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silversparkles50's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
sallyavena's review against another edition
5.0
A story about a motherless family of 4 kids, who have their own adventures through their creativity and sometimes through their mistakes. The reason I loved this series and why I really liked reading it outloud to my kids was because these kids are good, smart, creative kids. They had their sibling squables, but they were always polite and had good manners. Their faults were recognized and admitted too and sometimes improved upon. They aren't your sugar coated, unrealistically perfect kids found in some books, but they aren't your whiney, bratty teenagers found in others. These books were just fun to read aloud because they were enjoyable real, but good characters.
jgintrovertedreader's review against another edition
4.0
What a fun story of a sweet little family! I had never heard of this series before but it's apparently a classic. Fans of The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall should absolutely pick this up.
alittleoverdue's review against another edition
4.0
One of those classics I read at some point as a child and re-read recently as an adult. This book will inspire you to want to have an adventure of your own in New York City, or go in search of discovering hidden treasures in your own city.
ameserole's review against another edition
4.0
Somehow never heard of this book/series until this year, month, and weekend.
The Saturdays made me jealous. Pretty sure that's not what most people would think but I mean.. a hair cut and nails done for less than $2? Uh, sign me up for that deal ASAP. I wouldn't even care if my hair was even or if my nails had color. That is a damn deal. A steal even. Now it's like.. $70-100 for a hair cut and $20-40 for nails.
Other than my ranting of that, this was set in the 1940's. So I could easily see why all of that was so cheap. Probably expensive back then.. but dang, I would love that nowadays. Besides being jealous of Mona in that certain situations, the rest of the family had it's cute and funny moments throughout the book.
In the end, I really enjoyed getting to meet and know the characters a bit more. Especially when we got to see what they chose to do on their Saturday. Definitely entertaining.
The Saturdays made me jealous. Pretty sure that's not what most people would think but I mean.. a hair cut and nails done for less than $2? Uh, sign me up for that deal ASAP. I wouldn't even care if my hair was even or if my nails had color. That is a damn deal. A steal even. Now it's like.. $70-100 for a hair cut and $20-40 for nails.
Other than my ranting of that, this was set in the 1940's. So I could easily see why all of that was so cheap. Probably expensive back then.. but dang, I would love that nowadays. Besides being jealous of Mona in that certain situations, the rest of the family had it's cute and funny moments throughout the book.
In the end, I really enjoyed getting to meet and know the characters a bit more. Especially when we got to see what they chose to do on their Saturday. Definitely entertaining.
maryloulynninmi's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this series as a kid and was pleased to find they are just as enjoyable as an adult. Highly recommend.
libreroaming's review against another edition
3.0
Written in 1941, the first novel of the Melendy family is over 75 years old and still mostly manages to capture a timelessness found in children's classics like those by Beverly Cleary, Eleanor Estes, Judy Blume, Sydney Taylor, and newcomer Jeanne Birdsall. I say mosly because it does, however, have some unfortunate stereotyping when their elderly neighbor recounts a time she was kidnapped from the circus by Gypsies and only managed to escape their clutches through a fortuitous run-in with a sympathetic adult. Another topic that parents might think warrants a discussion is the time where Mona uses her Saturday to get her hair and nails done, and there is a debate that revolves around parental permission and independence, but the narration seems to give a faint condemnation to a 13 year old wanting to change her appearance that modern day children might find opprobrious.
Yet despite the vast technology, linguistic, and socio-economic differences, the idea of kids pooling their allowances to give one of their siblings a perfect Saturday is a captivating concept no matter the decade, and the chapters being divided into separate Saturday adventures make this novel easy to digest for bedtime reading. There is a tone of "gosh gee whillikers" and comfort to these adventures, where even the dangerous incidents like the family almost suffocating from the coal furnace door being left open is a few steps removed from being truly threatening.
Yet despite the vast technology, linguistic, and socio-economic differences, the idea of kids pooling their allowances to give one of their siblings a perfect Saturday is a captivating concept no matter the decade, and the chapters being divided into separate Saturday adventures make this novel easy to digest for bedtime reading. There is a tone of "gosh gee whillikers" and comfort to these adventures, where even the dangerous incidents like the family almost suffocating from the coal furnace door being left open is a few steps removed from being truly threatening.
amibunk's review against another edition
3.0
Slightly old fashioned but still entertaining, "The Saturdays" is a fine children's chapter book. I found it to be a little reminiscent of "Cheaper by the Dozen" or a good Beverly Cleary book.