The Moffats is a children’s novel by Eleanor Estes, the first of a series of four books about a fictional family. The four Moffat children — Sylvie, Joey, Janey and Rufus — live with their widowed mother in Cranbury, a small town in Connecticut.

Though the novel was published in 1941, the story begins in the World War I era. It’s notable for focusing on a family headed by a single, working-class, working mother. Mama, as she is called, is a dressmaker.

Rather than being plot-driven, the book is episodic, with each chapter containing a more or less self-contained adventure of the Moffat children. Read More→