Terrible, Horrible Edie (New York Review Books Children's Collection)

The New York Review of books republishes what someone on their staff considers classics. I have yet to go wrong on one of their children’s picks. I read this one with my ten year old granddaughter - thrills, belly laughs, trials, tribulations, and the roiling inner world of one passionate, sensitive, independent, and fearsomely jumping into life little girl. It is a stinking shame that the other three in the series are out of print - but we tracked them down and believe ourselves darn lucky to come out just under $100 to get them.

Growing up, the Edie books were among my all-time favorites and I read them over and over. I'm thrilled to see that this is back in print!

I suppose people who grew up on the books reissued in this Collection will like them again, but I didn't grow up in the US and the books are very dated.

This book was originally published in 1960. Ten year old Edie really isn't terrible or horrible, she's just feisty, curious and determined to get the most out of life. She is plunked in the middle of two high-brow brothers, one older sister, and two younger stepsisters that are a constant distraction to her. The Cares family is completed by Edie's biological father, his new wife Madam, and an entertaining menagerie consisting of a bird, a goat, a beagle, a second dog, and a spider monkey, not to mention their very own cook and kitchen assistant.Edie's step-mother and father decide to spend the summer touring Europe and the kids go to spend the summer at their Aunt Louise'shouse in Mount Harbor, Massachusetts by the sea.A myriad of adventures await them there: sailing on the water, surviving a major hurricane that is both destructive and dangerous, and Edie becoming a super hero as she solves the mystery of who stole the neighbour's valuable jewellery all by herself.The author writes beautifully and has a keen sense of sibling rivalry. She understands how lonely and misplaced a middle child can feel and how the older children seem to have all the freedom and fun while not including her. No one will listen to Edie, give her a chance or invite her along with them so she goes off by herself and does her own thing. She does not feeling guilty or that she needs to apologize to the others for her decisions or actions.This is Spykman's third book about the Cares family. The family is modelled closely after her own upbringing which brings great authenticity to the content. The book is rich in both character and plot and I highly recommend it.

Elizabeth Choate Spykman lived from 1898 to 1956 and wrote 4 books about the Cares children, which are thought to be autobiographical. They certainly have a vividness that endears them to the imagination and to the memory and are all four intensely readable.A Lemon and a Star - 1955The Wild Angel - 1957Terrible, Horrible Edie - 1960Edie on the Warpath - 1966 (published posthumously)All are beautifully written and deserve to remain in print, and are classics in evoking their time and place.

All four of E. C. Spykman's books about the Cares children are simply unforgettable--she was able to bring to vivid life the whole eccentric family. They are perfect for anyone from 8 to 88--lively, funny, endearing, delightful. And so beautifully written! This book is not merely good, but great.

This was a favorite of mine as a child and one of the few Ilm actually adding to my library as a adult.