This "sparklingly smart" (Kirkus, starred review) and "hilarious" (Booklist, starred review) story follows four children in an old-fashioned kind of family with parents that?well, they're not all that one would hope for. The Willoughbys?Timothy; the twins, Barnaby A and Barnaby B; and their sister,Jane concoct a diabolical plot to turn themselves into worthy and winsome orphans.Little do they know that Mr. and Mrs. Willoughby, their odious mother and father, have already begun to formulate their own thoroughly despicable plan. Soon a stern nanny, an abandoned baby, a candy magnate and his long-lost son, and even a Swiss postman are pulled into the Willoughby children's schemes to escape their mother and father and live happily ever after...or something like that. Replete with a tongue-in-cheek glossary and bibliography, this hilarious parody pays playful homage to classic works of children?s literature with a fresh twist sure to please.