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Cranberryport
Cranberry Autumn
When Grandmother and Maggie help organize an antique sale in Cranberryport, Mr. Whiskers feels useless until he helps Grandmother make a big profit.
32 pages, Library Binding
First published September 1, 1993
3 people are currently reading
107 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
September 13, 2018
Another Cranberryport yeah. I love this series. This is the least of the ones I read so far, but it was still a good book. Grandma puts on an antique sale for the whole town to make some back-to-school money. She find 2 of the scariest looking staffordshire dogs I've ever seen. They are supposed to be worth something, but they belong in a horror museum if you ask me. Anyway.
Poor Mr. Whiskers doesn't have anything of worth to buy. He's still saying suffering codfish, so that makes me happy. Mr. Grape tries to swindle Grandmother by sending her off to a fake phone call so Mr. Whiskers will take over and he can fool him. He removes the 200$ price tag from the dogs and tries to buy them for 20$. Mr. Whiskers saves the day by getting in a bidding war.
It's quite cute how it all plays out really. Mr. Whiskers is a walking mess. The art seems to suffer a little in this one. I think I love that New England charm. The nephew likes Mr. Whiskers. He thinks he's funny. He gave the book 4 stars. I couldn't get the niece to read it. She said the artwork is too baby for her. Her loss. There will be more Cranberryport books for me.
Poor Mr. Whiskers doesn't have anything of worth to buy. He's still saying suffering codfish, so that makes me happy. Mr. Grape tries to swindle Grandmother by sending her off to a fake phone call so Mr. Whiskers will take over and he can fool him. He removes the 200$ price tag from the dogs and tries to buy them for 20$. Mr. Whiskers saves the day by getting in a bidding war.
It's quite cute how it all plays out really. Mr. Whiskers is a walking mess. The art seems to suffer a little in this one. I think I love that New England charm. The nephew likes Mr. Whiskers. He thinks he's funny. He gave the book 4 stars. I couldn't get the niece to read it. She said the artwork is too baby for her. Her loss. There will be more Cranberryport books for me.
October 3, 2011
I love the Cranberryport books! This one was disappointing, though. It just didn't have the full charm of some of the others like Cranberry Thanksgiving and Cranberry Birthday. Grandmother's idea of having a town-wide antique sale to help raise money is a great one, but I wished there had been more about the actual antique sale and also more autumn ambiance. Oh well! I'll still look for more in the series and the husband and wife Devlin team have a very cute photo in the bio next to their own antique dog statues ;-)
September 25, 2020
Maggie, Grandmother and Mr. Whiskers return in this ninth picture-book about their adventures in Cranberryport, a small New England town on the edge of a cranberry bog. Autumn had come, and soon Maggie would return to school. She needed new school clothing, and Grandmother needed a new coat for the season, leading that inventive and frugal New Englander to come up with the idea of an antique sale to raise money. Soon the idea had spread to the entire town. Unfortunately, Mr. Whiskers had nothing worth selling, which had him rather gloomy, until he managed to step in on the day of the sale, foiling the miserly Mr. Grape and raising lots of money for Grandmother...
I usually try to read picture-book series in order, but the Cranberryport books from husband and wife team Wende and Harry Devlin can be somewhat difficult to track down, and before Cranberry Autumn I'd only managed to read two others: the initial Cranberry Thanksgiving , and Cranberry Valentine . Like these other two, this one was absolutely charming, pairing an engaging story with cute, cartoon-style illustrations. I liked the central idea of trying to raise money for necessaries by having an antique sale, and I loved the characters, particularly old sea captain Mr. Whiskers, whose exclamations of "Suffering codfish!" never failed to win a chuckle. There's a recipe for cranberry squares included at the rear that looks appealing, and which I intend to try out. All in all, a lovely little autumn picture-book, one which I would recommend to those seeking children's stories set in this season, as well as to fans of the Cranberryport books. For my part, I will have to try a little harder to track down more of these!
I usually try to read picture-book series in order, but the Cranberryport books from husband and wife team Wende and Harry Devlin can be somewhat difficult to track down, and before Cranberry Autumn I'd only managed to read two others: the initial Cranberry Thanksgiving , and Cranberry Valentine . Like these other two, this one was absolutely charming, pairing an engaging story with cute, cartoon-style illustrations. I liked the central idea of trying to raise money for necessaries by having an antique sale, and I loved the characters, particularly old sea captain Mr. Whiskers, whose exclamations of "Suffering codfish!" never failed to win a chuckle. There's a recipe for cranberry squares included at the rear that looks appealing, and which I intend to try out. All in all, a lovely little autumn picture-book, one which I would recommend to those seeking children's stories set in this season, as well as to fans of the Cranberryport books. For my part, I will have to try a little harder to track down more of these!
July 12, 2025
As always, Mr. Whiskers stole my heart. (His swordless stuffed swordfish! ❤️ )
As always, Maggie is a fashion icon (olive jumper, orange turtleneck! ❤️).
Grandma and Maggie find an innovative way to take initiative when some extra money is needed for winter. Villains are foiled, homes are cozy, friendships are nurtured…you know, Cranberry Stuff. 💗
As always, Maggie is a fashion icon (olive jumper, orange turtleneck! ❤️).
Grandma and Maggie find an innovative way to take initiative when some extra money is needed for winter. Villains are foiled, homes are cozy, friendships are nurtured…you know, Cranberry Stuff. 💗
September 23, 2024
A cozy and nostalgic children's book! I loved reading these books by Wende and Harry Devlin when I was young. This story was all about the start of autumn with lovely, colorful illustrations, selling antiques and Staffordshire dogs—there's even a cranberry walnut bar recipe at the end.
This was a perfect, cheerful and enjoyable read for the first day of Autumn!
This was a perfect, cheerful and enjoyable read for the first day of Autumn!
August 17, 2013
Aside from the charming artwork and lovable characters in this series, I also love the New Englander thrift and resourcefulness of the characters and town. They never let challenges get them down for long. A good example for kids. The story made a few narrative leaps in this book, so it felt jumpy at a few points. But it was still cute. Mr Grape was still a cranky old meanie. and the recipe at the end of the story, Cranberry Squares this time, looks like another great dish to try.
July 29, 2017
Cute but simple. The art is especially fine in some scenes in this one. The recipe this time is for Cranberry Squares, using a can of whole cranberry sauce and plenty of rolled oats - even easier than some of their other recipes.
October 25, 2015
Wende and Harry Devlin's Cranberry books are some of my favorite from childhood. In Cranberry Autumn, Grandmother inspires the town to gather items and have an antique sale to raise funds for everyone. Will Mr. Grape be able to fool Mr. Whiskers on the cost of a pair of expensive china dogs? Read the story to find out! Also, don't forget to check the back of the book for the recipe for Cranberry Squares. JM (Utica)
July 1, 2017
There's so much to love about these books! The description of simple, New England life, generous and smart Grandmother and Maggie, delightfully quirky Mr Whiskers, devious Mr Grape. The illustrations have a old time feel to them or maybe they remind me of architectural renderings. I find them charming.
November 13, 2014
The people of Cranberry Port are having an auction, everyone is donating things from their homes to sell to raise money, nasty Mr. Grape has his eye on two dog statuettes and is determined to cheat his way into a low price. Will Mr. Whiskers be able to outwit him?
November 6, 2011
It wasn't what I expected at all. I just love it when the bad guy gets outsmarted! We've already read this one twice. And I can't wait to try out the Cranberry Squares recipe at the end of the book.
September 12, 2014
More Mr. Whiskers, Grandmother and Maggie. Love this series!
September 26, 2022
By the early '90s, these are getting pretty repetitive.
April 25, 2023
I really loved this book! Grandma organizes a sale and includes her friends. It’s interesting to see how each character contributes. I didn’t know this was a series. It’s a really fun read that was recommended to read for Thanksgiving.
December 18, 2013
This is another entertaining story in the Cranberryport series by Wende Devlin and Harry Devlin.
This series is very charming and features a cantankerous character named Mr. Whiskers who is hilarious. We've read several books in this series and as most of the books center around a season or holiday, I will try to borrow more of them throughout the year, as fitting to the occasion. The illustrations are old fashioned and have a nice New England theme.
This is a great book to read during Autumn and I thought the drama centered on the antique sale was very humorous. We enjoyed reading this book together, and the recipe (see below) included in the back of the book sounds delicious (and I'm not normally a big fan of cranberry sauce!)
Cranberry Squares (p. 38)
(Ask Mother or Father to help)
1 can of whole cranberry sauce (16 oz.)
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup walnuts (optional)
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine oats, flour, brown sugar and walnuts. Cut butter in small pieces and combine with dry ingredients. Cover an 8 in. by 8 in. buttered baking pan with one-half the mixture. Cover this with cranberry sauce. Top cranberries with the rest of the mixture. Bake 45 minutes and serve warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
This series is very charming and features a cantankerous character named Mr. Whiskers who is hilarious. We've read several books in this series and as most of the books center around a season or holiday, I will try to borrow more of them throughout the year, as fitting to the occasion. The illustrations are old fashioned and have a nice New England theme.
This is a great book to read during Autumn and I thought the drama centered on the antique sale was very humorous. We enjoyed reading this book together, and the recipe (see below) included in the back of the book sounds delicious (and I'm not normally a big fan of cranberry sauce!)
Cranberry Squares (p. 38)
(Ask Mother or Father to help)
1 can of whole cranberry sauce (16 oz.)
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup walnuts (optional)
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine oats, flour, brown sugar and walnuts. Cut butter in small pieces and combine with dry ingredients. Cover an 8 in. by 8 in. buttered baking pan with one-half the mixture. Cover this with cranberry sauce. Top cranberries with the rest of the mixture. Bake 45 minutes and serve warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
January 1, 2026
Browsing books to give my friends' children as gifts since I won't gift anything I haven't first read myself.
There is something about this older series that charms the heck out of me. Cranberryport gives me the same kind of timeless vibe as Green Gables. The sense of community and the slightly offbeat humor allow for a little "moral lesson" to creep in without taking itself too seriously. And I love that there is always this little bit of tension and mystery. If I had discovered these books as a child myself, I can see that they would have been another early precursor to my love of mysteries now. I look forward sharing the fun of mysteries with the children I love as soon as they are old enough to appreciate the reading level of these books.
There is something about this older series that charms the heck out of me. Cranberryport gives me the same kind of timeless vibe as Green Gables. The sense of community and the slightly offbeat humor allow for a little "moral lesson" to creep in without taking itself too seriously. And I love that there is always this little bit of tension and mystery. If I had discovered these books as a child myself, I can see that they would have been another early precursor to my love of mysteries now. I look forward sharing the fun of mysteries with the children I love as soon as they are old enough to appreciate the reading level of these books.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews