This had all the suspense, relationship drama, character growth and plot of an adult book. Yet it was accessible to children, too, without being condescending. There were even a few unexpected plot twists in the final pages. They weren't necessary to polish the story, but were delightful nonetheless.
I think my favorite take away quote was this:
"Happiness is excitement that has found a settling down place, but there is always a little corner that keeps flapping around."How true.
And, honestly, my happiness with this gem of a book makes me nervous about reading other Newbery winners. I can't imagine any will match this.
Ah, Alicia, but they do. Many of my favorite books are Newberys. Not all of them are equal, but many are just as enjoyable as Basil E. Frankweilier.
ReplyDeleteIt's a favorite at our house, too.
Yay! I'm so glad you read it... now you know why I've always claimed that book as my favorite of all-time. And why whenever I've gone to museums, I've eyed the furniture displays with more than passing curiosity. :)
ReplyDeleteI love, love, loved this book as a kid and put it on my "you-must-read-this-book-child-of-mine" list. Later, when I was getting my teaching certification, I read it again and found it didn't hold up as well as I thought it would. Sure, I still wanted to be Claudia and run away to a museum, but there was something missing. I think that as a kid, the promise of excitement was there in a museum. As an adult, I found I was looking at museums almost as a clincian. I guess I have to peak under the beds every now and then to get that sense of wonder back.
ReplyDeleteAva
That is one of my favorite quotes from the book, too. I'm going to use one of my other favorites in my review. :-)
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