Absolutely loved it when I was a kid, and absolutely loved it again as an adult. While the Newbery medalists of late have tended towards dry, very non-kid friendly fiction (I have never seen a child give even a second glance to The Higher Power of Lucky or Criss Cross, no matter the endorsement), this book absolutely deserves every bid of adulation it's been given. Claudia and Jamie's adventure feels just as fresh as ever, and while Manhattan has definitely gone through some major changes since the book was first published in 1967, it still feels like the same city as it did when their train first drops them off at Grand Central. The 2002 edition's afterward by E.L. Konigsburg makes note of what the city would have been like had Claudia and Jamie made their journey 35 years later. Prices would have been higher, Olivetti's typewriter shop would definitely not exist, and they woud have had to find alternative places to sleep at the Metropolitan Museum as the bed they slept on has since been dismantled. However, the book's adventure, and it's intelligence in no way feel dated or irrelevant. Nor will I'm sure if I were to pick it again in another 25 years.

Another book my daughter and I read aloud to each other. I found it just as thrilling as I did when I read it as a kid. One thing struck me: How far we've sunk in our knowledge of English grammar. I envy Claudia in her certainty of always knowing the proper way to say something.