Lucy Fitch Perkins (1865–1937)

What a treat! I remember this fondly from when I read it aged 7 (the image of tiny plump Dutch children sleeping in cupboards stayed with me, but little else), and am thrilled that it's better than I remember: funny, sly, gentle, kind-hearted, and (now that I know more about the Netherlands and my Dutch heritage) very accurate.

She nails how small children think (or don't) and behave, which I wouldn't have realised on first reading when young. (Good authors write about how people are, poor show more authors write about how characters act in books, which is not the same thing, and the reason why poorly-written books age badly as tastes change, but the great writers are still with us, and still ring true.)

There are moments throughout the book demonstrating this. Here's a section where Kit and Kat are disappointed that they might miss out on a milk wagon ride, due to wearing their best clothes:

Grandmother went to the press and brought out two aprons. One was a very small apron. It woudn't reach to Kit's knees ... "This was your Uncle Jan's when he was a little boy," she said. "It's pretty small, but it will help some." Kit wished that Uncle Jan had taken it with him when he went to America, but he didn't say so.

Then Grandmother took another apron out of the press. It looked as if it had been there a long time. "Kat, you must wear this," she said. "It was your mother's when she was a little girl."

Now, this apron was all faded, and it had patches on it of different kinds of cloth. Kat looked at her best dress. Then she looked at the apron. Then she thought about the milk cart. She wondered if she wanted to go in the milk cart badly enough to wear that apron over her Sunday dress! She stuck her finger in her mouth and looked sidewise at Grandmother Winkle.

Grandmother didn't say a word. She just looked firm and held up the apron. Very soon Kat came slowly— very slowly— and Grandmother buttoned the apron up behind, and that was the end of that.

One reviewer, I think unfairly, worried about early statements that boys are better than girls at certain things, but Lucy Fitch Perkins clearly doesn't believe it herself, and often shows Kat's good sense compared to Kit's with moments like these, througout the book:

"What do you suppose the Vink is?" said Kat to Kit. "I think it is something like a church," said Kit. "You don't know what a Vink is, so there," said Kat. "I think it's something to eat." Then Kit changed the subject.

I'm half-Dutch, so particularly sought this out as a child, but it's so good that I'm now going to look for the others by her, she's terrific.

(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s). I feel a lot of readers automatically render any book they enjoy 5, but I grade on a curve! show less

Beverly Cleary was a poor, poor reader until the third grade when she read this book, and The Dutch Twins completely changed her life. She became an avid reader, then a teacher, then a librarian, and then one of the greatest children’s authors of the 20th century. Quite the recommendation, eh?

But I absolutely don’t get it. This book is nothing like Cleary’s humorous books about real kids acting like real kids and getting into real trouble. The twins, Kit and Kat, do get into some show more trouble, but their antics won’t even evoke a smile, much less a laugh.

I’m glad for Cleary, who died a few days ago, but I don’t see history repeating itself with this book from 1911. This book by Lucy Fitch Perkins was a classic in its day, but there’s a reason Beezus and Ramona has never gone out of print, and most people have never of The Dutch Twins. I couldn’t finish this short book. show less

8/1/25: the older I get the more I love this book L MAOOOO dreams of a childhood I never had--fighting fire with fire, injustice with chaos. Lowkey can't tell what period of history this is, though references to Christian schisms makes me think mid 19th c?? (though there's the "some years ago" & book was written in 1919 so maybe it's later 19th c.) I love these kids dearly and I will be blatantly honest with that I still do be shipping 11 years later. (ALSO HEYO re: the teacher's note in the show more back this is just like the book abt mountains I read last semester that was like yeah girls can do outdoor things But Also Domesticity. you will never escape housework even Out There. Jean my beloved though. Queen.
this is a book I would pay Good Money to get my hands on a first edition
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1/20/23: impulse reread this because I don't like doing homework and loved it exactly as much as I did 9 years ago. Accidentally literally squealed at the end even though I fully knew what was happening bc of the ungodly amount of times I reread that as a kid and my roomie was like o_o??? you good?
yeah. This is just a super short and fun book overall I have always thoroughly enjoyed the utter chaos of the RRC chasing down Angus. The absolute insanity of these 12 year olds is unparalleled loved it so much as a kid and still do LOL. Alan and Jean and Jock and Sandy are top tier characters
ALSO I am suddenly remembering that this was probably one of my first introductions to the concept of shipping fictional characters even though I was nine and had no idea what the heck it was that is so funny to me

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i will honestly admit this was most definitely one of my favorite books as a nine year old. adding it to GR right now because i just remembered i could do that. one of the nicer ones of the Twins series considering the times they were written in. WHY is the goodreads cover literally a screenshot of an amazon listing hello show less

This is a library discard book I've owned for about fifteen years and haven't read through until now. This hardcover, published in 1912, is part of a vast series of books by Perkins where she wrote about children from various cultures and time periods (Filipino Twins, Scotch Twins, Eskimo Twins, etc). By today's standards this would be regarded as a middle grade book, though the content could certainly be read to a younger child.

The text is simple and the illustrations, by Perkins, are show more really quite cute. The content is very much in the context of the time period and the culture. Taro and Take live with their mother, father, granny and the new baby, Bot Chan. They are descended from samurai. Taro is the boy and is taught he has a great legacy to fulfill. His sister, Take, is told that she's just a girl and her goal in life is to marry, bear her husband's children, and eventually become a mother-in-law. Accurate for 1912? Absolutely. Made me cringe to read (and type just now)? Absolutely.

That aside, the book does have its charms. It tells stories about the day the meet Bot Chan, their special journey to the temple for Bot Chan's one month celebration, and how girls and boys celebrate their birthdays all together on certain days of the year. It's not a bad book when it's regarded in the proper context of the time, but I certainly wouldn't read it to a younger child now, especially a girl. show less