Then There Were Five

With Father in Washington and Cuffy, their housekeeper, away visiting a sick cousin, almost anything might happen to the Melendy kids left behind at the Four-Story Mistake. In the Melendy family, adventures are inevitable: Mr. Titus and the catfish; the villainy of the DeLacey brothers; Rush's composition of Opus 3; Mona's first rhubarb pie and all the canning; Randy's arrowhead; the auction and fair for the Red Cross. But best of all is the friendship with Mark Herron, which begins with a scrap-collection mission and comes to a grand climax on Oliver's birthday. Here is Elizabeth Enright's classic story of a long and glorious summer in the country with the resourceful, endearing Melendy bunch. Then There Were Five is the third installment of Enright's Melendy Quartet, an engaging and warm series about the close-knit Melendy family and their surprising adventures.

Elizabeth Enright (1909–1968) was born in Oak Park, Illinois, but spent most of her life in or near New York City. Originally envisioning a career solely in illustration, she studied art in Paris, France, and at the Parsons School of Design in New York City. After creating her first book in 1937, she developed a taste -- and quickly demonstrated a talent -- for writing. Throughout her life, Elizabeth Enright wrote and illustrated numerous books, winning many awards in the process. Among those awards were the 1939 John Newbery Medal for Thimble Sumemr and a 1958 Newbery Honor for Gone-Away Lake. The first of the Melendy Quartet, The Saturdays was published in 1941. Translated into numerous languages throughout the world, her stories have been known and loved by many for generations.

"The Melendys are the quintessential storybook family...[their] ardent approach to living is eternally relevant." -- Publishers Weekly