Monday, February 21, 2011

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday: The View from Saturday

I hope everyone is enjoying MMGM and President's Day Weekend. I should have probably reviewed something holiday appropriate like Lincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freedman. But I didn't. Maybe Shannon Whitney Messenger did. This week my pick is:

The View from Saturday by E. L. Konigsburg
Published in 2003

Other books by E.L. Konigsburg include (but are not limited to):
  • From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
  • Silent to the Bone
  • A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver
  • The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place

The Hook: 4 6-graders are picked to do a quiz competition against other schools. The kids form a club and an unlikely friendship.

Why I loved it: It is sorta like slumdog millionaire but there aren't any slums, or millions, or dogs (just kidding, I forgot there are a couple of dogs). But the kids find the answers to the quiz competition base on their experience. Each chapter is told from the point of view of one of the kids and tells the story behind their answer. A great book for both boys and girls.

My favorite line from the book: I am a passenger on the spaceship earth.

Want more on E. L. Konigsburg? Check out her biography.

Did you review a book for MMGM? Leave a link in the comments and I'll add your link. Also if you're on Twitter, check out #MMGM for more.

Other fabulous MMGMers:



3 comments:

  1. Hi Brooke! I just posted a MMGM post and linked to yours.

    And I must add, THE VIEW FROM SATURDAY is one of my favorite Konigsburg novels, the other being FROM THE MIXED UP FILES.

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  2. Great choice! E. L. Konigsburg is terrific, and this book is smart and fun and engaging.

    I posted an MMGM earlier today, and have added links to you and a few others who are keeping up this great idea. If you stop by my blog, do say hello.

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  3. Oh, I love this one and totally agree with your recommendation! My favorite part was the whole indian thing.

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