A Brand-new Uncle

by Kate Seredy

A loving grandfather gets tired of being at the beck and call of all those children and grands, as well as all their pets, so decides to have his fling, before it's too late. At the same time, a boy is running away from an intolerable situation. Inevitably, the two will meet. . .

Genres: Childrens, Juvenile

143 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1961

About the author

Seredy (Serédy Kató) was a gifted writer and illustrator, born in Hungary, who moved to the United States in 1922.
Seredy received a diploma to teach art from the Academy of Arts in Budapest. During World War I Seredy travelled to Paris and worked as a combat nurse. After the war she illustrated several books in Hungary.
She is best known for The Good Master, written in 1935, and for the Newbery Award winner, The White Stag.

Reviews

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's not every day that a Grandpa & Grandma are the hero and heroine of a novel, but B.E.H. Smith ("Papa") and Mary Smith ("Mama") are no ordinary grandparents. When they realize that their spoiled children could use a wake-up call and their overly enthusiastic grandchildren could use more space, they pack up and escape, searching for adventure.

Unfortunately (or not), nurturing is in both their natures, and they find themselves trying to shrug off homesickness all along the way. They also find a lot more adventure than they expected when they cross paths with a free-spirited orphan named Butch, who changes their plans, and lives, for good.

This is a fun and heart-felt story with beautiful illustrations. I highly recommend it.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the sweetest book! I had never read Kate Seredy before and never heard of this title. I wish that I had the insight of these grandparents. It was very well written and the characters popped. I loved Mr. Bardow Ebenezer Harold Smith's frustration and how he managed his anger. And his wife was perfectly capable of dealing with him and with everything else.

So- a beloved couple celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary lament on how they had planned on doing all these things in their life but then along came one baby after another until they had seven. Seven grown up spoiled children with kids of their own equaling 14 grandchildren. And all the adults park their kids on the grandparents while they go out dancing. Mary Smith laments that she has also raised 188 pets. Until snap! Mr. Smith has had it. He withdraws $10,000 from the bank, they pack the car, and drive off to rent a hopping off rural place 100 miles away from their unappreciative family. But do they get to go on all those trips they missed? You'll have to read this delightful book to find out.

[June · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've heard Kate Seredy recommended, but never read one of her books. Not sure how I never saw or read this particular well-worn copy till my fifth child brought it home from school. Read it in the witching hour after dark last night.

It was such a rollicking introduction to the author, with bits of humor and pathos. Forgiveably unrealistic in all the best ways, and with delightful art. I am fond of children's books with adult main characters, so—definitely recommend.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bardow Ebenezer Harold Smith, AKA "Bard" has had enough of his current life style and packs up his car, and he and Mrs. Smith drive off on a much needed fling of all the things they missed out on while raising a family, and running the family store. Little does Bard realize that his life is about to change in ways he never suspected.

[Kari · Rating 3 out of 5]

If there's going to be a decent book about this kind of thing, this one is pretty decent.

[Cheryl A.]

sort of intergenerational friendship...

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

My dear friend and fellow bibliofile Martha lent me her copy of this book. It was a short and yet very sweet read. I loved "Papa" and I could feel his frustration mounting at the beginning of the book. I completely understood his actions the entire time. And I knew exactly what he would do when presented with an amazing but necessary challenge.
There aren't many books like this out there anymore. If this were written today there would be way more back story filled with bitterness and tons of scandal. Everyone would be out for themselves and those who wanted to be altruistic would get the short end of the stick. It would leave you sad and unsure as to whether the book was worth the time it took to read it.
This book was totally worth my time and made me smile.

[Janice · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book seems to start a little boring, don't give up. I read the last chapter first since that is where my sister was in the book and I finished reading it to her. Therefore I had to read the the beginning to find out where the brand new uncle came from. I loved it. Borrowed it from my sister for my husband and Myself to read.

[CLM]

I was brought up on Kate Seredy yet never even heard of this one!

[Mazzou B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet story!