The Third Class at Miss Kaye's

Rain on a September afternoon is welcome news to eleven-year-old Sylvia Lindsay: she hopes it will keep the guests away from her party so that she can carry on reading Ivanhoe. Her imaginary worlds seem more agreeable than the children who tease her poems or fail to understand her games. Angela Brazil's school novel begins with this bookish child's conversation with her mother, then follows life at Miss Kaye's school, where friendship and everyday disagreements share space with lessons and outings.

The school scenes draw their interest from small events and Sylvia's lively responses to them. In one nighttime episode, a quilt that seems to move by itself turns bedtime into a fright before the school cat, Toby, reveals the cause. Warm bedding, morning bells and talk with her roommate Linda give the story a sense of daily routine. Readers interested in childhood friendships and older British school stories will find a close view of a girl's imaginative habits.