Ramshackle Roost

by Jane Flory, Carolyn Croll (Illustrator)

The Stuart family's vacation turns out a bit differently than planned when they discover their rented summer home is more than worthy of its nickname--Ramshackle Roost.

181 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

After achieving her degree from the Philadelphia College of Art, she worked as a free-lance writer and illustrator of children’s books. Flory was also employed as the director of evening division at Philadelphia College of Art for 16 years. Over her lifetime, Flory wrote and illustrated over 35 books for children, several of which were nominated for the Dorothy Canfield Fisher award.

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a delightful family story with a completely unnecessary mystery tacked on at the end, and appallingly bad illustrations.

Published in 1972, but set fifty years earlier, it's about a family of four children (two boys and two girls, in the classic tradition of children's books). Short on funds but desperately needing to get away from their fussy landladies, the family flees to an abandoned Victorian resort up the river from their small town, which their mother has impulsively rented for the summer, and which they soon christen the Ramshackle Roost. Lovely times exploring the overgrown woods near the former boarding house and messing about with boats, and (in the case of the older girl, Hildy) closely observing nature, are balanced with every-day realistic friction among the siblings, to say nothing of the unwanted guest who's foisted on them, the snooty grandson of their professor father's boss. I liked that the mother in this book has a sense of humor, and generally found the family endearing, even the big smelly dog who has been so thoroughly trained to "shake" that acknowledging the continually proffered paw tries the whole family's patience.

Ramshackle Roost has echoes of Elizabeth Enright's Gone-Away Lake. It's not as good, of course (few children's books are), but having also recently read and enjoyed another book by Flory, A Tune for the Towpath, I'm eager to read more of her work, which I never encountered as a child (with the exception of the 1940s picture book The Wide Awake Angel, which curiously was a favorite of my mother's in her early youth). It's too bad that this pleasantly readable book only seems to be available in a cheap looking "weekly reader" edition, and the overly simple cartoonish illustrations are even more regrettable. If ever a book cried out to be illustrated by Joe and Beth Krush, this is it.

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this story of a family who rented a ramshackle summer home sight unseen; nice domestic details of getting the place habitable, nice exploration of woods, meadow and river, realistic tension when a snooty boy is foisted on the kids for the rest of the summer, and even a nice bit of personal growth by the main pov character, Hildy....If I hadn't read, and reread, and reread again Elizabeth Enright's books which are similar in theme, I'd probably have given this four stars, but it just doesn't compare. Also the dog, stinking, jumping, barking, obstreperous, kept appearing on the pages and filling me with distaste. (The Melendy family's dogs don't....)

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Hildy Stuart and her family are ousted from their rented home for the summer by their stuffy landladies, they rent an old vacation home on a lake that has deteriorated since its glory days to the point that the Stuarts decide to name it Ramshackle Roost. As though relocating to a tumbledown building isn't bad enough, to the great dismay of all the Stuart children, they will be joined on their vacation by Guy Hanley, an obnoxious know-it-all sort of child whom they would always prefer to avoid if at all possible. As the summer passes, there are definitely some difficulties, but all of the Stuarts find ways to enjoy themselves, and near the end of their stay, they even have a chance to solve a local mystery.

This was a lighthearted and quick read which felt very contemporary, despite being written in the 1970s and set in the 1920s. There are details which date the book to the time period - the need for ice to be delivered to use in the ice box, the style of clothing the children wear, and the lack of electronic devices - but there is just as much about the kids' experiences that could come from any time period. As I read, I was reminded of three books from different decades that were similar in style and content to this one: Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome, Ten Kids No Pets by Ann M. Martin and The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall. All of these books share a "free-range" attitude toward parenting, where kids are free to roam and create their own fun with minimal involvement from adults. When the kids do occasionally run into difficulties, they resolve them using their own ingenuity and intelligence. Ramshackle Roost is not the best-written of books in the "adventures in your own backyard" subgenre, but it embodies values I appreciate, and it promotes an overall positive worldview, where kids are encouraged to make the best of difficult situations and to work out their differences together. I enjoyed the book very much as an adult, and I know I would have liked it even more if I were ten years old.

I only have two complaints. One is that the cartoonish illustrations didn't match the text. They might have worked well for a 1970s novel about the 1970s, but they are not really suited for an historical novel set in the 1920s. The other is that the mystery part of the story, which is the most compelling piece of the entire plot, starts way too late. There are some allusions to thefts around the area throughout earlier parts of the book, but to have this suspenseful storyline begin with less than a quarter of the book remaining makes it feel like a rushed afterthought even though it is a truly compelling mystery. The characters carry the rest of the story well enough, but it would have been nice to have this plot as a strong continuous thread that stretched all the way from the beginning of the book to the end.

This review also appears on my blog, Read-at-Home Mom.

[Kumari de Silva · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those books I re-read a lot as a kid because it was pleasant. The kids were nice to each other and the parents were both loving. I don't know why in so much of children's literature the parents are either absent (Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, Winnie-the-Pooh) or mean (all the wicked step parents in fairy tales) or stupid (all the adults in Harry Potter land including Dumbledore can't accomplish anything compared to 12 year old Harry and his pals). In this book the parents are both present and loving which I did not have in my own life. As a kid, books were my refuge, I loved the idea of a functioning family where they all worked together as a team. My family constantly fought with the bullies getting the most and the quiet kid getting less . . .what can I say? There was no team.

I probably shouldn't give it 4 stars because the story line is not particularly unique. I think, in fact, this book is out of print so I guess overall it didn't stand the test of time. But I got a hold of a former library copy and I was impressed how much I still enjoyed it. The mom and the dad respect and care for each other. He doesn't put her down for being a "house-wife" and she supports him in his quest to write a book. They're a pretty good model for a partner relationship.

One thing I completely missed as a kid, despite reading this book numerous times, is the explanation for why Guy is kind of a know-it-all unlikeable person. It's spelled out the first time he is mentioned. He's been bounced around different family members all his life. Currently he's with his grandfather. ouch! Poor guy. It makes him understandable (although still rather insufferable). I like how the summer made them all "taller and nicer."

[Anastasia Tuckness · Rating 3 out of 5]

A large family annoys their landlords and so decides to give them a break by spending the summer in an old boarding house on a river. Quite delightful quiet adventures. (Well, there's no deadly peril, but the dog is loud and the kids are loud, I suppose!) There is a mysterious and slightly dangerous adventure at the end.

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars

Fun little story of a family, set in the summer of 1922.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first "chapter book" I ever read. I don't think I understood a bit of it. I think it was about a family and a vacation house--but I haven't picked it up since first grade! Then I discovered the Little House books....

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of a precursor to The Penderwicks with a bit of Swallows and Amazons mystery thrown in. Unfortunately, the somewhat cartoonish illustrations by Carolyn Croll are not a good match for this story.