Synopses & Reviews
With the arrival of Mark Herron, an orphan whom the Melendys befriend in their usual wholehearted way, a summer already full of happenings reaches yet another level of richness and fun.
All summer said Rush, with his mouth full. Think of it. All summer long.
All summer what? Mona wanted to know.
Just all summer, Rush said happily. I mean this is only the beginning of it. Dams and swimming and the garden and picnics and hot days and all. Oh, boy.
Sometimes it will rain. And sometimes we'll get stomach-aches. And sometimes Cuffy will be cross, said Oliver realistically.
Rush laughed. A pessimist at seven.
With Father in Washington and Cuffy away visiting a sick cousin, almost anything might happen to the Melendys left behind at the Four-Story Mistake. In the Melendy family, adventures are inevitable: Mr Titus and the catfish; the villainy of the DeLacey brothers; Rush's composition of Opus 3; Mona's first rhubarb pie and all the canning; Randy's arrowhead; the auction and fair for the Red Cross. But best of all is the friendship with Mark Herron which begins with a scrap-collection mission and comes to a grand climax on Oliver's birthday.
Here is Elizabeth Enright's story of a long and glorious summer in the country with the Melendy family.
Review
"The Melendys are the quintessential storybook family...[their] ardent approach to living is eternally relevant." -- Publishers Weekly
Synopsis
With Father in Washington and Cuffy, their housekeeper, away visiting a sick cousin, almost anything might happen to the Melendy kids left behind at the Four-Story Mistake. In the Melendy family, adventures are inevitable: Mr. Titus and the catfish; the villainy of the DeLacey brothers; Rush's composition of Opus 3; Mona's first rhubarb pie and all the canning; Randy's arrowhead; the auction and fair for the Red Cross. But best of all is the friendship with Mark Herron, which begins with a scrap-collection mission and comes to a grand climax on Oliver's birthday.
Here is Elizabeth Enright's classic story of a long and glorious summer in the country with the resourceful, endearing Melendy bunch. Then There Were Five is the third installment of Enright's Melendy Quartet, an engaging and warm series about the close-knit Melendy family and their surprising adventures.
Synopsis
With the arrival of Mark Herron, an orphan whom the Melendys befriend in their usual wholehearted way, a summer already full of happenings reaches yet another level of richness and fun.
About the Author
Elizabeth Enright (1909-1968) was born in Oak Park, Illinois, but spent most of her life in or near New York City. Her mother was a magazine illustrator, while her father was a political cartoonist. Illustration was Enright's original career choice and she studied art in Greenwich, Connecticut; Paris, France; and the Parson's School of Design in New York City. After creating her first book in 1937, she developed a taste, and quickly demonstrated a talent, for writing. Throughout her life, she won many awards, including the 1939 John Newbery Medal for Thimble Summer and a 1958 Newbery Honor for Gone-Away Lake. Among her other beloved titles are her books about the Melendy family, starting with The Saturdays, published in 1941. Enright also wrote short stories for adults, and her work was published in The New Yorker, The Ladies Home Journal, Cosmopolitan, The Yale Review, Harpers, and The Saturday Evening Post. She taught creative writing at Barnard College. Translated into many languages throughout the world, Elizabeth Enright's stories are for both the young and the young at heart.