This is also a marvelous neighborhood story. I felt as though I got to know everybody well within the first several pages. They’re all distinct individuals, and the 5 kids are all a joy. (As an only child I’ve gotten a lot of vicarious pleasure while reading books about families with many children.) This family has 2 parents, 5 children, including a set of twins (another of my interests) and a dog, a cat, and a house bunny. I’ve always loved books about large families so this story was my cup of tea. The various relationships are believable and interesting. Even the minor characters were given depth. I loved the kids, the parents, and almost all the characters. The story is memorable, charming, heartwarming, humorous, entertaining, absorbing, and sweet, but not too sweet. I had a feeling that I’d thoroughly enjoy it when I read the author’s bio section on the inside back cover and it included the line “one of her proudest achievements is raising two kids who can’t go anywhere without a book.” Love it! Also, the two quotes that act as a frontispiece before the start of the book are from the Melendy book Spiderweb for Two and from Anne of Green Gables that was another promising sign that this book would be a winner. This book is a true gem and I believe it’s destined to become a classic. To all the usual suspects, my friends that enjoy children's novels, I'm highly recommending this one!!! I also hope and assume that it will eventually be widely read. I don’t know that it will move on to further rounds, given that so far not too many readers have read it, yet, but I hope that it does. We can't wait to finish the series.Ī new book for my favorites shelf! Also I wrote it in and voted for it for Best Children’s Book and for Best Goodreads Debut Author book for the opening round of the 2017 Goodreads Choice Awards. Even though this is a middle-grade book, I personally enjoyed it and had a lot of emotion in the end. It's a perfect middle-grade read for Christmastime.

The book is written well and kept our attention from start to finish.

The family theme is wonderful and everything wrapped up nicely in the end. The characters are what truly make this story so great in my opinion. It's easy to understand their emotions with letting go of it and their struggle to keep it. The Vanderbeekers have a strong connection to their home and even with the community around them. We really enjoyed this story which I found realistic. Where will they live? Why must they move? What's up with Beiderman? This move will certainly disrupt their lives, so the five siblings set out to do whatever they can to convince Beaderman to let them stay. They have to be out just after Christmas! Beiderman) gives them notice that their lease won't be renewed. It's their family home, but suddenly their landlord (Mr.

The Vanderbeekers have been living in the brownstone on 141st Street for what seems like forever.

The vanderbeekers