The Middle Moffat

Written by Eleanor Estes · Illustrated by Louis Slobodkin

Part of the The Moffats series

A young girl learns to navigate friendships, family, and growing up in a small town.

4.0 Goodreads · 3,220 ratings

256 pages· 46,549 words· Est. 6.5 hour read· 710L

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Bookroo's summary

Ten-year-old Jane Moffat, feeling overshadowed in her family, reinvents herself as the 'Middle Moffat.' In Cranbury, she juggles secret missions, like helping the town's oldest resident reach a milestone, and leading the girls' basketball team to victory. Jane's courage is tested when she confronts the intimidating Wallie Bangs. Amidst these adventures, Jane discovers that being in the middle can be the most thrilling place of all. Will she manage to keep Cranbury in order while finding her own identity?

From the publisher

A 1943 Newbery Honor Book Who is Jane Moffat, anyway? She isn’t the youngest in the family, and she isn’t the oldest-she is always just Jane. How boring. So Jane decides to become a figure of mystery . . . the mysterious “Middle Moffat.” But being in the middle is a lot harder than it looks. In between not rescuing stray dogs, and losing and finding best friends, Jane must secretly look after the oldest inhabitant of Cranbury . . . so he can live to be one hundred. Between brushing her hair from her eyes and holding up her stockings, she has to help the girls’ basketball team win the championship. And it falls to Jane-the only person in town with enough courage-to stand up to the frightful mechanical wizard, Wallie Bangs. Jane is so busy keeping Cranbury in order that she barely has time to be plain old Jane. Sometimes the middle is the most exciting place of all. . . .