Mary Rose of Mifflin

A lease banning children, cats and dogs stands between Mary Rose and a home with her aunt and uncle. Kate Donovan wants to take in her orphaned niece from Mifflin, while her husband Larry fears losing his position as janitor of the Washington Apartment House. The building offers them comfortable rooms, but its demanding tenants make even heating, newspapers and window cleaning occasions for complaint.

Frances R. Sterrett builds this children's novel around the friction between household rules and ordinary kindness. Mary Rose's affection for animals brings that friction into focus: she wants the unfriendly Mr. Wells to like Solomon the dog and proudly introduces others to her cat, George Washington. Conversations among neighbours, a boy teaching his dog tricks and the Donovans' worries give the story its small social dramas. Readers interested in stories of belonging will find a child's openness set against adults' habits and anxieties about sharing space.