Rating: 5 Stars
Description: The Melendy children - Mona 13, Rush 12, Miranda called Randy 10 and Oliver age 6 - have always lived in a brownstone in New York City along with Father and Cuffy the housekeeper. When they are uprooted and moved to the country to live in a house called The Four-Story Mistake they are less than thrilled and a little nervous. However, soon they become caught up in a new set of adventures involving alligators, hidden rooms and radio fame.
Genre: Children's
My Impression: It's hard for me to be objective about this book as it's one of my absolute favorites from childhood. I read it to pieces when I was elementary school. When my mother moved a few years ago she was sorting through books to get rid of and this one came to light. I took it home, reread it and fell in love with it all over again. Oliver's a little too much of a baby to really be involved in most of the adventures in this one and Mona has just started to grow up but I adore Rush and Randy. They're not perfect children and often misbehave but not in mean ways. One decides to spend the night out in a tree house without permission and there's occasional fighting and sulking. This is a post-war children's book so it has the traditional wholesome feel - they're not debating deep dark secrets of their inner selves - and missing parents. The father is there but barely, the mother died when Oliver was a baby. Cuffy, the housekeeper, has a larger role but it's still mostly about the kids having there adventures and discovering their new home. This is the 2nd in the Melendy series and while it can be read completely alone it's even more fun to read the whole series in order. I'm really looking forward to reading this aloud to the Tornado when he gets a little older. I think it's a great read aloud book for both boys and girls.
Would I Read More of this Series/Author?: Yes
Would I Recommend this Book?: Obviously!
This was one of my favourites as a child as well. The Melendy family are just so delightful. I bought another one in the series recently for my kids (they are not easy to find here in Europe though).
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad to meet another Melendy fan! Have you read the Gone Away Lake series? I enjoyed that very much as well. I can imagine they're challenging to find in Europe. They're a little challenging to find in the U.S. - in good condition at least! Thanks for visiting!
DeleteI don't think I've ever heard of this book! I will have to see if I can find a copy, even if it's used. It looks like this might be one worth sharing with my daughter when she's older.
ReplyDeleteOh you should! there are 4 books in all - this is the 2nd one. She had another series about Gone Away Lake that's really good too. Can't wait to read them to The Tornado when he gets a little older!
DeleteI'm a huge Melendy fan - I loved the books as a child, read them to my daughter, and still reread them sometimes!
ReplyDeleteI think I might even love them more now! They're just wonderful! Have you tried her Gone-Away books? They're fantastic too.
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