Recommended to me by: Finding it in a Little Free Library
I look in all the little free libraries I pass, but I’m only drawn to take books home if I recognize them. I don’t remember if I read this series as a child, but I certainly recognized it.
I started reading with some trepidation, but despite being written in the 1920s, this book has largely escaped being visited by the Suck Fairy. The children seem to be in the most danger while running away at the beginning of the book, but then settle into creating a home for themselves in an abandoned boxcar in the woods. The oldest boy walks into town and finds work helping a kindly family. The older girl and younger girl and boy have adventures like damming a small nearby creek without mishaps. There are some divisions of work by gender roles, but both the boys and the girls are confident, capable, and active.
The book avoids being overtly racist or homophobic by not having any Black or LGBTQ characters, which makes sense in the small town context. Of course a family of four Black kids running away would have had a much harder time and less help from the adults they encounter.
Recommended for kids, or adults taking a walk down memory lane. I enjoyed sitting on the back step and reading it, and then returned it to the Little Free Library where I found it so someone else can enjoy it.
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