Reviews from the Children's Section - Then There Were Five and Spiderweb For Two

One of my favorite genres and one that is the easiest for me to push aside is middle grade fiction. This year to make sure I get a little more children's and young adult fiction I thought I would designate the first Monday of every month Middle Grade Monday (though sometimes it doesn't end up working quite right) .  While a lot of my picks this year are classics I am trying to branch out a little bit and read new or at least recent releases.  This month's books are two f/rom my very favorite children's series but I didn't actually discover the last two - Then There Were Five and Spiderweb for Two by Elizabeth Enright until I was an adult.  You can see my review of the first two books here

Then There Were Five by Elizabeth Enright -

Blurb: A summer that promises to be eventful turns into something extra special when the four Melendy children become five.

My Thoughts:  This was a bit darker than the previous two books.  The Melendy children are still having delightful adventures but now there's talk of war and Mr. Melendy is away from home quite often.  When Rush and Randy go on a scrap metal collecting drive they come across Orrin Meeker and the boy who lives there - Mark.  While there isn't explicit description of abuse it is very clear that Mark's life isn't very hard.  There's also one tense scene where Mark and Rush encounter a still deep in the woods though once again it's short and not particularly graphic.  This may be my favorite book in the series.  It's a bit more serious than the previous two books and a bit more grown up but at the same time there wasn't anything I'd be uncomfortable having my eight year old reading.  One thing I really love about the Melendy's is that their lives are fairly simple but that's not really stressed.  They don't have wild extravagant adventures or lots of fancy things and they don't go on and on about loving to "work" or be helpful like some other classic children's books.  They build treehouses and forts.  They have picnics and for arrowheads and the youngest becomes fascinated by caterpillars.   They have to clean up after themselves but they're not always excited about it which I found refreshing.  And the end was just sweet.  This may just be my favorite.

Spiderweb for Two by Elizabeth Enright

Blurb:  Left alone when Rush, Mark, and Mona go away to boarding school, Randy and Oliver are lonely and bored until a mysterious letter brings the first of many clues to a mystery that takes all winter to solve.

My Thoughts: This one is a bit different from the previous books because it features just Oliver and Randy.  While Randy is a central character in the previous 3 books Oliver was not quite as developed being the baby of the group.

I thoroughly enjoyed the treasure hunt concept and watching Randy and Oliver puzzle out the clues was really fun.  Sometimes they sped through them and sometimes they were stumped for quite some time.  And since they are Melendys after all mixed in with the clue solving are a few fun little adventures.  I did miss Rush and Mona but I think it was balanced out by my enjoyment of seeing Randy and Oliver take center stage.  My only complaint is that this is the last book featuring the Melendy children.  I'm so sad to see the last of them but luckily they hold up very well for rereads!

As a whole this series is one of my absolute favorite children's section and these last two especially just aren't that dated considering they were written in the 40s and 50s.  These are kids doing kid stuff and while they do have a little more freedom and a lot less electronic options than kids today there's nothing that is time period specific.  All kids like exploring and having adventures and building treehouses - or at least every kid I've known.  I also appreciated how the author handled the darker issues that she addressed in Then There Were Five.  She didn't dismiss or gloss over the seriousness of what was going on but at the same time conveyed events in a way that I would feel completely comfortable with my 8 year old reading it though I do suspect I'd have to explain what a still is!