12...No Wait 15...Wait Nope 17 Children (Soon To Be 18)

So…technology…it kinda sucks sometimes.  My computer is actually down right now so I am writing this offline on a different computer and hoping I can copy and paste it over shortly…of course if you are reading this that means it worked, if you’re not then I am just another crazy lady typing to herself.  All of these stupid tech issues make me nostalgic for the simple days when all I needed was a library card and a good book to make me happy.  In this vein I decided to hunt down some of the old books I enjoyed as a child.  One such book was/is called Mrs. Purdy’s Children by Ruth Loomis.  I had a hard time remembering the name of this book and then I had an even harder time tracking down a copy to buy.  I eventually found a copy to buy from the Ulysses Township Library in Ulysses NE.  I am now doubly thrilled, one to finally find a book from my beloved childhood and two to have the added bonus of it looking and smelling just like the one from the library I used to read as a child, that’s right total sensory experience here folks.  Mrs. Purdy’s Children is an older book, first published in 1970 which makes it about 20 years old the first time I read it.   Despite its slight datedness I still love this quirky little story.  As always Spoilers Ahead!

Mrs. Purdy has 12 no wait 15 no wait 17 children, yep that sounds about right 17 children.  Lucky for Mrs. Purdy her children are all capable responsible people who have worked out their own way of running the house hold.  We have the older children Henry Jr., May, April, Willy, Ernest, Connie, Lancelot, Galahad, Emily, June, Sue, and another boy whose name I could never figure out.  They help take care of the little ones, Sweden, Jimmy, Erica, Heathcliff and again another one I never quite got the name of.  All of these children live in a house that has many improvements invented by their father before he went on a prospecting trip to Alaska.  Mrs. Purdy works at the local Sweete Shoppe to help provide some extra income and is much beloved by most of the townsfolk as well as her family.  Parental supervision is at a minimum, with Mr. Purdy being in Alaska for the last couple years and Mrs. Purdy working, it falls to the children to maintain their own order.  Surprisingly they have come up with a pretty good system using General Meetings and a rotational chore chart things get done in a pretty efficiently.  Oh yeah, they also get a lot of help from a

mysterious plant they call a roanoke, named after Roanoke VA where it originated from.   This plant, which has grown to epic proportions is the basis for all of the Purdy's food, they can make roasts from the roots, stews from the leaves and the most wonderful cakes, cookies and pies from the flowers.  Every once in a while the roanoke will pop out a special pod that blooms into an honest to goodness baby...yep kind of like Cabbage Patch Kids.  This is where the confusion of just how many Purdy kids there are comes in.  Mrs. Purdy is elected Mother of the Year by the local committee and the family receives all sorts of goodies. Mrs. Purdy takes it all in stride and continues with her life as normal, including welcoming another roanoke baby into the family.  The children all vote on a name for the baby (which ends up being Ceres) and try and explain her to the committee when they come to the house.  After a disastrous interview with the oblivious Mrs. Purdy, the committee decides not only to take away her title as Mother of the Year, but to investigate her as well.  This results in the children putting on a demonstration involving all of the towns children to reinstate their mother as Mother of the Year.  In the midst of this chaos Mr. Purdy comes home and helps calm the sea of disorder.  Eventually Mrs. Purdy is reinstated as Mother of the Year and all is well.  Mr. Purdy insists on destroying the roanoke, claiming he cannot even keep track of the 17...now 18 kids that he has.  The family agrees, but Sue and Willy find a cutting planted in a secret spot in the back of the garden and agree to keep it secret.  The children all live wildly and happily ever after.

I don't really have a whole lot to say about this book.  The biggest factor for me is its nostalgia value which is huge.  Growing up I loved stories about big chaotic families...'cause I lived in a big chaotic family. Also I may or may not have checked every seed pod I saw for babies :-)  I still love all of the little time saving devices that Mr. Purdy put in the house.  I love that he feels the need to get away from his giant family on occasion.  I love that Mrs. Purdy is willing to let her kids run the house and each other and I love that the kids have come up with a democratic,  surprisingly fair and effective way to keep the chaos under control.  I love that each of the kids has their own personality and I love how this book just lets the kids be kids.  It is an old book, it is a bit dated and a bit simplistic, but I still love it.  If you are looking for a quick, fun read this is a great pick...if you can find it.  I give it 8 out of 10 roanoke babies.
What book holds a huge nostalgia factor for you?  What would you name your 18 kids?  What would you do if you left with 12 kids and came home to 18?