I do like a book that takes me into a family—one that I like—in the first chapter. Before it is over in ["Tennis Shoes"] I not only knew, but had determined to keep on knowing, this family in the suburb of Tulse Hill….

The children were variously gifted…. The twins, Jim and Susan, at nine were already showing signs of amazing good tennis. Nobody in the doctor's family had much money, and tennis—as you are to discover if you did not know it before—runs into money if you take it seriously. So their grandfather sets up a bank like a house, into which every member of the family puts every spare coin, so the twins can belong to a club. The ways in which money goes in and out of this bank are delightful. The children keep on steadily learning, not only about tennis...