Meet the Malones

Beany Malone #1

by Lenora Mattingly Weber

The introductory book of the Beany Malone series. Mary Fred spends the fifteen dollars that is intended for a new formal to buy her beloved Mr. Chips, a lame horse. Elizabeth's husband, Don, is sent overseas, and a weak and wan Elizabeth arrives at the Malones' with her two-week-old son, Martie. When Mr. Malone is called away on business for the Call, the children's step-grandmother, Nonna, arrives to "run" the household and shower them with gifts. It is quickly evident that Nonna has earned her title as "the iron hand in the velvet glove." When Nonna provides Mary Fred expensive new clothes and relieves her of her household responsibilities, will Mary Fred be able to manage her confused priorities?

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Childrens, Classics, Historical, World War II, Romance

282 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1943

About the author

Lenora Mattingly, though born in Missouri, lived most of her life in Denver, Colorado. In 1916 she married Albert Herman Weber and was the mother of six children.

Weber's first book, Wind on the Prairie, was published in 1929. From 1930 through 1962 she wrote short stories for magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post, McCall's, and Good Housekeeping. Her last book was published posthumously in 1972.

Lenora Mattingly Weber’s favorite topics included the Denver area, horses, and teenage girls. In 1943 the first Beany Malone book, Meet the Malones, was published. Beany Malone became Weber's most well-known creation, featured in 14 books and appearing as a minor character in the Katie Rose Belford and Stacy Belford series.

Reviews

[CLM · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Malones - Elizabeth (now married), Mary Fred, Johnny, Beany and almost always absent father Martie Malone - are an Irish Catholic family living in Denver, just prior to World War II. While their father is off writing columns for Denver's Evening Call, the children cope with running the family household and the pressures of Harkness High.

"Why couldn't the young Malones do the homework and the cooking and the laundry which Mrs. Adams had done so capably? It would mean getting up earlier each morning and hurrying home from school each afternoon. Already some days seemed full to overflowing. But here was Mary Fred with a horse to finish paying for and feed to buy. Here was Johnny in just as much of a jam with the repairs on a Wyoming truck to pay for.

Why couldn't the three of them, Johnny, Beany, and Mary Fred, divide the work?"

For me, brought up very frugally and often concocting odd projects to economize, these books were irresistible. It was also very rare to read about anyone Catholic who attends church like Beany, so that was also appealing.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, I thoroughly loved this! The latter third reminds me of D.E. Stevenson’s The Four Graces where the disagreeable relative has to be booted out of the house. Mary Fred is a great character. She reminded me so much of the heroine of Beverly Cleary’s The Luckiest Girl. The Malone household is delightfully chaotic in the friendliest way. I love the thread of hospitality in the book, especially in war time. I think the rest of the series is more about Beany, which is very exciting. She is so funny and quirky! She reminds me of Lydia Keith in Angela Thirkell’s Summer Half, very much in the hobbledehoy stage of girlhood. There are so many more books in this series, and I can’t wait! I think it is going to be a Beany summer for me.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wavered between attaching a 3 or a 4 to this book, but in the end, I gave it a 4, because *by* the end, I really cared what was happening to these characters. People who know me know that I love-love-LOVE the Betsy-Tacy books by Maud Hart Lovelace. What strikes me as a little strange is that I think those BTs -- set between 1896 and 1917 -- actually hold up better for me, in terms of "datedness," than some books written a little later and set in a little later a time period, and I find that a part of it for me is the *slang.* Yes, I know that MHL used some slang of the era in the BTs, but somehow it was used in a way to highlight it as slang of the day, rather than having the stories so infused with it that you couldn't get away from it. "Curses, Jack Dalton! Give me the child" and "Hully gee!" were brought in *with* the character of Tom, home from the Cox Military, and the Crowd was always anxious, it seemed to me, to hear what the latest slang was going to be. The Janet Lamberts to a degree and this Malone book strike me as having a larger dose of slang, peppered all throughout the narrative, and end up feeling more dated than the BTs because of it.

That's along preamble to the heart of what I want to say, which is that I very much enjoyed the book by the end. I felt I had a sense of the characters by the end, and ***SPOILER ALERT*** was truly horrified by and indignant about what Nonna did to Beany's room and how she "handled" the Hawaiian children, which is something which doesn't happen if one hasn't come to CARE.

I am anxious to read more of the Beany books now, although I hope we don't move on to Beany so much that we lose Mary Fred as a character? I will be pleased, otoh, if I find that we've left DIKE WILLIAMS behind. What a jerk.

[Melody · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a lot here to like. I especially liked the Catholicism of the family- that's a religion that gets a lot of ink via memoirs but in my experience, not so much in kidlit or YA. As a kid I knew way more about Jews and Episcopalians than I did about Catholics.

I also loved the way the war was woven through the narrative. When the father tells his kids that their house must always be open for the soldiers to visit, I admit to tearing up a bit. When did we lose that commitment, and why?

The wicked stepgrandmother was a bit too wicked, the saintly father a hair too saintly- all the characters were a little too much themselves, I think. There was a certain emphasis on defining traits that was wearing. Weber paints with a mighty broad brush.

I liked Mary Fred, the protagonist, very well. Her growth and confusion were believable and interesting. Johnny and Elizabeth, while both too good to be true, were fun to have around. And it was neat to see Beany from the outside after reading her book first.

Dated, sure. Questionable assumptions to be inferred from Nonna's career woman/evil bitch persona? Maybe yes. Wholesome? And how.

[Chautona Havig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This turned out to be a surprise. Along the vein of books like Emily of Deep Valley, this family story takes place during WWII. Mary Fred has quite a few growing pains, common ones to her age. She makes mistakes (don't we all), but as all wise people do, she grows through them.

It's not too syrupy or too perfect. It's just a fun story of family, friendship, life lessons, serving others, and hope.

[Gina House · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5🌟 A charming and entertaining story!

I've been wanting to read this series by Lenora Mattingly Weber for some time. My dear friend, Marjorie, gifted this book to me and I'm so happy that we decided to buddy read Meet the Malones together this month.

Although this vintage middle grade could not beat some of the other vintage middle grade books I read so far this year, I still enjoyed reading it. Plus, the Malone siblings are very likeable...and true-to-life...in the best way.

The one thing that bothered me was that their father, a successful journalist, would just leave his kids on their own for a month or more at a time. He just left a little money in the back and felt assured that they would handle life on their own. This seems to happen often in vintage middle grade books and I can't understand it. I assume it's something parents felt more comfortable doing 50+ years ago?

As a mom, I felt incredible anxiety reading about their lack of emotional and financial support while all sorts of crazy events were happening to them. And then, (don't want to spoil things) their father made another very big decision about their living arrangements from afar in Hawaii to give them even MORE responsibility. Wha???

But, overall, I'm glad I read it and I think I'll read more in the series at some point. If you've read this series, let me know if you what you think of it! Recommended—a solid middle grade book (that feels more like a YA) with memorable and likable characters.

[Teresa Judd · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't believe I've lived over half my life without ever cracking a "Beany Malone" book!! My public library during my growing up years did not own these books. This series has come highly recommended to me by my "Betsy-Tacy" friends. Lenora Mattingly Weber's books were published by the same publisher and had the same editor as the Betsy-Tacy books, so it's a natural that "if you like one, you'll like the other." Both deal with family dynamics, domestic issues, school, and relationships. I LOVE that they are set in Denver, Colorado. I can't think of any other childrens'/YA books set in Colorado and I can't wait to read more of these.

I understand from other readers that Meet the Malones is not the best in the series. I'm sure that Lenora Mattingly Weber settled into the series after a few books, and I know that better storytelling is yet to come with each successive book. I did like that Mary Fred's own personal prejudices were seen through the reader's eyes, so that when her judgments about certain people turned out to be completely wrong, the reader felt Mary Fred's confusion and pain. And I wept at Mr. Chips' (the horse) story. I'm a sucker for sad animal tales. Weber seems to excel at describing food and cooking, as she was an outstanding cook herself. These passages are incredibly sense-provoking, as well as her descriptions of interior design and dress. Very vivid and memorable.

I guess the only problem with this book is that many, if not most, of the characters are one-dimensional. Time is not taken to fully develop the personalities. While Mary Fred, Ander, and Elizabeth seem to be fleshed out, Johnny, the various children, and Dike Williams seem to suffer by comparison. I look forward to the next books in the series to see if these characters get more "page" time.

[Joellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why did I not know about this series?? I'm giving 5 stars just because that's what I would have given it when I was twelve. I love the innocence and morality in this era. However...this book was obviously written long before the "Back to Sleep" campaign for infants! Elizabeth's baby sleeps in a makeshift crib consisting of two armchairs pushed together with a pillow added for good measure. If that's not enough, she describes a nightgown that she makes for the baby as having too large of a neckline. Luckily her husband has the brilliant idea of adding a DRAWSTRING!! And the father of the family leaves the teenagers alone while he goes to Hawaii for a couple months. No worries about the kids throwing a kegger while he's gone. That's why this series is going to earn a place of honor on my "from-a-different-place-and-time" shelf.

[Betsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always wondered why LMW abandoned Mary Fred as her main heroine after this book and focused on Beany instead, but I guess Beany was more fallible and thus more interesting. Mary Fred sometimes pissed me off in subsequent books because she was so charmingly imperfect.

[Hannah Garden · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read and loved this for the first time back in 2008, at my Mom's suggestion. It is so charming, so warm and lively and family-ish. It felt like being with my Mom, to reread her old copy. All the good stuff.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

First sentence: MARY FRED MALONE had just bought a horse. He was black and his name was Mr. Chips and Mary Fred was riding him home.

Premise/plot: Meet the Malones is the first in a series of books that chronicles the [fictional] Malone family. Elizabeth, Mary Fred, Johnny, and Beany. The book is set during the Second World War in Colorado. Elizabeth's husband, Don, is overseas fighting. Their father, a journalist, has gone to Hawaii. The family is mostly on their own--except for when they aren't. Nonna, the grandmother, is a FIERCE force to be reckoned with when she does arrive. She does change the family dynamics quite a bit.

The point of view in this one is all Mary Fred. She has her first misadventure with "love" in this one. As this "mop-squeezer" is swept off her feet by the super-popular football player who typically dates "queens." Elizabeth returns home with a newborn son to care for! The whole family helps out...not just with Elizabeth but with other children in need. There is a real spirit of hospitality and compassion in this one. (Though that may not extend all the way to the neighbor's dog.)

My thoughts: I enjoyed this one very much! I enjoyed getting to know the family. At times I was left wanting more--which overall I think is better than reverse. Each chapter is a "snapshot." Some focus more on family life at home, their relationships with each other. Others focus more on school OR the community. You do get a sense of how life on the home front is during the war. The war is never far from their minds, they are always thinking of ways they can help out the war effort and encourage/support those serving.

Quotes:

The young Malones made their own decisions about lamb chops and life. He was the delight of his English Lit teacher, gray-haired, gray-eyed, gray-garbed Miss Hewlitt.
‘The highest price you can pay for a thing is to get it for nothing.’ That’s the trouble with this generation; they want everything—”
Mary Fred said softly, “I read some place where courage is fear that has said its prayers.”
“Rabbits,” groaned Beany. “Why do people always poke rabbits at children when they’re too young to defend themselves?” “They’re beautiful blankets,” Elizabeth insisted.
Shame was different from grief or anxiety. You could share those with the ones you loved.
Elizabeth said earnestly, “I don’t think they ought to end stories like that for children. It gives them the wrong idea. There’s happiness in love—oh, happiness that shakes you and enriches you, but love and marriage isn’t a happy-ever-after thing. Love and marriage has so much ache and emptiness and hurt with the happiness.”
Elizabeth detained them for one last word of admonition. “Now listen, gals, be sure you go out there to this soldiers’ dance with only one idea—not to have a good time yourselves but to give them one. Because you’ve got other good times ahead of you. But these kids—we don’t know what’s ahead for them.”
“I didn’t bring you here to gloat over you,” he said quietly, as he swerved the car around and started home. “I wanted you to see for yourself. You’re always talking about Nonna and her being like a fairy godmother. I’m not up on my fairy tales but it seems to me I read about some old woman who fed a girl a poisoned apple and it stuck in her throat and she lay in a coma until something jolted her and it fell out. I wanted to jolt you.”

[Maria Elmvang · Rating 4 out of 5]

An old-fashioned wholesome tale in the style of Estrid Ott. I feel like I ought to have loved it instead of just liked it, and I probably would have if I'd been younger when first reading it, because it fits right in with the other books I read in my tweens. Even without the nostalgia I spent a cosy evening snuggled up in a chair in the company of the Malones. I really wish they'd been better at standing up to Nonna though - she really bugged me. But of course all's well that ends well... especially in books like these ;)

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read straight through the entire collection of Beany Malone books. I enjoy visiting a time when life was a little slower. Miss Mattingly gives her characters challenges and they rise to the occasion.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read the Beany Malone series when I was 13 years old, and I decided to revisit them as an adult 21 years later. Reading at the same time as my mom, re-reading the series has been pretty special.
"Meet the Malones" is one of my favorite of the whole series. Rather than focusing on the youngest child, Beany, like the rest of the series, this book focuses on the second oldest Malone child, Mary Fred.
I love Mary Fred, her horse Mr. Chips and the guy next door, Ander. This whole book is cozy, and the oldest (though still young) Malone daughter, Elizabeth, has some sage advice. A war bride who just gave birth, the whole book has a solemn, but cozy look at life during World War II.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this one.

[Cherie Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars for the delicious 30’s slang and the author’s craftiness that brings you around to really caring about each character of the story by the time it ends (too soon).

[Panda Incognito · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a great delight. I love the well-drawn characters, the episodic chapters that build into a strong overall narrative arc, and the unique elements of the story. I have read and loved so many slice-of-life series about families, and this one stands out because of its combination of unique elements. This book is set in Colorado, while most family stories are set in the East or Midwest, and the family is Catholic, which is unusual in children's literature in general. The children also have a single, widowed father.

Best of all for me, this book is set during World War II, and was written during the war. It's fascinating to read books like this that aren't historical fiction, but are set in the midst of the war when the authors were living through it. It felt so real. The WWII details aren't just historical touches or local color, but are embedded in the fabric of the story in an indispensable way. It was such a delight to read this.

I read a vintage hardcover copy of this book that my sister gave me for Christmas, and she definitely knocked it out of the park with her book selection. I would recommend this to children, teens, and adults who enjoy family stories, and the only content warning required is the dated and now-offensive use of the word "squaw" for a guy's date. The character who uses this isn't portrayed in a positive light, and I think this was supposed to be cringe-worthy.

This series is long out of print, but the first few books are available as ebooks on Open Library, and the 1999 paperback reprints are available fairly cheaply. There are also affordable vintage hardcovers if you dig deeply enough on multiple websites.

[Chrisanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Soooo I need an outsider's opinion here(even if you haven't read the book).

There's a negative(bad? Though not the largest villain) character here who continuously refers to his girlfriend as a "squaw." Which is offensive. I know that. However, he's a bad character. So, my head says yes, maybe recommend this to your daughter when she's old enough because it will teach her that using such language and subscribing to such beliefs is an unfavorable characteristic. But what would you do? Teach me.

Other than that, this is the kind of book I would normally love. It's family-centered and value-driven and it's a welcoming, loving, self-reliant family... not gushy like the ones I read about in the Lambert series that I started.

However, I took a foray into the sequels and probably won't continue because they become quite boy-centered ... which is not really my thing in MG fiction.

A tentative 4 stars, pending friends and readers opinions about the issue mentioned at first.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of my favorite series when I was in junior high. It takes place right after the bombing of Pearl Harbor & contains a lot of information on what life was like in Denver during WWII. The Malones' widowed father is a newspaperman who gets sent to Hawaii to cover the war. The teen-aged Malones agree to take over all the household chores & cooking in their father's absence in order to earn money - Mary Fred to pay for her horse & his feed, Johnny for a new typewriter, and Beany for a room make-over. Their step-grandmother arrives & gives the children what they had been working for and they learn that "the highest price you can pay for a thing is to get it for nothing."

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an old favorite! I was recently reminded of the series while reading "Don't Bother Me - I'm Reading" and the description of it was quite different than what I remembered. So I thought I would refresh my memory!

I named one of my favorite dogs after the main character, Beany Malone. On this "adult" reading, I found I liked her sister Mary Fred better! It was interesting! - a walk down memory lane ........ I think I can see where I got some of my "dutiful, what's right" ideas from this series. The Malones did have a bit of a tendency to be martyrs, albeit cheerful ones!

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I tried reading this before, and didn't get anywhere, but then as I started to read it again it came much more clearly. I found it very confusing at some parts, because at some point I was "what?" and "Who's this again?" and "I don't get why they even mentioned this because it seems to have no part in the story," and stuff like that.
Being a horse lover, I loved Mr. Chips. I was so angry with Nonna when she sold Mr. Chips without Mary Fred's permission! Certainly Nonna isn't my favorite character now. I really enjoyed reading this book.

[Sheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Woefully predictable plot, not the most well rounded characters, reality is hopelessly idealized, and yet I kinda love this book. I don't remember the dumb stuff, I remember the glowing moments of family love and friendship tucked here and there. The writing is not poetic, yet the moments somehow manage to be. This book's brain may not be the best, and its appearance won't win any awards, but its heart is true.

[Laura Hodge · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I was 11 years old when I first "met" the Malones. I devoured every book in the series that summer, heading straight for the W shelves at the local library every week. Beany Malone was my best friend for a while. I knew what she was thinking before she thought it. Yes, it was a very nice addiction. Seeing this cover again brought back some sweet memories of learning to escape into a book.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't come to the Weber YA books until I was an adult, but have liked them a great deal. This first in the Beany Malone series is actually not typical since Beany is a "supporting" character, rather than the main one. Set during the early days of WW II, there are some (now) odd things, but the story is a good one.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somehow, I missed reading these as a child. When my grandfather told me that LMW lived just down the street from him, I promptly tracked down her books and learned something about the Malone family. At this point, I'd like to say that I got the chance to talk with her, but that didn't happen. My life was totally paced around my work and travel schedule. Another opportunity lost!

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

These books are continually recommended by some of my favorite people. I've tried one other Beany book and wasn't impressed. Still not captivated or charmed, so will probably stop being curious about these. They recommend so many things--I can't like everything they like!

[Audrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is very cute and fun, even if it is very predictable in parts…and some characters seem a little too caricature-ish. All in all, it’s an enjoyable comfort read about a family learning and making-do on the home front.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found this in an outgoing bucket at the library. I loved the old fashioned cover. I remembered it at once when I started reading. I read the first three quarters of it in a flash and then slowed down to enjoy the rest. I'll be looking for the others in the series. I'm glad to have found them again.

[Theresa Pollara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just as good as I remember it!

This is young lit.at its best! Great characters, fun plot, life lessons without being preachy, and elevated vocabulary. This particular writer writes vibrant descriptions which pull the reader into her world.

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Again, older style writing, but you can't help but fall in love with this family. The dog, the neighbor, the horse in the backyard and the dad. The many, many eggs they have to eat to save money, it just is so relatable and I know why I loved them as a kid.