(but not exclusively)

Taking a stand against your home or haven being bulldozed, a la Arthur Dent in the opening pages of The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy. :)

Children and others in juvenile lit fighting demolition, condemnation of homes, bulldozing, construction of hyper-space bypasses, change to property or environment. Or when someone is trying to force an eviction, through "eminent domain," government seizure or similar circumstances.

Felling of trees, draining of marshes, dam construction—these also apply.

There's also a book here where a witch, ghost and some jackdaws take a stand at proposed construction on their beloved ruins—that counts, too! :)

If it's about kids or for kids / YA audiences, please include it!
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Comments Showing 1-25 of 25 (25 new)

dateUp arrow    newest »

message 1: by Capn (last edited Jan 19, 2022 10:53AM) (new)

Capn Arghh! There's two books I recently saw:

- a witch and a crow (or other corvid) attempt to stop the ruins of an old church / abbey / ecclesiastical building from being demolished to build a supermarket (and I'm 100% confident on the "supermarket" wording). It was by a fantasy author that I looked up for another reason. Mooncoin Castle, Brinton Turkle (and it was a ghost, a witch and some jackdaws)

a girl meets the ghost of a (miner?) boy, I think named Adam, and that's why the forest / spinney / copse is called "Adam's Green" or "Adam's Wood" or something. And of course this is the only nice patch of green left in her town, and she wants to save it. Again, was searching for "magic" in "juvenile fiction" in the 70s-90s, so it could be anywhere.... Adam's Common, David Wiseman (and wow was that ever a big search through a very full history!) :S


message 2: by Cheryl (new)

Cheryl Highway Cats is similar, but obv. not kids...


message 3: by Capn (new)

Capn Cheryl is busier irl atm. wrote: "Highway Cats is similar, but obv. not kids..."

Ah, I didn't know about this book - sounds interesting!


message 4: by Becca (new)

Becca Such a useful list, thank you!


message 5: by Capn (new)

Capn Not for juvenile audiences, but a funny Canadian story on this theme: They Won't Demolish Me!


message 6: by Capn (last edited May 20, 2022 06:55AM) (new)

Capn The War for the Lot: A Tale of Fantasy and Terror "When they lose their home in the city dump because of urban renewal, the city rats decide to invade a nearby wooded lot and the wood animals enlist the help of a young boy to fight off the attack."

Worth a mention, but maybe not quite fitting the parameters of this list.


message 7: by Capn (new)

Capn Another book that is hard to sort, but might be sought by someone is: The Stubborn Old Woman
"An old woman, so stubborn she won't leave her house and farm which are crumbling into the river, meets an equally stubborn little girl who wants her to leave."


message 8: by Cheryl (new)

Cheryl Capn wrote: "Another book that is hard to sort, but might be sought by someone is: The Stubborn Old Woman
"An old woman, so stubborn she won't leave her house and farm which are crumbling into th..."


That sounds interesting! Bulla hasn't disappointed me yet, and it's on openlibrary.org, so I'll check it out.


message 9: by Capn (new)

Capn Cheryl struggles to catch up wrote: "Capn wrote: "Another book that is hard to sort, but might be sought by someone is: The Stubborn Old Woman
"An old woman, so stubborn she won't leave her house and farm which are crum..."


Oh, thank you very kindly for sharing that it is on Open Library! :) I appreciate your reviews very much, btw - always worth a read. ;)


message 10: by Cheryl (new)

Cheryl Thank you!
The book is worth a read, too. Almost as short as a picture book.


message 11: by Capn (new)

Capn Secret City, U. S. A makes this list too, I think. Only I can't add it, because I'm full up on votes. :S

If someone could vote it in on my behalf, I'd appreciate it. :)


message 12: by Capn (last edited Nov 30, 2022 08:11AM) (new)

Capn Oh, and this retro gem!
The Blackmail Machine by Felice Holman
The Blackmail Machine

as well as the Aussie-authored A Blaze of Summer
*no image

and the classic The Covered Bridge
The Covered Bridge by Cornelia Meigs

another classic: The Big Banyan Tree
The Big Banyan Tree by Virginia H. Ormsby

and, in Scotland: Torridons in Trouble
Torridons in Trouble by Marie Muir

also The Great Sockathon The Great Sockathon by Michael Delany

and La batalla de los árboles La batalla de los árboles by Carlos Villanes Cairo


message 13: by Capn (last edited Jan 30, 2023 07:49AM) (new)

Capn And this one:
Quickhoney by Garry Hurle
Quickhoney

and one with cats as protagonists:
The Seven Special Cats

and a NZ one!
Kaitangata Twitch
Kaitangata Twitch by Margaret Mahy


message 14: by Capn (new)

Capn The S.O.O.S
("Save Our Old School"! Set in Wales)


message 15: by Capn (last edited Mar 01, 2023 02:47PM) (new)


message 16: by Capn (new)

Capn One day I'll get around to putting in a request to add, but:


Farthing, Alison. /Shirley Hughes, illustrator.
The Gauntlet Fair

London: Chatto & Windus, 1974, stated 1st; orange boards, in jacket with brown and olive green drawing of children in the gypsy's cart; small 8vo; 88 pp. Juvenile hardback.

By preserving an ancient tradition, four children attempt to save Town Field, the common land of their village, from developers. The Gypsies seem to be their only allies.


message 17: by Capn (new)

Capn And this one - my word, how does THIS end?! :O

Make Way for the Highway
Make Way for the Highway by Caroline Emerson
A new highway was being built. Mike runs the bulldozer, Tony runs the crane, and Pedro drives the dump truck. Join them as they build a highway, but what will they do when the little old lady refuses to leave her home?


message 18: by Rainbowheart (new)

Rainbowheart Holy cow!! I had no idea there was so much overflow.

I picked up all the ones that you mentioned. Let me know if there are more. :)


message 19: by Capn (new)

Capn Oh thank you very, very much, Rainbowheart! :D I will - thanks! Yes, this just keeps coming up as a theme!


message 20: by Capn (last edited Mar 26, 2023 03:01AM) (new)

Capn This one doesn't quite cut the mustard, but I wanted to post it here as it's almost on theme:
Adam and Paradise Island by Charles Keeping
Adam and Paradise Island
When the council of Paradise Isle decided to knock down the old shops and warehouses and a build a motorway, Adam and his friends build a playground in a neglected area of the Isle.


message 21: by Cheryl (new)

Cheryl Adam's Common turned out to be a good read, thank you (and thank the archivists at openlibrary.org). But people of all ages work against the development, it's just that our hero finds the legal evidence to protect the common.


message 22: by Capn (new)

Capn Cheryl wrote: "Adam's Common turned out to be a good read, thank you (and thank the archivists at openlibrary.org). But people of all ages work against the development, it's just that our hero find..."

That's fine - any book with kids (or for kids) where there's an anti-development theme central to the plot is fine for me. :)

I'm glad you liked it! I felt there was a lot of story packed into a little book, and I'm very glad to hear it's been scanned!!! :D Excellent news!


message 23: by Capn (new)

Capn An honourable mention of an obscure book:
Kelso's Carnival by Geraldine Kaye
During a carnival to raise money to replant part of the local wood, Kelso wishes something could be done to put trees in his own barren street


message 24: by Cheryl (last edited May 04, 2024 04:58PM) (new)

Cheryl Capn wrote: "An honourable mention of an obscure book:
Kelso's Carnival by Geraldine Kaye
During a carnival to raise money to replant part of the local wood, Kelso wishes something could be done to put trees..."


We can read an archived copy of this on openlibrary.org.

And I did, and I enjoyed it.


message 25: by Capn (last edited May 05, 2024 02:59AM) (new)

Capn Cheryl wrote: "Capn wrote: "An honourable mention of an obscure book:
Kelso's Carnival by Geraldine Kaye
During a carnival to raise money to replant part of the local wood, Kelso wishes something could be done..."


Oh nice! :D I'll have to take a look - thanks for the rec! (I love archive.org!)


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