The Rolling Stones

This is Heinlein in a sunny, comic mood, and the Stone family is great fun to spend time with. Their constant bickering, clever arguments and loyalty to one another give the book a lively, affectionate energy, and the grandmother Hazel, a tough old pioneer, steals many scenes. The practical details of buying, repairing and flying an old ship are explained with Heinlein's usual enthusiasm for engineering.

The twins' money-making schemes, from selling used bicycles on Mars to trading in the asteroid belt, give the story its plot, and Heinlein clearly enjoys working out the economics of trade in space. The episode with the fast-breeding flat cats is famously comic, and is often mentioned as an inspiration for a later television story. The younger brother Lowell, a quiet and clever child, also has his own small adventures, and his relationship with his grandmother is particularly sweet.

The book is episodic and has little real danger or tension. Some of the family dynamics, particularly the gender roles, feel dated. Readers wanting high adventure should look to Heinlein's other juveniles. For a warm, witty family story set among the planets, it is a pleasant and unusual classic. About 276 pages in the Scribner hardcover.