Helen's Babies

From a body of fictional works all set in 19th Century California, from a former literary and drama critic for the 'New York Herald'.

Toodie and Budge are identified as the two best children in the world. They enjoy a comfortable life with their parents Tom and Helen Lawrence. Helen's brother is Harry Burton, a wealthy bachelor who, although never having had one, is an expert on knowing how to raise children. When Tom and Helen receive a letter from Harry, in which he announces he will travel to them for a vacation, they see an opportunity to get a break from the kids. Knowing that Harry is an expert on children, they assume that he will appreciate the gesture and leave just after he arrives. Unbeknownst to them, Harry only wrote a book about raising children because his publisher told him to, and actually he isn't fond of children at all. He reluctantly takes the position as the babysitter of his nieces and is escorted by Alice Mayton, the Lawrence's attractive neighbor.
From the Wikipedia summary of the plot of the film.

The book is cited in George Orwell's 1945 essay "Good Bad Books" as an example of "the kind of book that has no literary pretensions but which remains readable when more serious productions have perished."