The Sixty-Eight Rooms
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4.3 • 55 Ratings
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- $6.99
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
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!
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Debut author Malone pens a fantasy tale of museum time travel that suffers from an underdeveloped cast of characters and some disappointing plotting decisions. When daring 11-year-old Jack finds a key in the hallway behind the Thorne Rooms, 68 miniature historical dioramas housed in the Art Institute of Chicago, he hands it to his best friend, Ruthie, a cautious girl who yearns for excitement. To their shock, she shrinks to five inches tall. After figuring out how to shrink Jack down, the duo hide in the hallway past closing time, try on fancy clothes and armor, battle a cockroach, and are thrilled to find that doors lead out from the rooms into the actual past. Cop-outs abound, there are no villains to speak of, and the sixth-graders generally seem too good to be true ( You mean you've never been to the Thorne Rooms? Jack asks Ruthie early on. I thought everyone had! ). Readers will find little excitement in either the time travelogue or the clinical descriptions of the genuinely delightful Thorne Rooms, which deserve better. Ages 8 12.
Customer Reviews
Summer reading, thank you!
Let me start off with something. I am NOT a doctor, a surgeon, a lawyer, a dentist, an architect, a landscaper, a gardener, a janitor, or anything in between. I am ESPECIALLY not a reader. This book made reading, interesting! Here I was thinking, "thank you middle school for ruining my summer and making me.. OHGOD I can't even say it... Read. *cold shiver down back* I mean I'm not saying I am happy that I had/have to read this summer, but this book actually made it quite easy for me. I have to do a summer project on 1/10 books and I said to myself "ok, none of these books sound good. But since I HAVE TO, I guess I'll try The Sixty eight Rooms. And boy am I glad I chose this. I have to do a project on the book we chose and write different words to describe the characters, plot, moral, and just anything about the book and this is so easy to come up with words. If you are someone like ,e who just wants to get on with their summer already and not have to read, or you are a reader and you love reading, I totally recommend this book. It has action, mystery, and you won't regret choosing this book. For $6.99, just get it. You don't have to thank me for writing this review, you should be thanking Marianne Malone.
This book is awesome!😀
This book is awesome! I would rate it 50 stars if I could! I was so happy when I found out there was a fourth book! What would the world do without these books! This review may sound a little strange because it was written by a 3rd grader.
Amazing!!!
This is an amazing book!! I can't wait for the second!
;)