What the Neighbors Did and Other Stories

by Philippa Pearce

Eight humorous short stories involving secret midnight snacks, peculiar neighbours, thefts, and an old man who claims to have had a grandfather who was seven feet tall.

Genres: Childrens, Fiction, Short Stories, Middle Grade, British Literature

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

Philippa Pearce was an acclaimed English author of children’s literature, best remembered for her classic time-slip novel Tom’s Midnight Garden, which won the 1958 Carnegie Medal and remains a staple of British children’s fiction. Raised in Great Shelford, Cambridgeshire, in the Mill House by the River Cam, Pearce drew lifelong inspiration from her rural upbringing. Educated at the Perse School for Girls and Girton College, Cambridge, she studied English and History before working as a civil servant and later producing schools’ radio programmes for the BBC.
Her debut, Minnow on the Say (1955), inspired by local landscapes and a childhood canoe trip, was a Carnegie runner-up and later adapted for television. Tom’s Midnight Garden, also rooted in her childhood environment, became her most celebrated work, inspiring multiple adaptations for stage, screen, and television. Pearce went on to publish over thirty books, including A Dog So Small, The Squirrel Wife, The Battle of Bubble and Squeak, and The Way to Sattin Shore, with several earning further Carnegie commendations.
Married briefly to Martin Christie, with whom she had a daughter, Pearce returned to Great Shelford in 1973, where she lived until her death in 2006. Her legacy continues through the annual Philippa Pearce Lecture, celebrating excellence in children’s literature.

Reviews

[Rena · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars. Interesting short stories about children and/or their families in the countryside of England. Transports the reader to a simpler era without technology, political correctness, and jaded outlooks.

[Manuel Alfonseca · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars
ENGLISH: This collection contains eight stories, which deal with real life situations. This is the one I liked most:

"Still Jim and Silent Jim," a moving story about a very special relation between a deaf and crippled grandfather in his wheelchair, and his grandson.

ESPAÑOL: Esta colección contiene ocho cuentos, que describen situaciones realistas. Este es el que más me gustó:

"Still Jim and Silent Jim", un cuento conmovedor sobre una relación muy especial entre un abuelo sordo y medio paralítico en silla de ruedas y su nieto.

[Faiza Yousuf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picked it up and couldn't put it down. Such beautiful stories!

[Amethyst Twilight · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first had a copy of this book in second grade, I never got past the first two stories—What The Neighbors Did and In The Middle of the Night. I just liked those two stories so much I wanted to read them again and again. I did finally read the rest of the book a few years ago, but In The Middle of the Night, which was also a reading assignment in middle school will always be my favorite story in that book. We discussed what the father might do with the information once he figured out what happened to the bowl of mashed potato.

[JKR · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not really a children’s book, although there is nothing in here unsuitable for a child. The stories reminded me of Roald Dahl’s short stories. I enjoyed The Tree in the Meadow the most - I would rate that four stars.

[Nader Nate · Rating 4 out of 5]

7.5 Close to 8
My Favourite
1.Still jim and still silent
2.The tree in the meadow
3.Lucky Boy
4.what the Neighbours Did

[Sem · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't be misled by the word 'humorous' in the description. Some of these stories have humour but they're not humorous stories.

[peashooter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book often makes a skeptical me believe in human goodness.
Gentle stories but not too sweet.
Every time i read this book, i hope it never ends（unfortunately it will always end and read again and again… ）.

[Eric Hinkle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hayao Miyazaki sent me here. I can see why this is one of his favorite children's stories: it's unusual, has a lot of heart, and has very warts-and-all characters (mostly children, but also that kinda douchey father in the "Blackberry" story). They're not connected, but any decent screenwriter could easily connect a handful of the eight stories into a seamless, amazing film...maybe Miyazaki himself will!

The stories are definitely unusual, not everyday kids' lit fare, and there's a bit of sadness and vague ugliness to many of them. Pearce really dug deep into the psyches of children and tried to show how and why they sometimes do what they do, and how they quickly come to regret bad decisions they've made, even if they're reluctant to show remorse. It's wonderful stuff.

The first story was probably my favorite one. It's odd, humorous, and ultimately heartbreaking. If you don't like that story, you might as well stop reading, because you won't like the others.

I kinda think I've read Tom's Midnight Garden, her most famous book, but I definitely need to make sure of this.

Some great moments from these stories:

"If he meant to do it, he could do it in three seconds. His hand was on the brick.
But did he mean to do it?
He tried to see what was in his mind, but his mind was like a deep pool of darkness. He didn't know what he really meant to do."

"She glanced with scorn at Charlie's poor piece of bread and cheese and at Margaret's cocoa. She moved over to the larder, flung open the door, and looked searchingly inside. In such a way must Napolean have viewed a battlefield before victory."

He had two cars, although not for driving. He kept rabbits in one, and hens roosted in the other. He sold the eggs, which made part of his living. He made the rest from dealing in old junk... Mostly he went about on foot, with his handcart for the junk; but he also rode a tricycle. The boys used to jeer at him sometimes, and once I asked him why he didn't ride a bicycle like everyone else. He said he liked a tricycle because you could go as slowly as you wanted, looking at things properly, without ever falling off.

[Brennan Wieland · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection tells short stories about the lives of a few unrelated kids. It's simple, but captures a bit of what it's like to be a kid, with over exaggerated emotions and the little happenings that seem like a great big deal to a kid. The kids are very close to what kids are like today. The largest difference was that the kids drink tea, since the kids in the book are supposed to be from England. While a couple of these stories interested me, there were several that I found myself lost quickly and unable to understand what was going on. I would recommend reading "What the Neighbours Did" and "Return to Air".

[Kati · Rating 3 out of 5]

felt somewhat like a child's version of the Miss Read _Thrush Green_ stories. Innocent, somewhat sad, but sweet little stories.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely stories. Kind of unusual. Not long on plot, but great atmosphere and warm wonderful characters that you want to get to know better.

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderfully mundane. Good illustrations too.

[Doodles McC · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked as child - a collection of eight stories for children, which deal with real life situations. Well written.