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    The Saturdays
    The Saturdays
    The Saturdays
    Ebook164 pages2 hours

    The Saturdays

    By Elizabeth Enright

    4.5/5

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    About this ebook

    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. 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.

    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.). 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. Before long, I.S.A.A.C. is in operation and every Saturday is definitely one to remember.

    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. 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.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Publishers
    Release dateNov 10, 2015
    ISBN9781250102836
    Author

    Elizabeth Enright

    Elizabeth Enright (1907-1968) 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 New York City. After creating her first book in 1935, 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, including 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, Harper’s, 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.

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    Reviews for The Saturdays

    4.5/5

    283 ratings18 reviews

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    • 4/5
      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
    • 4/5
      Another favorite from childhood, which Mom passed to me (I passed it back when I found my own copy).
    • 5/5
      A childhood favorite that still brings a sense of joy and peace.
    • 5/5
      Mona, Rush, Randy, and Oliver Melendy live in New York City with their father and a housekeeper. The city is full of sights to see and great experiences, especially for children who dream of becoming dancers, actors, and musicians, but it’s also a bit expensive when you only get an allowance of fifty cents a week. One rainy Saturday, Randy gets the idea of pooling their resources: each Saturday, one of the four will get all of the allowances, resulting in a sum that, in the 1940s, is enough for a ticket to the opera or ballet, and various other adventures besides. Along the way, they also discover that the most enjoyable experiences are sometimes serendipitous (and free), and they make many new friends on their adventures.This was lovely! I don’t know how I missed these charming stories until now. I ran across a mention of them in comparison to The Penderwicks, which is certainly apt. I’d also recommend them to fans of E. Nesbit, Sydney Taylor’s All-of-a-Kind Family, and Noel Streatfeild. I wish I could go back and recommend them to my childhood self!
    • 5/5
      Such a fantastic, classic, children's book. Funny that I only read it for the first time at age 31. When I was a kid, I really enjoyed and actually sought out books that took place in New York City. I found it so thrilling to read about city kids and their adventures taking the subway and walking around Central Park. This story is so sweet and funny and really, really well written.
      I can't wait to read more Elizabeth Enright.
    • 5/5
      I ran into a comment about this book and remembered reading the Melendy Family Quartet many, many years ago. I was addicted to Nancy Drew mysteries and my Mother took me to the bookstore and told me I could pick out any book as long as it wasn't Nancy Drew. I remembered loving this book and, over the years, have remembered many scenes from the books. So I bought them again to see if they were as good as I remembered. They were -- admittedly they're very much of their time (1940's) but the warmth and fun is there and ageless. I'd recommend these books to any child (and, frankly, any adult looking for a little innocent fun). All of the first three books are about the same in quality -- the only one that can be skipped is Spiderweb for Two -- which suffered a little from the lack of two of the four children.
    • 3/5
      In the early 40s, a quartet of resourceful siblings pool their allowance money so that each Saturday, one of them can do something fun in the city. They also manage to almost burn their own house down. Twice.
    • 5/5
      6/11 Re-read. I don't know if I think this book is practically perfect because I know it by heart, because I love each and every one of the characters, or because the writing is stellar. Maybe all of those things. Enright was a genius, and it makes me sad when people have never heard of her.

      This time through, the Isaac-the-dog storyline seemed somehow more touching than usual. I love Mona's sadder-but-wiser moment, and Oliver's adventure. But my favorite favorite is the story of Gabrielle and the Gypsies. But Willy Sloper on opera is classic, and close to my heart.

      Seriously, just read this book, okay?

      1/10 Re-read of an old favorite. I love it, but not as much as I love the Gone-Away books. It's somewhat dated, but not in a painful way. It's particularly odd to read about a family who lives in New York City who have a house and a yard and who are decidedly not rich.

      This book feels less like a whole book to me now and more like an introduction to the family who one comes to adore over the next two books. It's a capsule, a moment, and a series of character sketches. All of the characters are interesting but it's the barest hint of what comes next, how we come to know them in The Four Story Mistake and Then There Were Five. I will confess publicly to having no memory whatsoever of Spiderweb For Two, though I remember carrying it home from the library in my daisy-adorned bicycle basket.

      I'm impressed with the sheer staying power Enright's images have- so many things I remembered as crisply as if I'd read them for the first time last week. Who can forget Randy on the trapeze in the Office? Or Oliver at the circus? Cuffy's teeth in a glass? The vignettes are very vivid, and in a lot of ways I think this book is a love poem to a vanished New York.
    • 5/5
      The first and perhaps the best of a series about a family of talented, independent-minded children growing up in the 1940s. In this first book they are living in New York and by pooling their allowances they give each child a Saturday adventure. I enjoyed these stories as a child and still do; my wife who did not know them as a child read them for the first time recently and also enjoyed them.
    • 4/5
      Summary:The Melendys are a family that live in a brownstone in New York City. Their family is made up of Mona, Rush, Miranda, Oliver, their father, and their housekeeper Cuffy. Cuffy is seen to the children as taking on many different roles ranging from a cook, nurse, mother, grandmother, and an aunt.Review:This book is an intermediate level reading book which addresses the family topic of single-parent households. Like many single-parent households, the children of the Melendy family have a guardian role model which is not one of their parents. Their housekeeper Cuffy has been taking care of all of there needs as we commonly see grandparents doing to children. Book is an easier read for students of this reading level.
    • 5/5
      This is such a cute book! Four siblings are bored, bored, bored on a Saturday. While they all receive an allowance, it's not enough for them to each do something every weekend. They decide to form the Independent Saturday Afternoon Adventure Club. Every Saturday they pool their allowances and one Melendy child gets to spend the entire day doing something adventurous of his or her choosing. Ten and half year old Randy goes to the museum to look at art and meets Mrs. Oliphant on the first Saturday. Twelve year old Rush goes to the opera and finds a dog (who he names Isaac, get it?) on the second Saturday. Mona, the only teenager in the bunch, gets her hair cut. Even young Oliver at six years old sneaks to the circus when it is his turn.
    • 4/5
      The Melendy kids are such a delight. The Saturdays makes a great children's book. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the quartet.
    • 4/5
      A great bedtime story. sooooo good yes so good woooo
    • 5/5
      What a delightful, old-fashioned story. I ate it up! Mona, Rush, Randy, and Oliver are the well-developed and individual Melendy children with their dog, Isaac, Father, Cuffy their surrogate mother, and Willy Sloper, the jack of all trades. Their Saturday adventures are of the simple sort, but momentous to children of their day. I especially enjoyed Randy meeting Mrs. Oliphant and Rush saving Isaac. Elizabeth Enright is an excellent writer with sometimes surprising, but lovely parts of speech: "...popcorn was bouncing frivolously" AND "...smooth elephant-colored bands of rock." I look forward to reading the remainder of the Melendy Quartet.
    • 5/5
      I return again and again to this book for its sweetness and sense of quiet adventure.
    • 4/5
      Such a cute little story about the Saturday adventures of the Melendy children. Made extra charming because of the huge differences to raising children in the 1940's as opposed to today.
    • 4/5
      How did I get to be an adult and not know about this series of books? The Melendys have made my lunch hour this week. I miss them already!
    • 5/5
      The Melendys consist of 4 children: Rush, Mona, Randy and Oliver, one housekeeper, Cuffy, and one largely busy with his own life Dad. The mother is dead. Action takes pace in 1941 in a brownstone on 57th St. in Manhattan.


      The chldren, aged 13, 12, 10 and 6, receive an allowance every week. They decide to pool their resources on rainy saturdays so that each child gets a chance to use the whole amount on whatever she likes. With permission from the father, the children may leave the house on their own so long as they return by 5:30 for supper.

      Saturday 1 Randy goes to an art gallery to look at French paintings, runs into Mrs. Oliphant, a family acquaintance, who treats her to tea and stories.

      Saturday 2 Rush goes ot the opera, and finds a dog.

      Saturday 3 Mona gets her day of beauty.

      Saturday 4 Oliver goes to the circus

      Saturday 5 there is a picnic, with gas poisoning back home

      Saturday 6 tea with Mrs. Oliphant and an invitation for the summer

      Saturday The Lighthouse for the summer. Renovations to the house.

      Just about the most charming book ever.

    Book preview

    The Saturdays - Elizabeth Enright

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