In this sequel to Aunt Vinnie’s Invasion (which I haven’t read), the six Hallsenius children are staying with their aunt in the small town of Nordvik in Sweden while their parents photographing a scientific expedition in Africa. Over the course of the story, sixteen year old Annika acquires a boyfriend, and the oldest boy in the family, Anders, acquires a girlfriend. Twelve year old Lollie breaks a bowl and has an encounter with the police. Trina and Sam play supporting roles in the story, but we don’t get to know them much. However, it is Per, the youngest Hallsenius child, who does the most to upset and enhance Aunt Vinnie’s quiet life.

Aunt Vinnie has a remarkably matter-of-fact and trustful approach to life and to caring for six children. She lets them fend for themselves, and they come to her when they need help. The story itself feels just a little bit foreign, but not foreign enough to put readers off. I’m not sure it’s exciting enough for many of today’s readers, but for a thoughtful reader with a taste for quiet stories set in other places and times, it might hit the spot.

Karin Anckarsvärd is a Swedish author who wrote fourteen books for children, including Bonifacius the Green (about a playful dragon), The Mysterious Schoolmaster, and The Doctor’s Boy, a rather dark middle grade novel about poverty and class distinctions and coming of age. As in Doctor’s Boy, the children in Aunt Vinnie’s Victorious Six are remarkably free to roam the town and get into all sorts of adventures and scrapes on their own without much adult supervision. Oh, the nostalgia of a free-range childhood!