Customer Reviews: Read 10 more reviews...
 CHARMING BOOK. October 30, 2007
Val De Beer
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I read this book for the first time when I started teaching and it was the set book for the little girls in my class.
They loved it and we spent happy hours discussing it.
I ordered it from Amazon this year and was just as delighted many years later, to re-read the book.
It has a quiet charm about it, a philosophical appreciation of the importance of making things as good as you can, even when money is very scarce.
There is no mawkish sentimentality about it, just a pleasant calm.
However, predominantly, it is a book for children who love it now just as much as the children did when it was first published.
The ten stories shine like pearls on a strand. September 2, 2007
Zoe Brillantes (Geneva, Switzerland)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
The ten stories of "The Family from One End Street" (1937) shine like pearls on a strand. Each one, at its core, has the roughness of the simple life to which Eve Garnett adds layers of detail, humor, adventure and joy. Julia Eccleshare says in her introduction (Puffin Modern Classics, 2004) that the author "wanted to give ordinary children from the poorer areas of London some stories which reflected their own way of life." Perhaps, the children did see their own lives reflected in the luster of these lovingly crafted stories.
The Christenings - The family is introduced. Mrs. Rosie Ruggles is a Washerwoman who runs the "Ideal Laundry." Her husband is Mr. Josiah "Jo" Ruggles, a Dustman. Their children, by age, are Lily Rose, Kate, the twins James and John, Jo, Peg and William.
Lily Rose and the Green Silk Petticoat - Lily Rose's good deed is surprising her mother by ironing the customers' wash. But, alas, she presses a too-hot iron on an artificial dress silk and it becomes a doll's petticoat. Will Mrs. Beaseley, customer, be very cross?
Kate is Eleven-Plus - and Minus! - Kate is the brain in the family and she wins a scholarship for Otwell Central School. She receives school clothes from an unexpected source, gets invited to a picnic at the beach and loses her school hat. Will she start the year with her looking very different from everyone at school?
The Gang of the Black Hand - James (Jim) longs to see the world and have adventures like his comic book heroes. His adventures begin in an old lime kiln towards the river, but where will it end?
The Adventure of the Parked Car - John looks for adventure at a parking lot and comes home in the evening with a box of eggs, some cakes and an amazing scout knife! Will this impress the Gang of the Black Hand?
The Baby Show - William, the Ruggles know, is the best baby in Otwell. But will the Judges at the Otwell Feat agree?
Adventure in a Cinema - Jo Jr. is a film buff, when it comes to Mickey Mouse. For the first time, the Majestic Cinema will be showing colored pictures but Jo doesn't have four pence for entrance. Will he have to wait another couple of weeks to earn money and see the next one?
What Mr. Ruggles Found - Mr. Ruggles, dustman, finds a huge sum of money in the garbage. It's more than enough for his family's long-dreamed-of trip to London for a holiday. Should he present it to the police and if he does, will he get a reward?
Cart Horse Parade - The Ruggles visit Mr. Ruggles brother and get a ride on the cart of his prize-winning horse. The children raise a ruckus at the park, ending with an upset boat and Peg being caught by a policeman.
The Perfect Day - The Ruggles family end the perfect day at a Posh Tea Shop for posh icecream sundaes and a live orchestra.
The family from One End Street July 5, 2007
SJJ (UK)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I loved this book as a child (in the 1970s) and have loved reading it again, this time out loud to my own daughter aged 7. Lovely gentle book.
Quaint little read January 26, 2007
kehs (Hertfordshire, England)
12 out of 13 found this review helpful
This is the story of life in the Ruggles family. The father is a dustman and the mother takes in laundry. There are 7 children- three girls and four boys. This book is full of charm and humour of what life was like for a large family in the 1930s. We hear about their adventures and the fun and mischief they get up to in times when children could enjoy their freedom, and how they entertain themselves for next to nothing, which is just as well, because the Ruggles were very poor. Amongst their exploits they allow a stranger to draw them and then pay for them to go on a boat trip - without asking their parents! Go on a car journey with strangers and visit their home! ... Things that we would never dream of allowing our children to do nowadays, but at the same time makes the reader feel sad that the days of trust innocence have long passed us by. A wonderful book full of heart-warming characters.
The Puffin edition that I own is full of Eve Garnett's gorgeously sweet illustrations that really add to the quaintness of this book.
 The Family From One End Street- a classic July 5, 2006
Catherine (England)
4 out of 7 found this review helpful
This book was excellent. It contains the daily adventures of the Ruggles family. Don't be put off by the fact that it seems old. Inside it is something very special.
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