We and the World

Jack's love of books and unusual animals sets him apart in a farming family in northern England. His brother Jem fits readily into their father's world of livestock and fields, while Jack's mother imagines a future in which his learning brings the family success. In this first part of We and the World, Juliana Horatia Ewing gives Jack the voice of someone looking back affectionately on his childhood, with a clear memory of the trouble his curiosity caused.

The brothers' daily life includes close friendships with farm animals and sharp disputes with other village boys. A snowball fight and a quarrel over play on the ice lead their father to insist on fairness and hospitality at his pond. These scenes give the children's novel its interest: family expectations, different temperaments and the effort to turn youthful pride into consideration for others. Readers can enjoy its detailed picture of country childhood and its concern with how boys learn to behave together.