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4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Sweet and funny. Wish I could live in an art museum.
I read this as a child, but I truly only remembered one thing about it-they run away to live in a museum. I don't feel like that is spoilers, since it's literally the premise of the entire book. Recently reread for family book club, and it was really delightful. I loved the ingenuity of the kids, as well as their eccentricities which really made me laugh. I'm impressed by how child friendly the plot still is-it's not dated at all, except that the money amounts are much smaller than they would need to be now. Definitely a winner.
I remembered this book fondly, but after utterly failing to get my kids to read it on their own, I started re-reading it with them aloud. Now, as a mom of a strong-minded 11 year old girl and a loyal 9 year old boy, I love the book even more! The arguments that Claudia and Jaime sound exactly like the fights my kids have. This one really stands the test of time.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was a book I read in elementary school and I loved it. The story was fun and fascinating and it really related to how kids thought and felt.
adventurous
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
In the meantime she almost forgot why she was running away. But not entirely. Claudia knew that it had to do with injustice. She was the oldest child and the only girl and was subject to a lot of injustice.
I have always remembered the title of this book, it might be my favorite title of a book ever, but I couldn't remember much about it except it involved kids living in a museum, which I would have loved to do (heck I would love to do that now!).
I forgot how absolutely comedic the story is, truly told as Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler writing a letter to her lawyer in which she relays this adventure of the Kincaid children. Although the story is relayed by an adult it maintains a child's perspective of the story in which there are lines such as
You would think that her parents would know something about raising children by the time Kevin, their fourth, came along. But her parents hadn't learned.
and
It caused Claudia to want to embalm Jamie in a vat of mummy fluid right that minute. That would teach him inconspicuous.
This book gave me some of the same feelings as reading the Boxcar Children. I think I just like the idea of living in unusual places and the adventure involved in planning how you will spend your time. It also had a very fun sibling relationship between Claudia, the sister and the fussbudget, and Jamie, the brother and a cheapskate. Relentlessly harassing each other but with an undercurrent of genuine affection.
The mystery was an interesting element of the story because the important part of it wasn't solving it, but it was about gaining knowledge and discovering how it changes you. It is an unusual approach and very mature in a children's book, but presented in a way that felt very clear and understandable even for a young reader.
This was a delight to re-read! There was even a gentle twist that I didn't see coming, which was that