Title: Trouble at Timpetill
Author: Henry Winterfeld
Major Themes: Children, Survival
Synopsis: When their parents all disappeared overnight, the children of Timpetill had to figure out how to provide all their needs, as well as protect each other from a gang of hooligans.
Not long ago, I noticed someone was selling a book by Henry Winterfeld. We have two of his books about boys in ancient Rome, and have loved them, so I bought Trouble at Timpetill. What a different book! We’ve never read anything quite like it. We liked the author’s note at the end about how it was written. That made it make more sense.
Publisher’s description:
The children in Timpetill are so rotten, ill-behaved, and just all-around unpleasant that one night all the grown-ups in town leave for good. It falls to the kids to take care of themselves, and doing so is a lot harder than it looks. Not only must Thomas, Michael, and his friends figure out how to turn on the town’s water, run the electricity, and feed a population of whiny children, but they have to do all that while battling a gang of the very worst kids—the ones who brought down this strange punishment in the first place.
My thoughts:
The idea of all the parents of a village leaving their children to fend for themselves is rather horrifying, but when you think that the story was actually written in 1933, it is more understandable. That also helps to make sense out of the fact that there are very few telephones around, and although there is a fire truck, there is also a horse and carriage.
I really liked the way the children took responsibility for themselves and each other when there were no adults around to care for them. They wanted their parents to come back, but had no idea where they had gone. One by one, they thought through their needs and found solutions, including creative punishments. The boys made sure the girls were safe, and all the older children made sure the younger ones were cared for. While Trouble at Timpetill won’t be on the list of ones I highly recommend, it is a fun one that shows children doing what is right—and a bit of a reverse twist on the Pied Piper of Hamelin story!
WARNING: Chapter 1: Chickens and rabbits drowned, for heaven’s sake. Chapter 2: Great Scott, one boy punches another, a boy lies. Chapter 4: Crazy cow. Chapter 5: For Pete’s sake. Chapter 6: I swear I didn’t. Chapter 8: Gosh, oh gosh. Chapter 11: Someone lies, oh gosh. Chapter 13: Gee. Chapter 14: Picture of someone hanging on a gallows. Chapter 15: Jumping Jehoshaphat, for heaven’s sake. Chapter 17: For the love of Pete, boy lies to cover up embarrassment. Chapter 18: Jeepers, why the devil. Chapter 20: Fight, hurts like the devil. Chapter 21: Gee.
Age levels:
Listening Level—Ages 5 – 8, 8 – 12, Family Friendly
Reading Independently—Ages 8 – 12
Links to buy this book:
Amazon: Paperback | Hardcover
AbeBooks: View Choices on AbeBooks.com
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