Family Grandstand

The first of two chidren's novels chronicling the adventures of the Ridgeway family - the second, Family Sabbatical, has been enthusiastically recommended to me by a number of friends, on more than one occasion - Family Grandstand is a charming tale, one with an appealing cast of characters and a fairly gentle but engaging set of happenings. Set in the 1950s (possibly the late 1940s?), it follows the story of the three Ridgeway children - twelve-year-old Susan, who was sensible and firm, but never bossy; middle child and boy-of-the-family George, who was going on ten, and loved animals of any and every variety; and six-year-old Dumpling (real name: Irene), whose interesting pronouncements and bespectacled appearance had her family show more convinced that she was a uniquely thoughtful and intelligent baby - who live on College Avenue, in a lovely old-fashioned house with a tower. Their father, who is a professor at Midwest University, and their mother, a mystery writer, complete the family; while serious student Dorothy Sturm, earning her way by helping out in the Ridgeway home, football star Tommy Tucker (AKA Tommy Tokarynski), and the local neighborhood children round out the cast of characters.

Published in 1952, this is a sweet, rather old-fashioned family story, with a little bit of football and college interest thrown in. I enjoyed pretty much everything about it, from the many incidents involving the children's animals - the adoption of Torible Terence, the happy freeing of the turtles, the unhappy freeing of Dickie the canary - to the sub-plot involving Dorothy and Tommy. The latter is resolved fairly predictably - I knew Dorothy would give in and tutor Tommy, helping him to catch up in chemistry - but I was interested to see it play out all the same. As someone who finds the current state of athletics at many universities - the way it has been turned into a big business, and allowed to supersede the true purpose of higher education (ie: academics) - very disturbing, I was pleased that it was simply understood that, without prospering in his studies, Tommy would not be allowed to play. I have difficulty imagining that being insisted upon today, at some of our schools.

In any case, this was just an immensely engaging read, and although I wouldn't say that anything particularly momentous occurred in the course of the story, I was completely involved with the characters. I can't wait to see what the Ridgeways make of France, in Family Sabbatical! show less

A delight. Very little feels dated; I agree that it was worth reissuing. Not amazing, not original, but so much joy and so heartwarming that I couldn't resist rounding up to four stars. It is somewhat episodic, but there's also a strong arc. And we get peeks into so many people's lives, perspectives, hopes, and dreams. Not just the three children's, but also their parents, the neighbor children, the football player, the student-tenant, even the dean and the chemistry professor are real people instead of cardboard clichés.

Why are these so hard to find, when stories like the [b:The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy|266904|The Penderwicks A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy|Jeanne Birdsall|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320508900s/266904.jpg|2564478] are so popular? This is charming, and timeless, and gosh I wish the set would be re-issued so I could read the others, too. I definitely recommend this to fans of the Penderwicks - and vice-versa. And I know that as much as I love it now, I would have loved it even more as a child.

Sweet, cute and wholesome. I was diverted but not enchanted. Contrary to what Wendy promised me, there are no actual lizards in this book. Ultimately, I neither connected with nor cared about anyone in the family.

Fun and old fashioned. Great family. Fun adventures. Very quiet story, I'm happy that all turns out well.