Readers first met the Peeler family as they went on a hilarious summer road trip in The Way to Schenectady . Now winter has come and with it the school holiday pageant. Jane Peeler, who loves to be the boss at all times, is directing her class production of The Nutcracker . All does not go as well as she planned as she finds the plot of the presentation creeping into her own life. First, there are problems at school, caused by a gym teacher who wants the gym for basketball, not for rehearsal space. Then there’s a budding romance in the cast. At home, Dad has come down with an illness, and Grandma—grumpy, chain-smoking, profane Grandma—comes back on the scene as a reluctant baby-sitter to Jane and her younger brothers Bill and Bernie. The fun that ensues is pure Scrimger, and is sure to delight his legion of fans.