Delightful
The characters are real and amusingly consistent with themselves. Took me back in time. (I know exactly who our "Marian" was, too.) The children and their imaginative play are so true to life, so like my own childhood, I could hardly get done reading and rereading it and showing it to everyone who would hold still long enough.
How did Ms McLerran do it? And Barbara Cooney's illustrations, as always, carry the story, and capture the heart, as if the words and pictures are one thing.
One of the most captivating children's books I have ever happened across.