Don't Miss

• 2008 Holiday Catalog
• Win a 20-Volume
  Oxford English Dictionary!
• Powell's Gift Packs
• Mrs. P's Magic Library
• Indiespensable™ #7:
  The Lit-Journal Collection

More at Powell's

• Rare and Collectible Books
• Out of the Book™: State by State
• eBooks | Audio | DVDs

---

Report Comment

---

You are reporting a comment on the following title:

---

You are reporting the following comment:

crowyhead, March 27, 2007

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.

---

Your email address:

---

Reason for report:

---

Are you a robot? We didn't think so. But just to be sure, please type what you see in the following image into the box below.

---

Confirmation:

Are you certain you wish to report this comment?

---

Terms and Conditions

We welcome your comments and ideas, but we ask that you refrain from:

• Obscenity
• Spam
• Illegal content
• Copyrighted material
• Commercial solicitations

By posting your comments you are granting the good people of Powells.com the right (but not the obligation) to make your comments available to others over the Internet, and to copy and distribute your comments via other media, in each case on a royalty free basis. These terms govern the rights and obligations of the person posting comments and Powells.com; there are no intended third party beneficiaries of these terms.

Posted comments are subject to monitoring, editing, and removal at any time. Please see our Terms of Use for our complete terms and conditions.

---

Children's Online Privacy Protection Act

In accordance with The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, you must be at least 13 to submit comments on Powells.com.