''Gone-Away Lake'' is a children's novel written by

Elizabeth Enright Elizabeth Wright Enright Gillham (September 17, 1907 – June 8, 1968) was an American writer of children's books, an illustrator, writer of short stories for adults, literary critic and teacher of creative writing. Perhaps best known as the New ...

, illustrated by

Beth and Joe Krush Joe Krush (May 18, 1918 – March 8, 2022) and Beth Krush (March 31, 1918 – February 2, 2009) were an American husband-and-wife team of illustrators who worked primarily on children's books. They may be known best for the U.S. editions of all fiv ...

, and published by Harcourt in 1957. It was a runner-up for the annual Newbery Medal and was named to the

Lewis Carroll Shelf Award The Lewis Carroll Shelf Award was an American literary award conferred on several books annually by the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Education annually from 1958 to 1979. Award-winning books were deemed to "belong on the same shelf" ...

list in 1970. It tells the story of cousins who spend a summer exploring and discover a lost lake and the two people who still live there. Enright, the Krushes, and Harcourt produced a sequel published in 1961, ''Return to Gone-Away'', in which the children's family buys a house near Gone-Away.

Plot summary

''Gone-Away Lake'' opens on a train traveling through the countryside of western New York state. Ten-year-old Portia Blake and her six-year-old brother Foster are going to see their favorite cousin, enthusiastic amateur naturalist Julian Jarman. The Jarmans have recently purchased a house in the country. Once there, Portia and Julian spend their days exploring, and one day they discover an abandoned Victorian resort community next to a bog. Elderly siblings Mr. Payton and Mrs. Cheever, the town's only remaining inhabitants, soon become friends with the children, who set up a club in one of the empty houses. Stories of the days when the bog was a lake called Tarrigo are interspersed with the modern-day adventures of Portia and Julian, who at first keep the lake and their new friends a secret. Foster soon discovers the secret and eventually the rest of the Jarman and Blake families also become acquainted with the charms of Gone-Away and its inhabitants. In '' Return to Gone-Away'', a sequel published in 1961, the Blake family buys and restores a house at Gone-Away.

Reception

''Gone-Away Lake'' was a runner-up for the

Newbery Medal The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contr ...

in 1958 (now called a Newbery Honor Book). It received the ''

New York Herald Tribune The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the ''New-York Tribune'' acquired the ''New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and competed ...

s Children's Spring Book Festival Award in 1957. In 1963 the American Library Association named ''Gone-Away Lake'' as the U.S. nominee for the international

Hans Christian Andersen Award The Hans Christian Andersen Awards are two literary awards given by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), recognising one living author and one living illustrator for their "lasting contribution to children's literature". Th ...

. It was named to the

list in 1970. Reviewers then and now praise Enright's excellent characterization, her use of description, and strong presentation of setting and nature in ''Gone-Away Lake''. A review by Irene Haas mentioned that "animals abound, and secrets and clubs, danger and daring".Chevalier, Tracy, ed. (1989), ''Twentieth-Century Children's Writers'', St. James Press, p. 318. According to ''Saturday Review'', Enright "knows how to create real children". Writer and reviewer

Anita Silvey Anita Silvey is an author, editor, and literary critic in the genre of children’s literature. Born in 1947 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Silvey has served as Editor-in-Chief of ''The Horn Book Magazine'' and as vice-president at Houghton Mifflin ...

calls ''Gone-Away Lake'' "Enright's finest achievement" and praises "her descriptive powers and unique ability to observe the world through the eyes of a child". Children's book expert

May Hill Arbuthnot May Hill Arbuthnot (August 27, 1884 – October 2, 1969) was an American educator, editor, writer, and critic who devoted her career to the awareness and importance of children's literature. Her efforts expanded and enriched the selection of bo ...

also praised Enright's fine use of description and observed, "Good prose style for any age level surprises and delights."Arbuthnot, May Hill (1964), ''Children and Books'', Scott, Foresman, p. 19. In 2012 ''Gone-Away Lake'' was ranked number 42 among all-time best children's novels in a survey published by ''School Library Journal'' – the first of three books by Enright in the top 100.

References

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External links

Top 100 Children's Novels #65–61
(2010) – ''Gone-Away Lake'' covered as number 63 (ranked number 42 by an improved survey in 2012, see above) 1957 American novels 1957 children's books American children's novels Newbery Honor-winning works Novels set in New York (state) Children's books set in New York (state)

Plot summary

Reception

See also

References

External links