What a delight! I had to read pieces to my husband because I was laughing so hard. Jennings is a wonderful character! This is a boarding school story and a terrific one at that. The last chapter says it all. I'm reading this for my Vintage Book Circle group which have taken on the task of selecting books from a series to read and review. I'm considering similarities and differences in this and Just William! by Richmal Crompton. Jennings is a more likeable character. Just William seems to be trying to punch adult buttons. I'll be curious to know if others in my group would be interested in comparing the two. ( )

Topping! ( )

probably the greatest book ever written ( )

Jennings is alive and well and long may he continue.
A delightful book of Jennings and Darbishire and their first term at prepatory school.
Essences of homesuckness,bullying,rules and regulations,inventiveness of ten year olds everywhere and a marvellous sense of naivety.
The book is very middle class and of a changed time,but is not meant to be a work of sociology. ( )

A nostalgic skim through a book about a character who was my near contemporary. As with so much children's literature in the 50s - in the UK, anyway - the protagonists are essentially polite and upper middle class, indulging in boarding schools and well-heeled hobbies like sailing and horse-riding. Here are nice boys sent, pre-teen, away to school where they get up to japes and scrapes with only very temporary home-sickness. I seem to remember enjoying the series as a child but, coming back to it as a pensioner, it appears to be written entirely from the adults' viewpoint. Strange!