Friday's Tunnel

Meet the deliciously zany Callendars—a British family of eight (not counting the animals) whose offbeat interests land them all in the astonishing middle of an inter¬ national political crisis.

Augustus Callendar is a famous newspaper correspondent; January, his wife, is a busy mother of nearly seven; February, the oldest girl, writes a journal of the family s adventures because, as her father says, any girl of thirteen who writes a book is hailed as a genius.” And Friday, February’s brother, doggedly excavates a tunnel through the family’s back yard. When Augustus leaves to cover an international crisis, Friday and February escape their tutor and become involved in a magnificent intrigue involving a band of gypsies, a newspaper comic strip, government officials who visit Mrs. Callendar, and of course, the most important ingredient—Friday’s tunnel, which brings everything to a wildly funny conclusion right in the Callendars’ back yard.

The appealing eccentricities of all the Callendars are realistically brought to life by John Verney; their delightful adventures comprise an exuberant comedy of wit, sophistication, and substance—an enduring contribution to the field of fiction for young readers.