121 Pudding Street is the story of a street, of a summer, of a single house, a fabulous tree, and most particularly, it is the story of a group of children. The children are real, everyday children living on a typical, everyday kind of street. At least their end of the street was like that.

But the other end was extraordinary. Miss Pursey lived there all alone in a forbidding, closed-up gray house unlike the other happy white houses of Pudding Street. Even more extraordinary, a great wonderful tree grew behind her house—so thick and high it held in its branches a private place for each of the boys and girls of the street. But Miss Pursey usually kept her gate closed. They could be in the tree only for tantalizing minutes.

Then Miss Pursey moved away. Christopher, Timothy, Patrick, Mary, Jane and Ann swarmed into the tree and took possession. Cautious Jane from her chosen lookout spot was on guard against emergencies. And there was an emergency to watch for—someday the gray house might be sold and they would all have to leave.

Then one day it was sold!

The boys and girls all watched uneasily when the moving van arrived, until they saw the first object emerge—a barrel marked Chocolate Cookies. Then they guessed that their tree had found the right owner, and that other pleasant things would happen that summer.

And indeed the things that did take place on the extraordinary end of Pudding Street were exactly what every boy and girl wishes could happen on his or her own street next summer vacation.

From the dust jacket