SOLVED. Children's novel. Children in family named for Shakespearean characters. Youngest sleep in dresser drawers. Trip to Pennsylvania. Read in 1960's or early 70's. [s]

[Deborah]

Plot: All the children are named for Shakesperean characters. The youngest kids sleep in dresser drawers. In one book they travel to Pennsylvania and eat pretzels.

I remember loving this book when I read it in the 1960s or early 70's. It seemed old then, and may have been set at any point in the first half of the 20th century. (Give or take 10 years.)

[Kris]

FYI, another member made a similar request: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
But these books are from the early 2000's:

- The Secret in the Attic by Ellen Miles
- Shakespeare's Secret by Elise Broach

[Deborah]

I was a child a very long time ago.

[Rosa]

Kris wrote: "FYI, another member made a similar request: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
But these books are from the early 2000's:
..."

Yeah, those are from the wrong time. The Darling Buds of May has a Shakespearean title, but it's an English family.

[Tab]

Did the children sleep in the dresser because there were so many kids, or they were poor, or both?

Was this a chapter book or picture book?
Do you remember any of the Shakespeare character names the kids were named after?

[Deborah]

I think the children slept in the dresser because there was no other room. I want to say they were living in a wagon or train of some sort!.
It was a chapter book, though there may have been illustrations.
As for names, I am saying these without any real certainty:
Desdemona, Ophelia and/or Rosalind.

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Deborah, are you still looking for this or did you find it?

[Audrey]

Cheaper by the Dozen?
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7...
Ten P's In a Pod?
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

[Deborah]

Still looking. Oddly, was thinking about this just yesterday! Are you psychic?

[Kris]

Any further memories about the children's names which are based on Shakespearean characters?

Dec 4, 2017: "As for names, I am saying these without any real certainty: Desdemona, Ophelia and/or Rosalind."

[Rainbowheart]

Might want to check the Books that feature Large Families list.

[Deborah]

Kris wrote: "Any further memories about the children's names which are based on Shakespearean characters?

Dec 4, 2017: "As for names, I am saying these without any real certainty: Desdemona, Ophelia and/or Ros..."

No, that's really all I remember.

[Sarah]

Although I don't remember the bit about Pennsylvania and pretzels, all the rest of your details match with The Saucepan Journey by Edith Unnerstad. I have a copy, so I can quote passages/tell you more about it if that would help you ID it (it's so old that I don't think it's possible to find extracts online).

The book is actually set in Sweden. I'm wondering if you might have misremembered the bit about Pennsylvania, or remembered that from another book? Absolutely everything else fits; the family travel in wagons, prior to their travels they live in a tiny flat where the children sleep in all sorts of strange places in order to fit them in (the baby is the one who sleeps in a dresser drawer), and the girls are called Desdemonda, Miranda, Rosalind, and Ophelia after Shakespeare characters, although their mother agrees to the boys being given more ordinary names.

[Sarah]

BTW, thanks; whether this was or wasn't your book, you've reminded me that I liked this series as a child and I'm looking for stuff to put on my wishlist for my birthday, so I've just added the sequels to my wishlist!

[SamSpayedPI]

Sarah wrote: "Although I don't remember the bit about Pennsylvania and pretzels, all the rest of your details match with The Saucepan Journey by Edith Unnerstad. I have a copy, so I can quote passag..."

The Saucepan Journey is available at the Internet Archive . You need to be a member to "take out" books, but membership is free; you only need to give them an email address.

They do travel to a "Pretzel Town" that was formerly famous for its pretzels (they weren't that special anymore) but it wasn't in Pennsylvania (it was Södertälje).

[Rouan]

Sarah wrote: "Although I don't remember the bit about Pennsylvania and pretzels, all the rest of your details match with The Saucepan Journey by Edith Unnerstad. I have a copy, so I can quote passag..."

Thanks for posting this; I read this a long time ago and had forgotten about it. I wouldn't mind reading it again.

[Deborah]

Rouan wrote: "Sarah wrote: "Although I don't remember the bit about Pennsylvania and pretzels, all the rest of your details match with The Saucepan Journey by Edith Unnerstad. I have a copy, so I ca..."

That is it!!!!!

[Kris]

Glad you found your book, Deborah. I added back the genre and plot details to the topic header. This will help moderators and people who might look for this book in the future.

[Deborah]

Kris wrote: "Glad you found your book, Deborah. I added back the genre and plot details to the topic header. This will help moderators and people who might look for this book in the future."

Thank you. I couldn't quite remember what to do at this point, so the help is appreciated.

[Deborah]

SamSpayedPI wrote: "Sarah wrote: "Although I don't remember the bit about Pennsylvania and pretzels, all the rest of your details match with The Saucepan Journey by Edith Unnerstad. I have a copy, so I ca..."

Thank you!

[Sarah]

Hooray! Glad I found it!