The Return of the Twelves

by Pauline Clarke

Book Overview

A young boy's discovery of twelve wooden soldiers that once belonged to the Brontë children leads to an exciting adventure. Awarded the 1962 Carnegie Medal for the outstanding children's book by an... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0440475368
• ISBN13: 9780440475361
• Release Date: January 1992
• Publisher: Yearling Books
• Length: 183 Pages
• Weight: 0.44 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.1" x 7.6"
• Age Range: 9 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 4 to 7

Customer Reviews

A book to lead you into a lifelong love of reading

My best friend and I discovered this book in 7th grade (1972) and we were so taken by the story, we began reading the actual Brontes (Emily and Charlotte) which led us to Jane Austen, which led us to, well you get the point. Looking back, it seems odd that two 13 year olds would have read the collected works of the Brontes and Austen over a summer, but this book is what lead us on to a lifelong love of reading. I am searching for a copy to keep for myself, and one to pass on to my niece, who is now 13 herself. As one reviewer wrote, parents please get this for your children, who knows where it can lead? My guess is a lot farther than Harry Potter ever could!

Loved it as a kid, love it as a parent

My father found this book at a used book sale when I was a child, and read it to me. I kept it from that day to this, and now I read it to my children. It is an absolutely wonderful tale, that's sparked great interest among us all hunting down little-known tales of the Brontes. If you are a parent, buy this and read it to your kids. You'll thank me.

Read it up in the attic with your toys.

What a delight it was to read the story and say, "But this was exactly what I wanted when I was a child!" I wanted my little Skipper doll to comb her hair; I wanted my little plastic farm animals to baa and moo on top of the dining table. If I had toy soldiers like in the story, I'd love for them to do little parades and to tell me tales of campaigns in Africa. I wanted my toys to surprise me, speak to me, have ideas of their own! Children will surely see themselves as Max, playful eight-year old, benevolent protector and guide to the Twelve - wooden soldiers each with their own histories and temperaments. Max, after finding them under a floorboard of their new home in Haworth, quickly became enamored. But their days of playing couldn't last too long. A Bronte scholar from America just offered a huge sum of money to buy twelve toy soldiers that belonged to the family of writers. Now the whole town is bent on finding them. How will Max keep his wards safe forever? Not only does this book fire up the imagination, like a good story should, but it also encourages further reading especially for those who have not read The History of the Young Men. A wonderful book to be enjoyed up in the attic with your toys.

One tin soldier rides away

The idea for this book seems so obvious in retrospect that it's a small miracle that no one thought of writing it before 1962. It was really just a stroke of luck that author Pauline Clarke happened to be the one to put pen to paper and write the tale herself. Or rewrite it, depending on your interpretation. "The Return of the Twelves" takes a classic storytale form (toys coming alive in the presence of children) and ups the ante tenfold. It acknowledges the ingenuity of the Bronte children (placing far more importance on Branwell than he probably deserved) yet makes it lively enough to be perfectly understood by kids today. It's odd to say, but as fantasy tales go, "The Return of the Twelves" is timeless in all the best senses of the term. It's one of those little known children's books that everyone should at least have a passing familiarity with. One of the great little known books for kids. Max has a secret. An incredible, mysterious, overwhelming secret. When he discovered a cache of old wooden soldiers in his family's new attic, he thought they were fun and all but nothing particularly special. Sure, his dad said that may be over a hundred years old, but that still wasn't too shocking. No, it was the fact that the soldiers were alive. Magnificently alive. Finding himself now a benevolent deity to a crew of twelve lively individuals, Max befriends his tiny pals and discovers their secrets. They were once the property of the Bronte children, years and years ago. Their exploits have been well recorded in "History of the Young Men" (by Branwell Bronte) and their names and personalities established therein. Yet when an American collector offers a high price for the Twelves, wherever they might be, Max finds his new friends threatened and acts of heroism and derring-do quickly follow. The real genius of the book comes from the fact that Clarke began with something real ("History of the Young Men" WAS created by the four Bronte kids) and adapted it seamlessly with fantastical elements (living soldiers). The effect is that the book works like a slightly more mature "Indian in the Cupboard" or even "Toy Story". In the hands of a lesser artist, this tale would've been trite or cheap. Certainly the soldiers never really act like real men. They're perfectly content to scale great heights in the attic or act like toys in fake battles against chessmen. Still, Clarke is to be commended for giving each soldier an individual personality and history in keeping with that determined by the original Brontes. Which is not to say that the book doesn't have its flaws. I mean, it was originally written in 1962. I think you can guess the state of the gender roles. Also, there are odd plot points that come up at interesting moments. An evil toy seeker near the end of the book adds a bit of "Huh?" to the overall proceedings. But as it is, the book has pretty much held up well. There are some scenes of genuine tension when the Twelves e

THE POWER OF GENIUS!

When 8 year-old Max discovers a box of 12 wooden soldiersin Napoleonic uniforms, hidden in the attic of their new home,he is naturally delighted. But is there a link between this old house and the Bronte museum nearby? His find becomes a raretreasure when he realizes that The Twelves are alive, having been endowed by their four genii (the literary Bronte children)with incredible abilities: to think, speak, behave and regenerate their lives at will! Each man has his own name, appearance and identity, reflecting the various aspects of the children's own personalities. But how long can Max keep his precious secret, with two suspicious older siblings nosing about? This charming tale of miniatures answers the questions posed by Margery Williams: what is real and how do toys come alive? Max must learn to trust first his sister, then even an adult, as he struggles to prevent the unthinkable: crass commercial sale and heartless exportation to America. What devastating deportation to the Young Men, as a result of media curiosity and a mercenary older brother. Is there no way they can be saved for literary England and preserved in safety where they truly belong? Young Max behaves in a surprisingly adult manner, as he insists on permitting the Twelves to chart their own destiny. Keeping their military dignity intact, they attempt and accomplish marvels of logistics with minimal aid. This is a cute, imaginative tale (which might inspire some interest in the original Four Genii), for children of all ages.