Their adventures are based on Estes' memories of her childhood and focus on a working-class, single-parent American family during World War I.

For instance, when the first day of school arrives and Rufus goes to kindergarten, he takes very seriously the instruction to watch over his young friend Hughie.

When Hughie runs away from school and hides on a train, Rufus follows him, and a helpful engineer gets them back just in time for lunch.

Another time, the children decide to rig up a ghost in their attic to scare the neighborhood bully Peter Frost.

Mama, who can always find the good side of any situation, reminds the children that no one will try to buy the house while someone inside has scarlet fever.

The author's clear-eyed, original view of childhood shines through all of her work, particularly her classic books about the Moffat family.

Things are changing in the Moffat family, and Janey has the clever idea of making a museum to hold special items from their lives.

The Moffats is available on CD, Audiobook and cassette from Full Cast Audio; in Braille and eBook from Harcourt, Brace & World.