E.L. Konigsburg's The View from Saturday weirdly morphs in my memory from time to time. I didn't read it as a kid so it's not nostalgia based. It morphs the way childhood memories do, in some weird way I can't quite explain to myself based on my moods. It's probably all depending on if I'm feeling moody and reclusive, anyway, even at the time. I'll get back to that, maybe. Sometimes I see it on my bookcase and groan, "You were so annoying!" and other times I'll sigh, "That's the cute loggerhead book!"

What is it with author ladies for young people including an older person that kids can relate to? Every book from Melina Marchetta (that I've read) has done so (no doubt to make her job as a teacher easier. "We can go to her!"). Konigsburg's From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil Frank E. Weiler (I didn't have to consult anything to spell this but I repeatedly misspell Konigsburg) had Mrs. Basil Frank E. Weiler, The Outcasts of 17 Schuyler Place (might've been another address. I don't remember any of my own childhood addresses. This only mattered when doing that "What is your porn name?" internet meme from a few years back) has the uncles (this is her weakest book, in my opinion). [I checked and it is 19. Curse my memory!]

I liked the Mrs. Basil Frank E. Weiler. That's a name you can trust. As someone who was picked on mercilessly for her name I would trust in the character building of name calling (and she chose it as her married name. Right on). She also had tons of books and cool categorizing methodology. I loved the two kids, their penchant for planning and carrying out schemes. I also loved running away fantasies (the time I tried to carry it out is not a fun story. I don't wish to bum out this happy-go-lucky review).

Schuyler Place started out cool. Stick it to the man, and taking over individual art and making every town look exactly the same (those bastards! Let's stick it to 'em!) story. But the whole summer camp part (I related to the girl's intense hatred of it. I have camp horror stories and I only went for two days). Then there was some dumb romance, dumb idealism that didn't fit stick it to the man rather than patting your own butt praise. Yawn.

The View from Saturday is, to me, somewhere between these two books. The four kids are supposed to be shy rejects, according to the book jacket. They were the kind of brainy, did-everything-right kids that I'd eye on grade report days that crowed about how well they did when I'd stare mournfully at my math grades and dread going home (that their parents did most of their assignments for them also seemed unfair. No, not seemed. It was unfair!). There's something about groups like these in stories that feels exclusive. Me at any age gets the feeling that these stories are written for a certain type of reader in mind: the kid that got perfect grades. They won't idle away in angst (maybe not even in the teen years). I'm always going to wallow. That's my cross to bear (sigh).

The parts of the book that annoyed the shit out of me was the teacher hand-picking the cream of the crop for her idyllic saturday meetings of precociousness. If I wanted to read about this I'd pick up the autobiography of the boy band svegali.

I liked it better when they separated and communicated their own lives through letters. The loggerhead turtles were the best. It isn't fair that I've lived in Florida for such a long time and have never seen a loggerhead turtle (troll bait alert! I'm hoping to be yelled at for lamenting my own not seeing a loggerhead as if there aren't different planes of thought capable in a person's mind: "Loggerheads are so cute!" and the more overwhelming desire that they live as well as they ought). The kids worked together better, for me, in their own lives rather than organized hyper "We got better grades than you!" stuff. Does anyone want to listen to somebody else's in-jokes? I wouldn't have respected a kid that trusted adults, anyway. Since I still never found organized adulthood to trust, I still didn't respect it. That side of me is why I can still enjoy some kids books, I think.

High fives are okay. Ass-patting is bad. I'll take a hug.


When in grade school they made us write journals to our teachers. My teacher repeatedly made me start mine over. If there was the thing that anyone wanted to hear, I had no idea what it was. I just asked a lot of questions.

They gave me another weirdo kid in Missouri to be a pen pal with. We wrote letters outside of class because we got in trouble for not sticking to the assignments. Mostly we just talked about how stuff sucked (big surprise). What is the fun in that? Guess we wouldn't have been invited to tea! (Cookies would be nice.)

My twin says that they write in those kinds of adults to counteract those sleazy Nickelodeon type shows when the kids live in a world without adults. Those shows are annoying, this is true. I'd rather read about naturally open relationships that are earned rather than propaganda about magic world of adults of people who know everything. 'Cause I feel like shit 'cause I never entered that world. And it was a letdown back then. Why do that to anybody?

A classic, as timeless as Konigsburg's Mixed-Up Files. This is a beautiful story about friendship, family, kindness, and wonder. The joy of simple things, like slowly sipping tea with friends. The wonder of new journeys, of knowledge, of tiny baby turtles crawling out to sea. The miracle of finding friends, of family connections, and the families we create for ourselves as well.

We found this one to be tough going for my literate 9-year-old, and even for me at times. Ultimately, we read it aloud together for book group. There were a lot of things to like in this book, but ultimately the complicated time structure got in the way of the story.

Others have observed that the characters were interesting and quirky, lovable partly because they cared for one another. I agree.

One thing made me uncomfortable: the image of a noose became a positive symbol for the team. Tee shirts are printed up with a noose on them, because of a grammatical error that the principal from the opposing team makes vis-a-vis "hung" versus "hanged". At another time, a student brings an actual noose to a competition. None of these wise, interesting people, who apparently know thousands of historical anecdotes and facts, have any awareness that the noose in America is synonymous with the era of lynching, and is wildly inappropriate as a whimsical metaphor for tromping in an academic challenge. Reading it with my daughter, I had to explain to her why hanging was not funny, and how I was disappointed that their beloved and wise teacher had not explained why. Certain bad students were soundly chastised for cruelty for being a naughty and loud audience during a play, but carrying a noose to a competition is portrayed as endearing. My best explanation is that Ms. Konigsburg just loved grammar so much, that crimes against grammar (hanged/hung) trumped other concerns. All of the characters except the Singhs were white, so maybe the presumption is that no one would mind?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that the book is racist. It's more tone deaf on race.

A group of four sixth grade classmates, with inexplicible ties between them, form a group they call The Souls, for inexplicable reasons. Then they are chosen by a teacher to compete, as a group, in an academic bowl...or did they choose her?

As you can probably tell by my description, and my one star rating, of course, I was not fond of this book. Too much in it was pat, pretty, unrealistic, and completely unexplained. So many times, I found myself saying 'that would never happen,' or 'how would they know that?' or 'that person would never react that way.' (Most notably, the trite ending to Nadia's anecdote, Mr Singh acting as a deus ex machina, and knowing the unknowable, and I'm sorry, but no school would get so excited about an academic bowl. They just wouldn't.) This was surprising, because the author used to be a teacher, but seemingly had no understanding of how sixth graders actually behave. Added to this was the lack of any contractions in speech, which added to the unrealistic feel.

The method of telling the story was similar to what the author used in A Proud Taste For Scarlet and Miniver, but it didn't work well in this story. To elaborate: the first four chapters would begin at the academic bowl, narrated by the teacher, with one of the four students ringing in to answer a question, and would then launch into that student telling an anecdote, in their own voice, which explains how they acquired the knowledge to answer that question...I thought. Third and fourth students' turns, however, didn't follow this pattern, since their anecdotes had nothing at all to do with the question or answer, and then the rest of the chapters proceeded with the plot, in the normal fashion. Oddly, one of the students had a verbal tic, when telling their anecdote, of using the word 'fact' a lot, but that tic continued, after the story wasn't being told in that character's voice anymore.

All in all, it was a muddled, confused, unexplained story, and I was happy to have finished it. It's an award winner, but gets no award from me!

A Proud Taste of Scarlet and Miniver to this one by way of author (among other things)

Kudos to Konigsburg for winning the Newbery Medal twice! When I laughed out loud in the first few pages, I knew I would enjoy The View from Saturday. This book is positive and upbeat and the characters are empowered by their friendship. I loved the way Julian changed the cruel words on his book bag to say "I am a passenger on Spaceship Earth!"

I also really liked the themes of kindness and courtesy. Nadia put her hurt feelings aside to help save the turtles. The Souls banded together to support each other and their teacher. Julian even chose kindness to his enemy with the dog situation during "Annie." I'd love to visit Sillington House if it were a real place. The real Finger Lakes region in New York is gorgeous, too.

All four kids in this book are precocious oddballs, but they are appealing because of the views we get inside their heads and hearts. I liked them all, probably Ethan the most.

Based on the four books I've read by Konigsburg, I'd say she writes unusual stories. Many stories could be written about middle school academic bowl teams, but only she would write this one. I'm not trying to state the obvious; I'm trying to put my finger on her appeal to me. Konigsburg's characters are quirky and their relationships are complex. Her plots have some unexpected twists. She likes to put a bit of mystery in her stories, little surprises for the reader. She comes at things from oblique angles, but ties everything together in the end when all is revealed. It seems to me that, like Julian, the author enjoys being a bit of a "magician," and she plays the crowd well. I always learn things from her books, too. In this book I learned fascinating bits about calligraphy, sea turtles, acronyms such as "tip," etc.

Finally, she is just a good writer, a master at her craft. Take this image for example: "As he ambled down his row toward the front of the room, smiling faces lifted and tilted toward him like the broad front faces of sunflowers as they follow the sun across heaven." (p.129)

I'll end with a quote I liked on the back of my copy of the book. "In no other book this year were the potentials of both heart and mind in children laid out with such persuasive clarity... it's a jubilant, unique, tour de force."
--John Peters, Chair, 1997 Newbery Award Committee

LOVED this! I picked it up because a) I love Konigsburg's From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankwiler, and b) because it concerns the members of an Academic Bowl team, and I spent most of middle school and all of highschool taking part in such nerdly pursuits.

Konigsburg deftly weaves together the stories of five characters: the Academic Bowl team members, Noah, Nadia, Julian, and Ethan, and their teacher/coach, Mrs. Olinski. There's no plot summary that can do the book justice, because the plot is just a very small element in the actual story, which is about bravery and friendship. The book's also wickedly funny -- Konigsburg, as usual, never missing an opportunity to poke fun at officious figures of authority.

A lot of the reviews on Amazon.com question whether this book actually speaks to the children that form its ostensible audience. It's a good question; it's really a very sophisticated book, and the four sixth-graders are most unusual and wise beyond their years. I don't think it would appeal to all children -- but I don't think the Newberry is really about choosing a book that will appeal to everyone. I think it will find its own dedicated audience who adore it in the same way many of us adored From the Mixed-Up Files. I definitely would have loved it when I was in sixth grade.

《هو الحق》
یک کتاب روون و شیرین

Do YOU want a book that goes deep into a plot? Do YOU want a book that is easy to go along with so you can sink into the story? Well, you will not find it here. What I got out of the book: People get smarter when they learn something. If you ask your mother a question, and she answers it, you are getting smarter. Do you need to go into detail about how they learned an answer to a question when it is just that? Is it really necessary to go into complete frame for frame detail about a person learning calligraphy? Absolutely not. "But thats the entire book!", E.L. Konigsburg, this is your entire book. There is no plot. There is no need for an entire chapter to be about somebody getting a puzzle. Dear god, do not read this book.

Very good book--my mom correctly described it as a "quiet upper." Moms are often but not always right...but mom was right on this one.

Was glad to finish it at the end of a rough day. The book ends with strong messages of "kindness prevails" and "rely on others; they won't disappoint."

Others have read and hailed Koningsbird, but this is my first book of hers that I have read. Her writing and storytelling prowess is jaw-dropping. I wanted to start it again just after finishing it. These sentences jumped out at me:

"Inside me there was a lot of best friendship that no one but Ginger was using." P 42

"I am very good at gazing. I am also very good at listening. Gazing and listening are all right for church, but they sure kill a lot of conversations." P 64

"Sometimes silence is a habit that hurts." P 70

"By the time they get to sixth grade, honor roll students won't risk making a mistake, and sometimes to be successful you have to risk making mistakes." P 120

"After my accident it took more courage to get back into the passenger's side of an automobile than it took for me to drive again." P 151

Very, very good. Fine for a young reader, but some maturity is required to appreciate the subtle wisdom sprinkled throughout the pages of this book.

E. L. does it again. This is about a Trivia club at a middle school around a group of 4 6th graders. Our school called this Quiz bowl and I never tried out for it, but I was in the audience each year to watch and learn. I learned so many interesting things. I still remember things like Yoknapatawpha was Faulkner's imagination setting for his novels. It stuck. I have also been on a huge Jeopardy binge since they put it on Netflix's recently and I saw the tournament of champions.

I think this is such an interesting story. I first I really didn't understand what was going on. She tells the past of each of the 4 students and how they all relate. She also goes into the teacher of the group and how she puts them all together. It all wraps up so beautifully at the end and she puts it in this neat bow. I love it.

The kids I hung out with in High School were very smart, funny and intelligent. We were mostly polite and respectful as well. I totally related to these characters. I knew several of these kids in my high school.

Another detail I love about this story is there is a focus on finding a place for kindness and listening. These kids have tea every Saturday and they listen to each other and they are well behaved. They do other fun things too. I love this quality of kindness she brings out in the story. There is a line I can't quite remember, but a character or narrator says that to get along in society, we need a level of kindness and civility that is lacking in much of society today. I tend to agree with this. Jumping to quick judgements aren't the best.

I absolutely loved this story. I loved how the beginning you are trying to piece it all together and how satisfying the end is. What bothered me was at the beginning she would ask a question and then jump into the past of a character and we had to wait to verify if our answer was correct or not. That is cruel. Oh well.

There is also a production of Annie going on during this as well. There is a foreign student or two that I love. I always wanted to me the people who came from outside our culture. This was a fabulous story for me personally. I think it's great for anyone who enjoys trivia and who appreciated being smart in school.

At first this book seemed to be a children's version of Slumdog Millionaire: Four kids take part in a quiz and beat everybody else although they are among the youngest competitors. As in Slumdog Millionaire nobody understands how they know all the answers. So little stories are told showing how they had all this knowledge.
But this book soon takes a different turn. It is most of all the story of a wonderful friendship. I wish I had friends like these four kids!

I have always been interested in books that have multiple perspectives. Sometimes it's nice to have a change in point of view so you can see different angles and approaches to the same issue or event, especially with these intriguing individuals that E.L. Konisburg has created. In them, I saw traits that are much different from those I see in myself. They each have distinct personalities that are consequently quite admirable- in their own ways, of course. Despite these wonderful contributions, I believe my favorite aspect of the book was the way each and every one of the Souls was connected in some way, and how that connection rooted itself deeper than just coincidence. It dug its way into their hearts and minds to create a telepathy that only the best of friends can acquire, which then may blossom into a bond that makes daily life seem so full and worthy of heartfelt gratitude.