The Corner House Girls At School

The Corner House Girls #2

by Grace Brooks Hill

When Sam Pinkney brought Billy Bumps over to the old Corner House, and tied him by the corner of the woodshed, there was at once a family conclave called. Sam was never known to be into anything but mischief; therefore when he gravely presented the wise l

244 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1915

Reviews

[Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all)]

First published in 1915, this book made me wonder if perhaps the author wrote the whole series (or most of it) first and then they were released. Anyone who has read quite a lot of early 20th century fiction for girls knows that they follow a definite pattern...the summer holiday story, the school story, the adventure/mystery story, often a snowbound story, etc. They are meant to be good, safe reading with a few family values thrown in.

This one has a definite flavour of Under the Lilacs with the appearance of a poor but proud runaway under the age of 16 who merrily makes his way in work and school in a village that has never seen him before. The school principal decides he's smart and a good worker, so no questions are asked. But life really was like that in those days, particularly for boys. Many never got much formal schooling at all and found themselves in the workforce by the age of 12 or younger. Neil seems to be a master of all trades, never mind Jack--he can do everything he sets his hand to, perfectly, first time round.

The girls are more background than anything for Neil's story, though I was annoyed by the old meme of "class bully becomes your bestie by the end of the book." Yeah, like that happens. Not in real life, in my experience. Suddenly the girl that everyone really dislikes and knows can't be trusted becomes sweet as pie? Suuuure.

But an okay night time read. It's "social realism"...of a sort...and a good cultural artefact. Amazing how much freedom kids had in those days, and I did remember how even in the sixties and early seventies a child could camp out all night in their front yard in perfect safety. Try doing that now! Gutenberg's edition gave me a blast from the past, as it includes the ads for other series found at the end of these books: "Don't Throw Away the Wrapper!" Apparently in those days the paper sleeve did double duty as the catalogue. Quite a good idea, actually!

[Judy]

3.6
The four sisters (Ruth, Agnes, Tess, Dot) once again have adventures typical of the times -- school friends, pets, big snow storm, poor vs wealthy, ice skating, ...

In the first chapter, a billy goat joins the family, and in chapter 2, a 15 yo boy appears. Of course, he's a good kid who plays a central role in this story.

The elderly black servant, Uncle Rufous, speaks with a strong dialect which often takes more than one reading to figure out what he's supposed to be saying. He's a nice, jovial man who's treated with respect.

Circuses. They were a big deal in the early 1900s ... this was pre-TV and acrobats and 'wild' animals were a novelty. (My grandfather loved the circus. He took me a couple of times, but I didn't enjoy it at all.)

[K.L.]

Ruth and Co have started at school, Aggie makes a new friend in the mysterious tow-headed boy Neale O'Neill, Sammy Pinckney gives the girls an obnoxious goat, and the girls acquire some disappearing cats. Some really funny scenes in this book!!