The Saturdays

Rating:
Summary: A Classic!
Review: "The Saturdays" has been among my favorite juveniles since I discovered it in the library 40 years ago. I'm now in my 50's and can't count how many times I've gone back and reread it. What a treat to see that, at last, some astute editor has had the savvy to bring it back into print so modern audiences can enjoy it--and in a durable hardcover at that. This is a perfect read-aloud for families, in part perhaps because of the age-spread of the four children: preschoolers will envy six-year-old Oliver his lone excursion to the circus, young teens will identify with 13-year-old Mona's stirrings of adolescent rebellion as exemplified by her decision to have her "long butter-colored braids" cut off, and middlers will like 10-year-old Randy's creation of the Independent Saturday Afternoon Adventure Club and the unique situations that befall her (like befriending the formidable and exotic Mrs. Oliphant or tumbling out of a rowboat on Central Park Lake). Each child is a real human being and an individual character whom Enright draws to perfection. And the setting (New York in, probably, early 1940 or '41) will intrigue the younger generations and bring a glow of nostalgia to the older ones. This book should be in every household library in the land!

Rating:
Summary: What did they do before TV?
Review: I've loved The Saturdays since I was about 8, when I read it for the first time. It wasn't until I was older that I realized: these children had to figure out things for fun, because they didn't have TELEVISION! What a concept! Just look what awesome things they find to do. I'm delighted to share this book, and that added idea, with my son.

Rating:
Summary: Thoroughly enjoyable family fun
Review: My daughter, age 9 and I both read The Saturdays over the past few months along with Four-Story Mistake. We loved this family and found each character fun. I loved their adventures and wish I had read these books as a child. I recommend this book to anyone who values their child's mind and wants to protect them from the abundance of nonsense in some children's literature.