The Melendys move from their New York City apartment building to a fabulous old home in the country, where they uncover a secret room that’s been boarded up for years-among other adventures! This story is even better on audio. The four Melendy siblings pool their minimal allowances so that they can each enjoy a special Saturday outing of their own. At this point in Enright’s career, her writing was becoming a bit faster-paced, and the acceleration improves her already engaging prose.

This book kicks off the Melendy Quartet series in grand style. It has a delicate beauty to its gorgeous prose, and although it’s very hard to find, The Sea Is All Around is well worth the search! A fresh breeze of a book! This is also her first novel for children.Ī tribute to Maine and all its magic, this is a gentle story of a girl going to live with her aunt in a remote wilderness and making new friends. There are delicious moments like when Garnet and her best friend get accidentally locked in the library, and when Garnet goes to the county fair. In case you haven’t yet met her wondrous world of books, here’s an overview of her novels in chronological order of publication:Ī Newbery medal winner, this slim book is perhaps the most well-known of Enright’s works. The summers she spent on her uncle’s Wisconsin farm definitely influenced her writing and the way she observed nature and recorded it in both a realistic and whimsical manner. For me, there is such a sense of delight in Enright’s familiar descriptions of summers in the countryside, of searching for butterflies and exploring old houses and finding arrowheads. The Saturdays is the first installment of Enright's Melendy Quartet, an engaging and warm series about the close-knit Melendy family and their surprising adventures.I’ve been rereading the novels of Elizabeth Enright for the past few months, because they’re *so* re-readable and absolutely perfect for this time of year. Written more than half a century ago, The Saturdays unfolds with all the ripe details of a specific place and period but remains, just the same, a winning, timeless tale. is in operation and every Saturday is definitely one to remember.

If they pool their resources and take turns spending the whole amount, they can each have at least one memorable Saturday afternoon of their own. Tired of wasting Saturdays doing nothing but wishing for larger allowances, the four Melendys jump at Randy's idea to start the Independent Saturday Afternoon Adventure Club (I.S.A.A.C.). There's thirteen-year-old Mona, who has decided to become an actress twelve-year-old mischievous Rush ten-and-a-half-year-old Randy, who loves to dance and paint and thoughtful Oliver, who is just six. Meet the Melendys! The four Melendy children live with their father and Cuffy, their beloved housekeeper, in a worn but comfortable brownstone in New York City.

The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright