Swallows and Amazons

The Walker family endures a shipwreck, discovers a secret cave and valley, builds a camp on the mainland, and goes hiking in the mountains.

New friends, a blizzard, a frozen lake, and a case of the mumps make one grand wintertime adventure for a group of children in this classic series.
The Ds (Dick and Dorothea) meet the Swallows and Amazons during the winter beside the lake and they all become great friends: joining together in ice skating, learning semaphore signals, refashioning an igloo, and building an ice sled. But a misunderstanding leads to disaster as Dick and

...

Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons series has stood the test of time. Ransome is not only a great storyteller, writing from first-hand experience, but each story celebrates eternally valuable qualities of practical knowledge, independence, and initiative. The twelve books are for children or grownups-anyone captivated by a world of sailing, adventure, and imagination. The crew's on holiday for their sixth adventure, and they turn their energies...

Follows the adventures of the five Walker children after their parents leave them on a "desert island" with provisions for a long stay and a blank map to fill in.

When their boat is burned and they are cast adrift in the South China Sea, Titty, Roger, Peggy, John, Nancy, Susan, and Captain Flint make their way to land only to find themselves the captives of the redoubtable Missee Lee, one of the last pirates operating off the China coast.

As this classic series continues, adventuring children off the western coast of Scotland spot a strange bird and soon land themselves in danger.
While on a sailing cruise with Cap. Flint exploring in the Outer Hebrides, the Swallows, Amazons, and the Ds spot a mysterious bird nesting on an island in a loch. Could it be a great northern diver, never known to nest in the British Isles? They tell their discovery to a local expert who

...