anyone who watches a nature programme in order to revel in violence. People generally watch nature programmes to learn about wildlife, and that inevitably includes creatures preying on one another. The programmes also provide a lot of other interesting information about such things as camouflage (or other ways of evading predators), migration, hibernation, finding/making a home or building a nest, defence of territory, mating, birth and development of the young, etc.

To bring the thread back on topic, the Adventure children have no qualms about watching wild creatures hunt for food. Jack as a bird photographer is keen to observe and photograph the eaglet being fed in The Castle of Adventure:

It wasn't long before Jack climbed up to see if the young eagle was still in the nest. It was! The mother had just brought it a dead rabbit, and the young eagle was busy on the meal. When it saw Jack it stood over the rabbit with wings held over it, as if afraid that Jack would take it.

"It's all right," said the boy gently. "Eat it all. I don't want any. I only want a picture of you!"

Later on:

One of the eagles had a young hare clutched in its claws. It dropped it into the nest. At once the youngster covered the food with its big wings, cowered over it, and began to pull at it hungrily with its powerful beak.

Jack snapped it...

... The young one fell upon its meal and ate till it could eat no more. Then it sank back into the big nest.

The female eagle finished the dead hare in a very short while. Jack got another wonderful snap whilst it was tearing up its food.

Jack, Lucy-Ann, Philip and Dinah also watch birds diving for fish in The Sea of Adventure, with Philip even trying (jokingly, I expect) to take a fish from a puffin's beak:

Then they [Huffin and Puffin] dived for fish, swimming with their wings under the water. They were very quick indeed, and soon came up with fish in their enormous beaks.

"What about giving us one for breakfast, Huffin?" called Philip, and tried to take a fish from the nearest puffin's beak. But it held on to it - and then swallowed it whole.

The children are interested in how the birds nest, fly and communicate too, but they don't shy away from the complete picture.

[Bertie]

As I said, Anita, each to their own. Personally, in the same way I wouldn't want to watch animals slaughtered in abattoirs, or a fox hunt, badger baiting, etc, then I don't want to see animals killing and devouring each other just because it's been filmed. Yes, 'it happens'. Like the others I mentioned do. And it's more acceptable from their point of view as they don't have humane alternatives unlike the human cruelty. But it's still a deeply sad and upsetting part of nature for me to see one animal kill and eat another. So it's not the part of nature I enjoy seeing and wouldn't go out of my way to watch it. But obviously plenty find it interesting or entertaining, so I'll just have to give those shows a miss and others can carry on enjoying it.

To bring the thread back on track again ( ), you quoted from probably my two favourite Adventure books. I love the first four, and Circus, the most. But probably Castle and Sea are my favourites. I find Mountain and River to be tough reads, especially the latter, and don't always include them in my re-reads of the series.

[Moonraker]

River was always my favourite, as a child. I loved the mystery of Sinnytown and the river. Reading it much later, the ending seemed contrived and rushed.

[Bertie]

I'm usually fonder of the books set in Britain - especially those in a particular setting like Peterswood or Kirrin. However, in the Adventure series, I think Valley and Circus work well and are very good books. But I'm not really fond of River. I put River, and Mountain, in this series in the same category as the likes of Secret Mountain and Killimooin in the 'Secret...' series. They're all books I didn't enjoy as much as the others in their series and I don't re-read anywhere near as often.

[Boodi 2]

Oddly enough River was also my favourite as a child, perhaps because I always wanted to visit that part of the world! I still like it (maybe for reasons of nostalgia) but Sea is probably my favourite in the Adventure series, while I don't like Mountain at all.

[Anita Bensoussane]

Funnily enough, I'm another one who placed River higher as a child (it was perhaps my third favourite, after Valley and Sea). I loved the alluring journey along the winding river, the cataract, the temples and Sinny-Town. In recent years I've come to realise what a weak, pathetic villain Raya Uma is, and as a result the book is no longer such a favourite. Raya Uma is built up as a really mysterious and dangerous criminal and it's said that no one has any idea why he has come to that part of the world. However, he turns out to be not much different from Mr. Eppy - but more of a wimp!

Valley, Sea and Castle are my undoubted favourites in the Adventure series, with Mountain being my least-liked.

[Moonraker]

I loved Circus, I just enjoyed Jack's solo travels and adventures so much. My favourite title does change from time to time, but I would say right now, my top three are also Valley, Sea and Castle* - although the TVS adaptation of Castle spoiled it for me with the irritating character Sam (who was really Scar) and the whole pirate radio thing that the inept villains used to explain their presence. I also found Tassie's mother annoying. Sadly, all of this comes to mind when reading the book.

*Maybe Circus is now my third favourite!

[John Pickup]

I started reading the Adventure books nearly 60 years ago and Valley has always been the top title for me. At the moment I would place Castle second, it's sinister and suspenseful and I like Tassie's involvement. The tremendous storm is frightening.
Circus is, for quite a while, a solo Jack adventure and it works for me.

[IceMaiden]

As I said, Anita, each to their own. Personally, in the same way I wouldn't want to watch animals slaughtered in abattoirs, or a fox hunt, badger baiting, etc, then I don't want to see animals killing and devouring each other just because it's been filmed. Yes, 'it happens'. Like the others I mentioned do. And it's more acceptable from their point of view as they don't have humane alternatives unlike the human cruelty. But it's still a deeply sad and upsetting part of nature for me to see one animal kill and eat another. So it's not the part of nature I enjoy seeing and wouldn't go out of my way to watch it. But obviously plenty find it interesting or entertaining, so I'll just have to give those shows a miss and others can carry on enjoying it.

To bring the thread back on track again ( ), you quoted from probably my two favourite Adventure books. I love the first four, and Circus, the most. But probably Castle and Sea are my favourites. I find Mountain and River to be tough reads, especially the latter, and don't always include them in my re-reads of the series.

I wouldn't want to watch things like that either. There's a huge difference in people harming animals for sport and an animal hunting another in order to survive. I don't particularly like seeing it but it's how things are, everything in nature pays the price for something else. One thing that is noticeable in Enid Blyton books is that though they were meant for children she didn't shy away one bit from the fact that animals get hunted /killed/eaten by other creatures. She doesn't gloss over or Disneyfy the fact that the children in Secret Island make a rabbit fur blanket or that the eagles in Castle are catching and eating rabbits & hares as Anita points out above. She also doesn't shy away from mentioning cruelty, in the short stories there's many instances of puppies & kittens thrown in ponds to drown them and then various animals like Micky being stoned, Shadow getting bashed on the head, Poppet getting a sound whipping etc. I wonder if children's books today have things like that in them? Probably not - too inappropriate or something.

[Lucky Star]

Like several others my three favourites are Valley, Sea and Castle. I also love Island and Ship. The weakest vies between Mountain and Circus for me. I like River for the journey and the scenes in the treasure caves but it lacks some of the "bite" that earlier entries had. This is possibly because, as Anita said, Raya Uma is rather a pathetic villain.

[Moonraker]

... as Anita said, Raya Uma is rather a pathetic villain.

Agreed, although I never noticed this when reading as a child.

[pete9012S]

Raya Uma

Chapter 15
MR. RAYA UMA
Bill was enormously surprised. He was so nonplussed that he didn’t say a
word.
‘Hey—can I come on board or not?’ said the voice impatiently. ‘I heard
there was an English family on the river, and I thought I’d like a chat.’
Bill recovered himself. ‘Yes—come on up, he shouted back. ‘You took
me by surprise. I wasn’t expecting to hear an English voice here, I must
say!’

‘Shall we go away, Bill?’ said Jack, in a low voice. Bill shook his head.
‘No. Better stay with me. I don’t know if he guesses who I am or not.
Anyway, it’s better if he sees a whole family aboard. Here he is!’
Tala had gone to light the man up to the launch. Now he was bringing
him to where Bill and the others sat under an awning draped with mosquito netting,
lighted by a big lantern. Everyone gazed at him in interest.

They saw a medium-sized man, dressed in ordinary summer clothes—
flannel trousers, shirt and thin pullover. He wore a white linen hat, and had a
beard and thin little moustache. He wore dark glasses like Bill.

He smiled down and the children saw that he had very white teeth. He
bowed to Mrs. Cunningham, and, as Tala held back the mosquito-net, he put
out his hand. She shook it, and then he shook hands with Bill. He nodded at
the four children.

I must admit I was a bit afraid of Raya Uma when I read this book as a youngster. He seemed slippery, dangerous and was a master of disguise!

[John Pickup]

On first reading, he frightened me a bit too, Pete. He seemed cold and calculating but by the end of the book, you could see his true colours. Mr Eppy in Ship was far more dangerous.

[S-Dog2001]

Yes I thought Bill should never have accepted his invitation the next day as well, he could have just made an excuse that they needed to be at a certain town by the next evening or something