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ratings: ★★★★☆ (4.2/5)
Genre: Children's Classic, Fantasy, Historical Fiction

Book Review:
Imagine if you could travel through time and meet the people who shaped the history of your country. Imagine if they could tell you their stories themselves, in their own words. This is the magical premise of Rudyard Kipling's wonderful book, Puck of Pook's Hill, a work that deserves to be much better known than it is.

The story begins on a summer's evening in the Sussex countryside. Two children, Dan and Una, are performing a scene from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream in a fairy ring when they are astonished to meet Puck himself. But this is not Shakespeare's mischievous sprite; this is Puck as the last of the ''People of the Hills,'' the old gods of England. He is a figure of ancient wisdom and gentle magic, and he offers the children a gift: he will summon figures from the past to tell them their stories.

What follows is a series of linked historical tales that span over a thousand years of English history. We meet a Roman centurion named Parnesius, who tells of his lonely vigil guarding Hadrian's Wall against the ''Winged Hats'' (the Picts and Scots). We meet a Norman knight, Sir Richard Dalyngridge, who describes the brutal realities of the Norman Conquest and his life as a Saxon thane. We meet a Saxon shipmaster who sailed with the Vikings, and a Jewish physician, Kadmiel, who played a secret role in the signing of the Magna Carta.

Kipling's genius is to make these distant historical figures feel utterly real and human. They are not simply reciting facts; they are telling stories of love and loss, courage and fear, loyalty and betrayal. The children, and the reader, come to understand that history is not just a collection of dates and events, but a living tapestry of human experience. Between each prose tale, Kipling includes a poem or song, many of which are small masterpieces in their own right. The famous ''Smuggler's Song'' (''If you wake at midnight, and hear a horse's feet...'') is here, adding to the book's charm.

Puck of Pook's Hill is a book that rewards reading aloud and reading together. It is perfect for children who are ready for something more complex than a simple adventure story, and it is equally satisfying for adults who appreciate Kipling's skill as a storyteller and his deep love for the English landscape and its history. This Wordsworth Classics edition is beautifully presented, with H.R. Millar's original illustrations adding to the magic.

If you are looking for a book that will transport you to another time, that will spark a love of history, and that is filled with wonder and adventure, look no further. Puck of Pook's Hill is a hidden gem, a magical journey through the past that you will want to take again and again. Highly recommended.