Lotus and her brothers and sisters lived with their Grandpa, Grandma, parents, aunts, uncles, and many cousins in a long, two-storied house with an attic, a spacious front porch, and a garden by the gate.

The children have a tug-of-war with a python that is trying to get into the chicken coop.

They have front-row seats at the wedding of an aunt who is one of the ugliest women they have ever seen.

Each of them gets a stinging cut of the cane for dirtying clean laundry in their war games.

Grandpa somehow brings Toots the tortoise back to life. Funny, exciting, frightening, and even painful but never boring, these tales, drawn from the author’s childhood memories, are told with warmth and a keen sense of humour. Illustrated by Derek Wee, the author’s son.