CUPOLA HOUSE

A warm, richly humorous story of family unity and love tangibly transformed into everyday terms, in a mid-west setting. The Hudson family is thrilled with their new home, especially its gleaming round cupola, but when Martin, one of the twins, accidentally causes a fire, the lovely roof structure is destroyed. Sharing the financial burden of building a new cupola, the family bands together, and each member through some original undertaking contributes his share. Evvie becomes mother's helper. The twins sell fruits and vegetables and discover an ingenious way of hunting wild (free) duck for Thanksgiving. (Simple. Merely soak wheat in alcohol, and toss to the ducks. In short order you will carry home several hiccupping, inebriated fowl!) Lizette contributes wages earned for reading aloud to grateful old Mrs. Fields. In an unusual series of mirthful incidents, kindness abounds, parents toward children and children toward each other, but not in a Pollyanna-like fashion. These are real children, experiencing situations perhaps a trifle idealized in retrospect, but 11 to 13 year olds will sense the genuine spirit within these happy pages.