This has been the absolute longest week ever! It was a holiday weekend so there was no school on Monday. Then one of my kids had Tuesday off for Hurricane Dorian and the other had Tuesday and Wednesday off. I think it has been the hottest week of the year with the heat index in the 100s. On Wednesday, my son and I rode all the rollercoasters at Busch Gardens and if you think your equilibrium gets better with age you are WRONG.. I was laid out on the couch for the rest of the day which serves me right for trying to be the cool mom. I’ve had a house full of kids almost all week and had to unexpectedly drive my son’s 45-min carpool on Friday because I had to sign something at the school. It’s 8:14pm and my kids, who didn’t want to eat earlier because they were playing with friends, just asked me “what’s for dinner?” There are no more snacks, I can’t “watch this” one more time, and I’m sweating. I really do love these little buggers and we had an amazing afternoon at the book store but I’m ready for them to go to bed for the night!
So it is just the perfect Series Saturday to recap The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place by Mary Rosewood. This book is a less dark Jane Eyre meets feral children. Literally. The children are found on the sprawling estate of Lord Frederick and Lady Constance. The oldest, Alexander (age 10ish) keeps the youngers in line by nipping them, middle child, Beowolf, loves to chase squirrels, and four or five year old Cassiopeia has a bark that is worse than her bite – maybe.
Enter Miss Penelope Lumley a governess who is hired from the Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females. Miss Lumley is employed to teach the children Latin and geography but first she must tame their canine tendencies or the children will be headed to the orphanage. Fortunately Miss Lumley is the perfect governess for the children. She is smart, quick on her feet, and calm, cool, and collected. But will she be able to tame the children, figure out where Lord Frederick keeps disappearing to, and discover what the howling in the attic is?
These books will appeal to most children with their air of mystery, villains who aren’t particularly villainous, and endearing children who you can’t help but love. I also loved the gothic feel of these books. And can we talk about the covers and artwork for a minute? The covers are fun and colorful and the friendly illustrations by Jon Klassen make the book accessible to younger children. Klassen’s illistrations perfectly capture the wildly mischievous children and placid Miss Lumley.
There are six books in this series and you really need to commit to the series and read them all to get all of your questions answered. And that’s exactly what we love about children’s series, they are built in insurance that your kids will want to keep on reading.
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