The Tucker's The Wonderful New House

The Tucker's 

The Wonderful House

Copyright MCMLXI (1961)

By Jo Mendel

Pictures by Jackie Tomes

The big, noisy, lovable Tucker family is finally moving into their own house! After living for years in a cramped apartment, Father, Mother, 11-year old Tina, 9-year-old twins Terry and Merry, 7 year old Penny and 5 year old Tom move into a great big old ten-room house with a yard, a carriage house, two strange iron deer on the lawn---and a mystery!

The previous owner of the house had a valuable coin collection--which vanished at his death. And the Tucker's are convinced it's hidden somewhere in the house. Meanwhile, there are grumpy neighbors who are less than thrilled with noisy kids, a scrappy black cat, and a great big huge dog. Plus, there's a new school, making new friends, fixing up their new rooms, and an exciting trip to the lake with Grandpa and Grandma Tucker.

As you already guessed, the Tucker kids solve the mystery, find the old coin collection--and collect the reward. Now the Tucker's have to decide what best to do with the money. After the usual brainstorming and bickering, the family hits on a wonderful decision that makes everybody happy.

There's never a dull moment with the Tuckers, although I'm sure their parents wished there were.

While the writing style is at times a little bit choppy, the likable, relate able characters and their non-stop escapades make up for it. The Tucker's are wholesome without being prim. They squabble, break things, and get into trouble like any kids. Yet they stick up for each other, and all pitch in when there's a problem to be solved. The plucky kids never give in to a problem--they work through it no matter how hard, embarrassing or difficult. The parents are loving and supportive, and they give the kids a lot of freedom-- and responsibility. 

The casual colored-ink line drawings fit the come-on-in-and-make-yourself-at-home feeling of the book wonderfully. And I love the girl's 1960s dresses.

I discovered this book at antique store last summer. I read it to my 7 year old, and we both enjoyed it so much we hunted down and read the rest of the series, and became pretty attached to the Tuckers. We were both sad to finish the series.

While never reprinted, these hardcover-only books are pretty easy to find online. Expect to pay about $2-$12.00. Amazon usually has it for about $4.   If they don't have the title you want one week, they likely will the next. I found a couple in an antique store for only 2 bucks apiece. I love antique stores.