Aunt Jane's Nieces on the Ranch

3 stars, Metaphorosis reviews

Summary
Louise and Arthur Weldon have bought an orange farm in California and had a baby. When they hear of this, the other nieces, their uncle John, and the major must immediately go to see the cutest baby in the world. And, because of a letter from Louise, they bring a qualified nurse with them, who risks supplanting the baby's Mexican-American nurse.

Review
By now, you know the formula. Uncle John uses his vast wealth to take his nieces somewhere, they encounter someone, and by strange coincidence, that person – often a young woman – turns out to be someone else. That's pretty much what happens here as well. The nieces go to California to see Louise's new baby. They bring their own, Caucasian nurse with them, and there's conflict with the existing Mexican-American nurse. All ends well.

As is also usual, Baum, though progressive for his time, uses language that's uncomfortable today. On one hand, he and some characters stand up for Mexican-Americans. On the other, some of those Mexican-Americans are managing to surpass their natural weaknesses and bad habits. What saves the book is that I was fairly confident Baum meant well, even if he was tripped up by the prejudices of his time.

Baum has a tendency to include the occasional travelogue in his books, but on this occasion, he manages to weave that fairly neatly into his story, so that it's appropriate context and scenery rather than the main feature.

There's always some humor in these books, and Baum has a good time with one particular character who's in love with his car – which no one else wants to hear about it. It's funny and uses a fairly light touch.

When this book came out, it may have been daring in having a Mexican-American be (almost) as good as a white woman. That aspect no longer works, but it's still a solid, dependable entry in the series.