Elm Street in North London, bounded by the stump of a tree at the Park end and by Woodside School (and gimlet-eyed George Crackenthorpe) at the other, to the outward eye a row of terrace houses like any other, is a territory to the children who live there, their cohesion proved by the fact that at school they are known to their peers from other streets as "the Elm Street lot". The six stories that chronicle their adventures [in The Elm Street Lot] were written ten years ago … but at least the passage of time has showed the dateless character of Philippa Pearce's writing. Progress has not yet put an end to the self-contained, village atmosphere of many London streets which is reflected in this book….

Elm Street's individuality is supported by the device of "populousness", the method by which an author, defining only a handful of characters...