Satu-satunya buku seri Lima Sekawan yang saya punya. Tadinya pengen beli secara berurutan, tapi terpaksa beli random karena...yah, di Gramedia dulu nggak selalu ada berurutan. Dulu pengen koleksi, tapi belum kesampaian karena uang jajan nggak cukup. Hiks. Sekarang pas udah punya duit sendiri untuk ngoleksi seri ini sampai tamat sekali pun, bukunya udah dicetak ulang dengan desain sampul berbeda. Hmmm...saya rasanya lebih suka desain sampul yang lama. Juga nggak tahu perasaan saya aja atau gimana, rasanya jadi lebih tipis. Saya baca review edisi-edisi terbaru dalam bahasa Inggris dan banyak yang kecewa karena banyak yang diubah (bahasanya dianggap terlalu kuno buat anak sekarang). Moga-moga siiih edisi terbaru dalam bahasa Indonesia nggak mengalami hal yang sama. Gaya terjemahan edisi yang saya punya bikin saya merasakan nuansa 1970-an (walau sebenarnya seri ini terbit tahun 1940-an). It's my mother's favorite childhood book series too, and somehow it's soothing to share the same childhood nuance with her.Pada buku Lima Sekawan kedelapan ini, Julian, Dick, Anne, George, dan Timmy melancong naik sepeda karena Bibi Fanny dan Paman Quentin harus pergi menghadiri konferensi. Petualangan mereka dimulai ketika bertemu seorang anak bandel dan cengeng bernama Richard Kent yang ngotot ingin bersepeda bersama mereka. Ternyata Richard ini anak seorang miliuner dan jadi sasaran penculikan. Apesnya, penculik-penculik itu salah orang. Bukannya Richard, mereka malah menculik Dick (yang namanya merupakan kependekan dari 'Richard', selain juga berarti bahasa slang untuk menyebut kemaluan laki-laki. Poor Dick, so unlucky with names).Lima Sekawan benar-benar membangkitkan keinginan masa kecil deh. Mereka boleh berpetualang tanpa pengawasan orang dewasa (saya ga boleh). Mereka bisa ke mana-mana naik sepeda (saya ga bisa). Mereka punya abang kayak Julian yang sopan dan bisa diandalkan (saya ga punya). Agak aneh sih excuse yang dipakai untuk membolehkan mereka jalan-jalan. Bibi Fanny dan Paman Quentin nggak bisa membiarkan anak-anak di pondok karena mereka mau pergi, dan nggak ada yang jaga anak-anak. Namun mereka boleh melancong tanpa ada orang dewasa yang jaga karena "ada Timmy, dia sama seperti dua orang dewasa." Guess what, kalau anak-anak ini ditinggal di pondok pun mereka bakal bareng sama Timmy, nggak ada masalah kan? Penjahatnya agak tolol di buku ini --untunglah. Meninggalkan anak-anak di halaman, bukannya menyekap mereka di ruangan tertutup? Tiba-tiba saya ngerasa lebih berbakat jadi kriminal dibanding penjahat-penjahat ini karena saya bisa mikirin cara-cara lain yang lebih efektif supaya anak-anak ini nggak jadi ancaman.Saya nggak pernah menyadarinya waktu baca buku ini di masa kecil dulu, tapi Lima Sekawan ini ternyata memang lapar melulu, hehe. Saya juga jadi lapar. Juga pengen coba limun jahe yang kayaknya jadi minuman wajib mereka di setiap seri.Menawan imajinasi buat anak kecil, gaping plot hole and one-dimensional villain buat orang dewasa. Apa pun, sepertinya buku ini akan jadi buku yang asyik untuk dibaca bareng dan didiskusikan bersama anak-anak saya nanti :)
This books offers a different setting with the five cycling through the countryside. This story also has more strong crime element and criminals get more page space than usual. Except for the fun during the initial cycling part, this book may not rate as the best of the famous five books - secret passages and criminals making some of the children prisoners and Timmy protecting them is fast becoming routine fare in the series. The boy Richard was different from the kids who make guest appearance in other series. But he is not a really exciting character as such.
What do You think about Five Get Into Trouble (2015)?
Five get into trouble is the eighth book in the Famous Five series and it opens into a delightful breakfast scene where the Five ( the kids + the dog Timmy) decide to go on a bicycling trip while their parents are away.The descriptions of the country side , the picnic setting , the food spread , the villages they cross and the enthusiasm is so infectious that you really feel yourself transported into the scene.Timmy and George make me smile the most with their bonding and love for each other. Julian is the perfect elder brother sort of guy . The sweetest little one Anne and the naughty one Dick just completes the picture of friends you would love to surround yourself with.The Five meet Richard at one of the lakes, owned by his dad and so the adventure begins as trouble follows this boy. Its like they say , "this guy was definitely bad news!" but you can't help feeling bad for him either as he is blamed for the troubles.Dick is kidnapped 'cause of mistaken identity and the rest have to find him ASAP. They get trapped , threatened and even have to hide with a convict to escape the men responsible for all this mess up.A little predictable (of course! ) but yes , it is sure an awesome read. a good , much needed break from the thrillers and crime fictions available today in market. The settings , the people , the writing is all simple and endearing.
—Nimue
It is also a good book just like the other Famous Five books. The best part was when Dick was kidnapped and Julian, Anne, George, Timmy and Richard went to find him on the Owl's Hill. It was terrfying when the five were trapped in Mr.Perton's house. But Julian as clever and brave as ever found a solution to this problem too. At last Dick was escaped and the smugglers were handed over to the cops. Well, I liked the quick answering of Julian when Hunchy used to start his nonsense... Aggie was really kind to the Five, I mean Six (including Richard). It was a happy ending of an exciting adventure and Richard, the spoilt boy was also on track at last.
—Prashansa
