Not so much a novel as a short story collection, "The Middle Moffat" tells 11 tales focusing on Jane Moffat, who is neither the youngest nor the oldest in the family. These slightly old fashioned stories are light, sweet, and sometimes funny. Estes does a good job portraying the way a child thinks. ( )

This is the one I read about a dozen times, that encouraged me to read all by Estes and then everything else I could find in the library that was remotely like it. Even today I have that sunny perspective about life, that people are nice and families stick up for each other and girls can get into mischief... Like Cleary, Nesbit, and even Narnia (which btw I still don't see the religion in).

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Read again for the GR Newbery club that I host, Jan 2016. Still loving it. Can't believe I never noticed how Mr. Buckle, the oldest inhabitant, blows cotton to the birds for their nests. That might be a good use for pill bottle cotton scraps this spring.... I also appreciate the relevance of the ladies' club, the Browning Society, being on the same decluttering kick that many ppl are on now. We're doing it the KonMari way, and they did it because they learned of the teachings of Thoreau, but it's the same idea.

It's just such a sweet story, with enough underlying poignancy to make it richer than a casual reader (which I've been, every other time I've read it) consciously grasps. For example, the fact that the Moffats aren't too proud to accept the hand-me-downs from the ladies is interesting. And when Janey expresses to Mr. Buckle that now that he's made it to 100, he should try for 200... he agrees, and she says, And they might celebrate that birthday in the Yale Bowl. Maybe then I could be a wave." Neither of the friends stop to think about the fact that Janey will be 110 in a hundred years, of course....

I do recommend reading the Moffat books in order if you can - there is some development, the family circumstances and home change as the children grow, etc. And two more books about the family and their kin were recognized by Newbery committees, so we in GR will be reading them later." ( )

As usual, Estes does not disappoint.

The Middle Moffat passed the most important test: My kids loved it. Both the 8yo and the 4yo said several times a day, "Read more Moffats, Mommy!" I found myself wondering what my 21st-century children see in these World War I-era books.

I think what makes the Moffat books timeless is the way Estes portrays the children. The books seem very true to the way a child thinks. I really love Jane's perspective, and I enjoyed being in her head. Reading Jane's internal conflict when trying to make decisions really endeared her to me. It's lovely to read a character who is imperfect but trying so hard to do the right thing while receiving conflicting messages (like whether or not to take the last pork chop in a home with a maid).

Estes also incorporates some cultural critiques (and gentle ribbing) that help adult readers look at themselves less seriously. I especially loved the chapter where the women of the town hear a talk about Henry David Thoreau and then go through and declutter their homes. That really hit close to home. I had no idea people were decluttering in the early 20th century. And the means by which the organ---but not the piano bench---comes into the Moffat's home highlights the way that some people feel compelled to declutter without really internalizing the reasons for doing so.

The relationship between Jane and the oldest inhabitant of Cranbury was incredibly sweet, the way she cared for him, and he treated her as an equal. I found myself wishing our town would have a parade for every inhabitant who reached the century mark.

There are so many golden moments in this book. The only trouble I had with it is that the chapters are a tad long for a read-aloud. That didn't stop us, though.

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Who is Jane Moffat, anyway? She isn't the youngest in the family, and she isn't the oldest-she is always just Jane. How boring. So Jane decides to become a figure of mystery ... the mysterious "Middle Moffat." But being in the middle is a lot harder than it looks.

This was an iconic book in my childhood. I believed the little girl in the story was me, despite the fact that she lived in 20's mid-West America and I lived in 60's London. Endearing tale of not quite fitting in, being surrounded by eccentricity - but it's all a safe home.