Constance Heward – författare

This is a heartwarming children''s story of a selfless little girl and her younger siblings.

Ameliranne was invited to the squire''s tea party when her five siblings were struck with cold and lay in bed. She was reluctant to go and enjoy the delicious cakes and tea without her little brothers and sisters, but before she left, she had an idea. She grabbed the green umbrella although it didn''t seem like raining, and went on to the squire''s house to carry out her plan.

The language is fit for young children, and the illustrations are pretty and on every page. Although the book was written in 1920, the morals of altruism and family love are still very much relevant today.

The story was so popular and loved by children that it inspired a twenty-book series, following the adventures of the resourceful Ameliaranne, her mother, and her five younger siblings.

"But Ameliaranne had hardly got out of the front door before she was back again. ''I want the umbrella,'' she said, and she took it from the corner in the parlour where it lived. It was large and green, with a goose''s head for a handle."