Set at the turn of the 20th century, this is a delightful story by one of my favourite writers for children - and somehow I had not even known that this book existed until recently. Noel Streatfeild is gifted in her understanding of children, and I felt that the twins in this short novel - Selina and John - were very believable; I could almost feel for Selina as she made some difficult decisions and faced some difficult situations, looking after her younger siblings with aplomb.

There's humour in the story as well, and misunderstandings; I was amused by Violet, the precocious 14-year-old who falsifies a reference in order to become a governess, and concerned for Priscilla, mother of five, who is frail and regularly ill (presumably with tuberculosis). Most of all, though, I found her son John getting under my skin; at ten his father wants him to go to boarding school, but John is a gentle, sensitive boy who loves to sit and dream, and who would be devastated by the harshness of the preparatory schools of his era.

So there's a bit of social history, a lot of 'ordinary' family life of the era, and a few of the author's opinions about education and the importance of treating each child as a unique individual. But most of all I enjoyed the people and the story - started one day, I could hardly put it down, and finished it this morning. Not that it's a long book (about 120 pages in all) - but I was only intending to read a chapter or two at bedtime over a week or so.

Definitely recommended to anyone who enjoys children's fiction of this genre. ( )