Status
Available
Series
Publication
Holt Rinehart and Winston Inc (1942), Paperback
Description
The Melendy family moves to a house in the country where a secret room, a cupola, a stable, and a brook provide Mona, Rush, Randy, and Oliver with adventures far different from the city life to which they are accustomed.
User reviews
LibraryThing member Whisper1
What a delightful, easy, breezy book. There is nothing spectacular about it, no complicated plot, no difficult story line, and there is no page turning, cannot wait to get to the end feeling.
But, there is a calm sense of wonderment regarding the way in which the author painted an idyllic childhood
There is a loving widowed father, a nanny who is kind and gentle, a dog, and warm food and cool drink.
There are streams, tree houses, wintry ponds for ice skating, bikes for riding, fields with gentle breezes that rustle the flowers, summer storms that necessitate the lighting of candles, crisp leaves of merry color and a hidden, mysterious room to be explored.
Reading this book is like a slow walk down a lovely fall lane, like a gentle summer rain, like a lovely, gentle winter snow fall and like a field of spring daffodils.
Recommended for anyone who needs a break from stress that requires balm for a weary soul.
But, there is a calm sense of wonderment regarding the way in which the author painted an idyllic childhood
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of four lovely children who were uprooted from a house in the city to a large mansion-like structure in the country.There is a loving widowed father, a nanny who is kind and gentle, a dog, and warm food and cool drink.
There are streams, tree houses, wintry ponds for ice skating, bikes for riding, fields with gentle breezes that rustle the flowers, summer storms that necessitate the lighting of candles, crisp leaves of merry color and a hidden, mysterious room to be explored.
Reading this book is like a slow walk down a lovely fall lane, like a gentle summer rain, like a lovely, gentle winter snow fall and like a field of spring daffodils.
Recommended for anyone who needs a break from stress that requires balm for a weary soul.
Show Less
LibraryThing member satyridae
07/11
This time through, I was struck anew by the brilliance of Enright's writing. She's subtle, she's hilarious, she's... well, brilliant. I suspect she's a large part of the reason I'm such a harsh Goodreads rater.
This book is one of my favorites. Each of the characters is so distinct, so
The storyline is lovely. There's just enough, never too much. It's not the least bit dated, though it is quite firmly rooted in WWII. I'm still trying to decide what I feel dates a book, as I've had some disagreements regarding this with other Goodreads people (Wendy, I'm looking at you).
I do so love the Melendys.
01/10
I love this one more than The Saturdays. I love the wartime flavor, the feeling of what it was like to be a kid during WWII, how it permeated everything in ways I'd never thought of. I love the move to the country, and the barefoot joy that comes along with that. I love the wild night with the fever and the storm. I love the way Enright allows her lyrical style to run rampant. I love Clarinda and the caddis houses and the dam. And the illustrations, of course, oh how I love the illustrations.
This time through, I was struck anew by the brilliance of Enright's writing. She's subtle, she's hilarious, she's... well, brilliant. I suspect she's a large part of the reason I'm such a harsh Goodreads rater.
This book is one of my favorites. Each of the characters is so distinct, so
Show More
singular, so real (even the dogs, for heaven's sake) that the inclusion of "Mona said" and "Rush said" is practically superfluous.The storyline is lovely. There's just enough, never too much. It's not the least bit dated, though it is quite firmly rooted in WWII. I'm still trying to decide what I feel dates a book, as I've had some disagreements regarding this with other Goodreads people (Wendy, I'm looking at you).
I do so love the Melendys.
01/10
I love this one more than The Saturdays. I love the wartime flavor, the feeling of what it was like to be a kid during WWII, how it permeated everything in ways I'd never thought of. I love the move to the country, and the barefoot joy that comes along with that. I love the wild night with the fever and the storm. I love the way Enright allows her lyrical style to run rampant. I love Clarinda and the caddis houses and the dam. And the illustrations, of course, oh how I love the illustrations.
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LibraryThing member JalenV
The Four-Story Mistake is probably my favorite book in the Melendy Family quartet. I've loved and reread the books for decades, but this is my first listening to an audio version. Ms. Dillman is great at getting in all the nuances of Ms. Enright's humor, as I noticed when I anticipated favorite
The Melendy family is a nice one. I don't mean they're angelic -- the children have their faults and get into trouble, but they're a loving family. Their mother may be dead, but their father genuinely cares about them. Cuffy the housekeeper is a grandmotherly sort who knows when to scold and when to spoil. The house is the sort I'd have loved to have lived in when I was a child and wouldn't mind living in now (with a stair lift). Join Rush, Randy, Oliver, and even Mona as they explore the wonderful old place! You'll be glad you did.
My thanks to this audio version for correcting my error. I thought the family's last name was pronounced the same as 'melody' with an 'n' stuck in. Now I know it's pronounced 'Mell-lend-dee'. Good to know.
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lines. I didn't miss the author's own illustrations because my memory supplied them.The Melendy family is a nice one. I don't mean they're angelic -- the children have their faults and get into trouble, but they're a loving family. Their mother may be dead, but their father genuinely cares about them. Cuffy the housekeeper is a grandmotherly sort who knows when to scold and when to spoil. The house is the sort I'd have loved to have lived in when I was a child and wouldn't mind living in now (with a stair lift). Join Rush, Randy, Oliver, and even Mona as they explore the wonderful old place! You'll be glad you did.
My thanks to this audio version for correcting my error. I thought the family's last name was pronounced the same as 'melody' with an 'n' stuck in. Now I know it's pronounced 'Mell-lend-dee'. Good to know.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Elemi
One of my favorite books that I read as a child, by one of my favorite children's authors. This is an "I wish I was part of this family" kind of book, with an "I wish I lived in this house" kind of house.
LibraryThing member bexaplex
The four Melendy siblings move out to the countryside, explore hidden corners of their new house, raise money for war bonds, and meet odd neighbors with reptiles in bathtubs.
LibraryThing member NellieMc
I ran into a comment about this book and remembered reading the Melendy Family Quartet many, many years ago. I was addicted to Nancy Drew mysteries and my Mother took me to the bookstore and told me I could pick out any book as long as it wasn't Nancy Drew. I remembered loving this book and, over
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the years, have remembered many scenes from the books. So I bought them again to see if they were as good as I remembered. They were -- admittedly they're very much of their time (1940's) but the warmth and fun is there and ageless. I'd recommend these books to any child (and, frankly, any adult looking for a little innocent fun. All of the first three books are about the same in quality -- the only one that can be skipped is Spiderweb for Two -- which suffered a little from the lack of two of the four children. Show Less
LibraryThing member satyridae
07/11
This time through, I was struck anew by the brilliance of Enright's writing. She's subtle, she's hilarious, she's... well, brilliant. I suspect she's a large part of the reason I'm such a harsh Goodreads rater.
This book is one of my favorites. Each of the characters is so distinct, so
The storyline is lovely. There's just enough, never too much. It's not the least bit dated, though it is quite firmly rooted in WWII. I'm still trying to decide what I feel dates a book, as I've had some disagreements regarding this with other Goodreads people (Wendy, I'm looking at you).
I do so love the Melendys.
01/10
I love this one more than The Saturdays. I love the wartime flavor, the feeling of what it was like to be a kid during WWII, how it permeated everything in ways I'd never thought of. I love the move to the country, and the barefoot joy that comes along with that. I love the wild night with the fever and the storm. I love the way Enright allows her lyrical style to run rampant. I love Clarinda and the caddis houses and the dam. And the illustrations, of course, oh how I love the illustrations.
This time through, I was struck anew by the brilliance of Enright's writing. She's subtle, she's hilarious, she's... well, brilliant. I suspect she's a large part of the reason I'm such a harsh Goodreads rater.
This book is one of my favorites. Each of the characters is so distinct, so
Show More
singular, so real (even the dogs, for heaven's sake) that the inclusion of "Mona said" and "Rush said" is practically superfluous.The storyline is lovely. There's just enough, never too much. It's not the least bit dated, though it is quite firmly rooted in WWII. I'm still trying to decide what I feel dates a book, as I've had some disagreements regarding this with other Goodreads people (Wendy, I'm looking at you).
I do so love the Melendys.
01/10
I love this one more than The Saturdays. I love the wartime flavor, the feeling of what it was like to be a kid during WWII, how it permeated everything in ways I'd never thought of. I love the move to the country, and the barefoot joy that comes along with that. I love the wild night with the fever and the storm. I love the way Enright allows her lyrical style to run rampant. I love Clarinda and the caddis houses and the dam. And the illustrations, of course, oh how I love the illustrations.
Show Less
LibraryThing member satyridae
Stellar narration of one of my favorite books. I'm so glad that the Enright books are so available, still. I love all the characters in this book, and I especially love Enright's ability to turn a phrase. Her firefly-spangled nights ring gloriously true. One feels just how cold the brook water is,
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when Rush plunges in. Highly recommended. Show Less
LibraryThing member antiquary
I read this series when young and lately reread this second book and still enjoyed it. In this volume the family moves from New York City to a large house in the country. I find the suggestion that a girl who used to live there ran away to be a famous ballerina incredible, but otherwise it gives a
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good feel for life on the home front during WW2. Show Less
LibraryThing member SeriousGrace
The Melendy family has moved to the country. In the previous story, The Saturdays their brownstone in New York was damaged by fire. Father Melendy has moved his four kids (Rush, Miranda, Oliver and Mona), dog (Isaac), handyman (Willy), and housekeeper (Cuffy) to "the Four-Story mistake", a house
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that was supposed to have four stories, but was somehow left off during construction. It's an odd looking house since the fourth story was added after the fact. Father is often away (hence the live-in housekeeper) so the four children are left to explore their new surroundings, the countryside and the house. Show Less
LibraryThing member foggidawn
The Melendy family moves from the city to a rambling old house in the country, where they have many more adventures.
This series continues in the same charming vein. I may have enjoyed this book even more than the first. Recommended!
This series continues in the same charming vein. I may have enjoyed this book even more than the first. Recommended!
LibraryThing member LudieGrace
It's hard not to say that this is a little bit of what every childhood ought to be. Enright writes marvelously. I'll want a set of these for our library eventually, kids or no.
Subjects
Language
Original publication date
1942
Physical description
7.6 inches