The value of the dollar was VERY different in the 1940s

The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright was one of the titles mentioned in the Excellent Books for Early and Eager Readers that I reviewed not too long ago and one of the first from my holds list that I picked up to read. Firstly, even though this book was written in the 1940s it's still very readable for a contemporary middle grade (or adult in my case) audience. The book follows the 4 Melendy children (Mona, Rush, Randy, and Oliver) who are described (and drawn) with loving detail by the author along with their father, Cuffy the housekeeper, and Willy Sloper the handyman. The basic premise of the book (which is the first in a 4 part series by the way) is that the four children form a club to stave off their boredom wherein they pool their weekly allowances so that every Saturday they can each afford to go on solo adventures and do something that they really want to do (but which will likely not appeal to anyone else). Their interests much like their personalities were realistic for the time period in which the book was written although they feel somewhat far-fetched in comparison to today's children (one of the kids is obsessed with opera). Each of their Saturday adventures comes complete with peril (of the lightest variety) and life lessons learned so that there are built-in morals (sometimes heavy-handed) built into the narrative. I liked it but it's probably not going to be the first book I think of to recommend...unless the kid really digs the opera in which case I am ready. 6/10

Source: Goodreads

What's Up Next: Lumberjanes Vol 1: Beware the Kitten Holy by Noelle Stevenson (might be a masterpost with more volumes included)

What I'm Currently Reading: The Umbrella Academy, Volume 1: Apocalypse Suite by Gerard Way & Gabriel Ba

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **