Saturday, June 24, 2006

Stig of the Dump - Clive King

In Clive King’s Stig of the Dump eight year old Barney has been warned many times not to go too near the edge of the Chalk Pit that is near his home in case the ground gives way. One day, however, when he is bored, he sets off to look down into the Pit, to see what people have dumped there and he discovers the truth of the many warnings he has received when the ground gives way and drops him through the roof of a den created by a caveman whom Barney names Stig. The two of them become firm friends, in spite of the fact that neither one can speak the other’s language, and they share several adventures together, including going hunting. In some of these adventures Barney’s older sister, Lou, gets caught up, although she thinks that Stig is an imaginary friend, not a real person. Barney’s final adventure with Stig, and Lou, involves Barney and Lou time-travelling back to Stig’s own era on Mid Summer’s Day. Barney finds himself getting involved with raising the final standing stone of a group that still lies near Barney’s home today.

This book was another re-read after many years absence, and it was interesting to see how well it's aged - which is quite well, considering how times have moved on.

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