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The Sixty-Eight Rooms Review

I am not sure if this just wasn't a book for me. I generally love reading childrens books, because they must really focus on the storyline without all the added "junk" that adult books usually add. I had a hard time reading the book despite the premise of the book being so interesting. I think everyone as a child wishes they could shrink down to toy size to investigate doll houses or whatever they were interested in. I slogged through the book and then passed the book to my 14-year-old daughter, who loved the book. While she is a bit above the age for the book, she loves books with great stories. She thought that it would be a great book for readers at 4th grade to 6th grade reading levels. She also said she didn't think that boys would enjoy this book to much as it mostly has to do with doll houses. Overall it is a good book.

The Sixty-Eight Rooms Feature

ISBN13: 9780375857102
Condition: New
Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

The Sixty-Eight Rooms Overview

Almost everybody who has grown up in Chicago knows about the Thorne Rooms. Housed in the Children’s Galleries of the Chicago Art Institute, they are a collection of 68 exquisitely crafted miniature rooms made in the 1930s by Mrs. James Ward Thorne. Each of the 68 rooms is designed in the style of a different historic period, and every detail is perfect, from the knobs on the doors to the candles in the candlesticks. Some might even say, the rooms are magic.

Imagine—what if you discovered a key that allowed you to shrink so that you were small enough to sneak inside and explore the rooms’ secrets? What if you discovered that others had done so before you? And that someone had left something important behind?

Fans of Chasing Vermeer, The Doll People, and From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler will be swept up in the magic of this exciting art adventure!

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Customer Reviews

not bad but not great either children's book - LawrenceSvetlana - USA
Children's adventure book for 3-4 graders. I loved the concept of the book, the plot, the ending, but it was just not exciting enough. I could predict a lot of what was going to happen. It was like someone made grand plans for the characters and the plot and they kind of did not turn out so exciting after all. Better tnan letting your child watch TV, but would not be my choice of a gift to any child I know.

Nice concept but was very slow moving - LS - SF Bay Area
I read this with my 10 year old 4th grader daughter. We got through about 2/3rds before I finally gave up making her read it with me. I think both boys are girls would feel the same about this book. For the most part kids that are very interested and have been to the Art Institute and seen the rooms or are very interested in doll houses might enjoy this book. For the rest it is probably too slow of a pace to keep most kids in the target age range interested.

THE SIXTY-EIGHT ROOMS is guilty of some common faults of first novels - Kidsreads.com - New York, NY
My grandparents lived in a suburb of Chicago. When I was younger (and, frankly, even today), a visit to the Windy City just didn't seem complete without a trip to the Art Institute of Chicago and, in particular, to its beloved Thorne Rooms. Unlike more traditional museum "period rooms," the Thorne Rooms are compellingly detailed recreations in miniature, each one appearing like a window not only into another time but into another, smaller dimension. The light-infused dioramas, their exquisite detail and their evocatively painted backdrops are like invitations to imagine yourself in another world.

Apparently, Marianne Malone was also inspired by the imaginative draw of the Thorne Rooms. This debut novelist, who lives near Chicago, has set THE SIXTY-EIGHT ROOMS in the Art Institute, as Ruthie and her friend Jack discover that the rooms are actually magical. When the two come across a mysterious key, they soon learn that Ruthie seems to have a mysterious, magical connection to that key. When she touches it, she shrinks down to a size that would allow her to roam around the Thorne Rooms at just the right scale, sitting at the miniature chairs, tucking herself into the elaborate canopied beds, playing the tiny instruments and opening the miniscule desk drawers.

Ruthie and Jack, who have discovered how to access the maintenance corridor behind the rooms, soon hatch a plan to stay overnight at the museum and explore the rooms more carefully. They also discover a method that allows Jack (who doesn't share Ruthie's connection to the magical key) to shrink as well. But what will happen if they venture outside the rooms, head out beyond the painted backdrops with outdoor scenes and into the miniature, historical world outside? Will they meet people from other times?

THE SIXTY-EIGHT ROOMS has an unusual but understandable premise, one that has surely occurred to anyone who has seen the Thorne Rooms and wondered what it might be like to inhabit those tiny, perfectly appointed, often luxurious spaces. Malone's novel also participates in a storied tradition of children's books set in and inspired by museums, from FROM THE MYSTERIOUS FILES OF MRS. BASIL E. FRANKWEILER to CHASING VERMEER and MASTERPIECE. However, this book injects a supernatural or fantasy element that will appeal to many readers.

At times, THE SIXTY-EIGHT ROOMS is guilty of some common faults of first novels (especially ones for young readers), namely an overuse of exclamation points to indicate enthusiasm or danger. It also suffers occasionally from a lack of cohesion in its plot; although their interactions with figures from the past are limited to a couple of significant exchanges that ultimately have implications for the plot, they can also seem disconnected and unrelated.

Of course, one could point out that the children's adventures are kind of like the rooms themselves --- freely roaming among historical periods and geographical locales that, on the surface of things, might seem like a random assortment. Jack and Ruthie's adventures are certainly compelling, and you can bet that many lucky readers --- their own imaginations inspired by the novel --- will be begging their parents to make a field trip to Chicago.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Jul 31, 2010 13:25:06

Children's Books

Saturday, July 31, 2010