Beany & the Beckoning Road

Lenora Mattingly Weber, Beany and the Beckoning Road (Image Cascade Publishing, 1950) The interesting thing about the Beany Malone series is that nothing stays the same from volume to volume. This time round, Elizabeth and Don are in California for an operation on Don's leg, while Martie is still at the house. Kay and her mother have moved away, as has Sheila MacBride. Johnny has moved on to researching the life of Jim Bridger, one of the westward expansionists from a century before the story takes place. Beany and Norbett are still not on solid ground despite it being, what, three years since they finally got together? In this volume, after Norbett throws Beany over for a date, citing a hot story he's tracking down, Beany sees him with another girl. Soon after, Elizabeth writes and asks Beany if she can bring Martie down to California; she jumps at the chance. Johnny tags along to stop at Fort Bridger on the way to aid his research. Then Ander's prize horse, who got sold while Ander was in the army, shows up, and the crew have to get him to Ander's family's ranch in Wyoming. Since they're tight on money (thanks to needing to pony up the cash to buy the horse trailer to take the horse), Johnny gets a radioman to advertise for a paying customer looking to go to California. And so on and so on. The specter of Mr. Murphy shines bright over the Malone crowd. Weber probably throws more at Beany and Johnny in this episode as she has in the last three combined. The result is fast-paced and fun (as long as you're not the characters). If you're already a Beany Malone fan, though, you don't need me to tell you that. *** ½