The Maynard Children at Seacote
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Carolyn Wells
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"The Maynard Children at Seacote" by Carolyn Wells is a delightful early 20th-century children's novel following the Maynard family's summer adventures at Seacote, a seaside community on Long Island. The story opens with the family bidding farewell to daughter Kitty, who is spending the summer with Grandma Sherwood, while the rest of the family—parents Edward and Helen Maynard, along with children Kingdon (King), Marjorie (Midget/Mops), and baby Rosamond (Rosy Posy)—head to their rented bungalow by the ocean. At Seacote, King and Marjorie quickly befriend their neighbors, the three Craig brothers—Tom, Dick, and Harry—who playfully test the newcomers by stealing their firewood before revealing themselves as potential friends. The children establish "The Sand Club," an elaborate make-believe court called "Sandringham Palace" where Marjorie reigns as "Queen Sandy," Tom serves as "Grand Sandjandrum," King becomes the "Sand Piper," and the Craig boys take on roles as "Sandow" and "Sand Crab." Conflict arises when red-haired Hester Corey, feeling excluded and jealous, destroys their sand palace in a fit of temper. Rather than retaliating, Marjorie shows compassion and forgiveness, inviting Hester to join the club as "Sand Witch." This act of kindness transforms Hester, who struggles with her volatile temper but genuinely wants to change. The club creates a court journal called "The Jolly Sandboy," featuring poems, news, puzzles, and illustrations contributed by all members and even the Maynard parents. The children's summer is further enriched by the arrival of Cousin Jack and Cousin Ethel Bryant, a childless couple who adore the children. Cousin Jack, described as eternally youthful and fun-loving, organizes an elaborate Fourth of July celebration complete with a "Sand-Pail Picnic" and patriotic reception. Throughout the story, themes of kindness, forgiveness, good manners, and the importance of controlling one's temper are woven naturally into the narrative. The novel celebrates childhood imagination, family bonds, and the simple pleasures of summer by the sea.
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CHAPTER I
KITTY'S DINNER
"Kitty-Cat Kitty is going away, Going to Grandma's, all summer to stay. And so all the Maynards will weep and will bawl, Till Kitty-Cat Kitty comes home in the fall."
This affecting ditty was being sung with great gusto by King and Marjorie, while Kitty, her mood divided between smiles and tears, was quietly appreciative.
The very next day, Kitty was to start for Morristown, to spend the summer with Grandma Sherwood, and to-night the "Farewell Feast" was to be celebrated.
Every year one of the Maynard children spent the summer months with their grandmother, and this year it was Kitty's turn. The visit was always a pleasant one, and greatly enjoyed by the small visitor, but there was always a wrench at parting, for the Maynard family were affectionate and deeply devoted to one another.
The night before the departure was always celebrated by a festival of farewell, and at this feast tokens were presented, and speeches made, and songs sung, all of which went far to dispel sad or gloomy feelings.
The Maynards were fond of singing. They were willing to sing "ready-made" songs, and often did, but they liked better to make up songs of their own, sometimes using familiar tunes and sometimes inventing an air as they went along. Even if not quite in keeping with the rules for classic music, these airs were pleasing in their own ears, and that was all that was necessary.
So, when King and Midget composed the touching lines which head this chapter and sang them to the tune of "The Campbells are Coming," they were so pleased that they repeated them many times.
This served to pass pleasantly the half-hour that must yet elapse before dinner would be announced.
"Well, Kit," remarked Kingdon, in a breathing pause between songs, "we'll miss you lots, o' course, but you'll have a gay old time at Grandma's. That Molly Moss is a whole team in herself."
"She's heaps of fun, Kitsie," said Marjorie, "but she's chock-a-block full of mischief. But you won't tumble head over heels into all her mischiefs, like I did! 'Member how I sprained my ankle, sliding down the barn roof with her?"
"No, of course I wouldn't do anything like that," agreed the sedate Kitty. "But we'll have lots of fun with that tree-house; I'm going to sit up there and read, on pleasant days."
"H'm,--lucky,--you know what, King!"
"H'm,--yes! Keep still, Mops. You'll give it...
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