I really like E. L. Konigsburg. I like her writing style. I like her ability to create children characters that help you remember what it was like to be a child. I really like her books. This is the story of two “misfit” girls who find each other and eventually learn how to relate normally to one another and become friends. It’s an interesting journey getting there. Both of the main characters use anti-social defense mechanisms to cope with their harsh social world. Through their friendship, they gain confidence and learn how to relate to others and eventually to each other in a more normal way. It’s a journey many, many young people travel. I think this book’s greatest value is that other adolescents might read, then recognize these symptoms in their peers. . . or even themselves. My only question is why “Hilary Ezra” wasn’t included in the lengthy title of this book? He plays a lot bigger role than William McKinley or Macbeth. I guess it’s too late to change it now!

Yes, I did just read this, even though it is meant for younger readers. It was a quick, easy read. The story was only okay. I was a bit disappointed with the ending. I think I was expecting more since I loved "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankwieler."

I reread this for the first time in years after hearing of Konigsberg's passing. It's as good as I remember. I like it that the author leaves us in doubt for a long time as to whether or not Jennifer is really a witch. I also liked it that she was black and Elizabeth was white, and it didn't make a bit of difference in the story.

So my friend lent me another one of this lady's books (The View From Saturday), and I realized that I had this book on my shelf! (I've actually had in on my shelf for a small millennia, but it's finnneee.)

This book is super short and a really easy read. It's funny, because I think this is one of the first books E. L. Konigsburg wrote, and The View From Saturday is one of the last. So I read the opposite ends of her work!

While I found this book enjoyable and certainly different, I felt that it was a bit mean spirited. I enjoyed Elizabeth's main voice, but nothing much happened in this book. I wasn't really IN IT until the end. It was very different from A View From Saturday; I thought that book felt much grander and the characters more full, even though it was about the same length as this book. I think that stems from her practicing and writing over years and years.

I think after reading two of these books I am definitely open to reading more by this author! She seems to be a staple in children's fiction that I missed out on as a child.

GB

I don't know, I found this to be a little odd for a Newbery Medal book. I felt like the characters in the book did not communicate well to each other and I had a hard time getting really interested in all the rituals and trials. Jennifer seemed like more trouble than she was worth to me. Ah well, I guess we've all had relationships like that at one time or another. I guess I just wasn't impressed by this plot (or maybe lack of plot).

I enjoy E. L.'s work. What an interesting little story. It's about two lonely girls who become friends. One claims to be a witch. They meet at the library every Saturday. Elizabeth becomes a witch in training. This book is from the 60s and it's pacing and content fit in to that time. I can't really say why I like this book so much; I just enjoy it. Maybe, it's having something to look forward to in life with a friend and it's about reading. Anyway, it's a 100 page book. Give it a try.

Elizabeth new to the area meets Jennifer who is unlike anyone she's met before and claims to be a witch. I enjoyed this and know if I'd found it as a kid it would have been a favorite. It didn't feel as dated as I expected (1967).

This one had up's and down's, and I may have been judging it rather harshly, subconsciously expecting the brilliance of Mixed Up Files, but I did like it overall.

The up's included the fun of discovering a new friend, a quite unusual and unique (albeit rather controlling) friend who arrived when the title character needed her most. I loved the insight into childhood dynamics that Konigsburg has a firm grasp on, and the cleverness with which she sets up the story line. It always comes full circle, and this kind of neatly finished story is in sharp contrast to the "cliffhanger" ending that has gained popularity in recent years; and makes the story feel more complete, more conclusive.

But...it was slow, even boring, at times. I wasn't often excited to pick it back up, although it was an undeniably pleasant read, it was not a particularly compelling one. Nuggets of Konigsburg's penetrating wisdom shine through here and there, but not enough to make me feel the characters really come alive and live in my head for days afterward. Basically, it lacked some of the heart that makes a story MORE than a story. And I missed it.

I decided to read Jennifer, et al in October because the first chapter takes place at Halloween and the central story is about 2 girls, one who is a "witch" and one an apprentice "witch." I had fond memories of reading this when I was around 11 years old. What I dearly "remembered" was the atmosphere of the story and the way I could feel the weather and see the park and hear the school sounds. Alas, as a grown-up reader, I was extremely disappointed in the lack of sensory details. The only descriptive sentence I could find was "It was a golden day full of the smells of autumn." What smells? How did it feel? I can't believe I remembered so vividly something that wasn't even there to begin with. I must have been projecting my own imagery on the story.

Upon reading this book again, the word I kept thinking of was gimmicky. From the incredibly gimmicky title to the lightweight story of how two girls become friends. Why not just call the book Jennifer and Elizabeth and leave out all the very secondary "characters?" But this was the late 1960s and children's literature was getting edgier and more modern.

As an adult, I became interested in some of the hints dropped by the author about the grownups in the story. For example: "I could tell her patience was small because her voice was very slow and very patient. My father was home. That was the way she talked when she was angry if my father was home." A very small hint into Elizabeth's home life, but after this mention, completely forgotten and ignored. I know that it really didn't have much to do with advancing the story, but it was there, and it was something I didn't forget after I finished the book.

I also wondered (present day reading) if Jennifer might have been autistic? She's always described as looking up and not at people. She's also a little obsessive about books, rituals, and procedures. I don't think we had that term back in the 1960s, but her character seems to imply that. I feel that Elizabeth put the most effort into that relationship and Jennifer could have cared less.

Jan. 2021, reading for the Newbery Club. First thought, boy this mom is inattentive, giving E. three cookies for lunch on Halloween, and not caring a bit about E's trick or treat plans or companion. Well, I'm a mom, so yes I noticed. I like her better later as we learn more about her and her r'ship w/ E.

I like the details. For example E. has to write "I will not be tardy" 100 times, so to amuse herself she numbers the lines in Roman numerals and practices different kinds of handwriting with each sentence.

There's a lot of subtlety here... a lot of showing not telling, which means it would be great for discussion in a reading group. The twist ending is kinda, erm, interesting... I really wonder if the publisher put Konigsburg up to that. Probably not, on second thought, because she'd already earned a Newbery Medal the year before.

Speaking Newberys, this is the second Honor book of the year that features witchcraft. Hmm....

ENGLISH: A little girl (in fact she's the smallest kid in her class) makes friends with a witch, who studies in the same school, and appoints her her apprentice. All kind of strange things will happen. As most witches, they even have a pet toad (Hilary Ezra), and make oinments.

I'm not surprised that this book got in the Newbery Honor List the same year that Konigsburg won the Newbery Medal with From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. The book is very good!

ESPAÑOL: Una niña pequeña (la más pequeña de su clase) se hace amiga de una bruja que estudia en la misma escuela, y que la nombra su aprendiza. Ocurrirán toda clase de cosas raras. Como la mayoría de las brujas, incluso tienen un sapo mascota (Hilary Ezra) y hacen ungüentos.

No me sorprende que este libro fuese incluido en la Lista de Honor Newbery el mismo año en que Konigsburg ganó la Medalla Newbery con From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. ¡El libro es muy bueno!