The Moffats (original 1941; edition 2001)

This was a cute little story read in just a few hours. It focuses on the four children of a single mother living in a small Connecticut suburb. Written in 1941 before the U.S. involvement in World War II, but taking place just after World War I, it is tinged with easy innocence. The children, Jane, Sylvie, Joey and Rufus, are just old enough to begin helping mom with household chores and running small errands in town, but they are still young enough to get themselves into mischief. Running away from school and riding a freight train as a first grader wasn't as dangerous then as it would be today. ( )

old edition, 1969

Simple, old fashioned tale. ( )

This is a sweet episodic family story, set around the time of WWI. The past setting isn't alienating, the characters and their concerns are easy to relate to. It would make an excellent read aloud - I'd recommend it to someone looking for a family story to read to children of different ages. With Janey (8) and Rufus (5) the main focus, this can appeal to boys and girls of different ages.
I listened to the Full Cast Audio production. While it was wonderfully done as I've come to relish from Full Cast, this story didn't give them much scope to work with, as there was little conversation, and much description. ( )

I had forgotten how funny this book was. I laughed out loud at the description of Jane hypnotizing Rufus to be a dog.