THE RED BARN CLUB
By
A Nebraska childhood as a minister's daughter gives an authoritative note to this, the second Bothwell story about the Holts, a minister's family in a small mid-western town. (The first was Peter Holt, P. K. back in 1950). Here again community and personal problems merge, this time as Calico, the pony, poses a question. Peter and his town, Molly, are eleven and sixth graders; they are spending the summer on the Ireland's farm near home, and have acquired a pony, Calico, and want to take her to town. Calico had been given to the Irelands by a circus man, Anthony Dunn, who gave up the circus and settled in town to give his niece Celia a proper schooling. The question of his honesty is a central theme of the story, and when it is established and Anthony is heading up a town pet center, the story comes full circle. Good reading.