Amazon.com
A powerhouse sixth-grade Academic Bowl team from Epiphany Middle School; the art of calligraphy; the retirees of Century Village, Florida; a genius dog named Ginger; and a holiday production of "Annie" all figure heavily in the latest book by E. L. Konigsburg, who has produced a Newbery Medal-winning children's tale to rival her classic From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, which won the Newbery Medal almost 30 years ago. The new book centers around a group of four brilliant, shy 12-year-olds and the tea party they have each Saturday morning. Konigsburg's wacky erudition and her knack for offbeat characters make this a funny and endearing story of friendship.

Part of spacedog's Newbery BookRing Round 4

Heading to: dancing-dog [TN]
bookhunter21 [MN]
Rosalinde [MN]
spacedog [MA]

Arrived safely at my house last night. Looking forward to reading it!

I really enjoyed this well-written book. I liked the style it was written in and I liked getting to know the characters one at a time. Not only were these 6th graders smart, they were wise beyond their years. Epiphany was the perfect name for their town. This book really said a lot if you were listening!

My favorite quote from the book, "Every voyage begins when you do."

Thanks for sharing this one, tuff! It will be traveling soon to bookhunter as soon as I give her a heads up. :-)

Mailed to bookhunter21 July 2nd.

Received yesterday with Dicey's Song. Looks good. I like Konigsburg's quirkiness.

Sorry to be holding on to these so long. This summer has been crazy! I really enjoyed this book. Each time I read one of Konigsburg's books, I gain a deeper appreciation of her writing. I too enjoyed getting to know the characters one at a time because, fact, you get to see the same event from their different perspectives and, fact, the writer is very good at keeping their individual voices intact. The weaving of their lives together was very well done. I was on a quiz bowl team in High school and it brought back some fun memories. I liked the way the answers the Souls gave were not just memorized but really had to do with their lives and interests. There are a lot of good lines but my most memorable one is when Noah tells Nadia he never heard of someone giving a dog for a gift without asking first and also never heard of that person naming the dog rather than letting the recipient name it. "Well Noah, now you have. In a single afternoon you have heard of both." Made me laugh out loud!

Sent to Rosalinde on October 13, 2007.

Received this along with Dicey's Song. That makes this 6 Newberry books that I've received within the last week...it's going to be a Newberry marathon!

It took me a little to get into this book, because it said it was about an Academic Bowl group, and the book started off with a wedding. I did get slightly confused about how they were related, but then the book took off and it all came together. I liked how you got to know each of them, and what journeys they were on. Mrs. Olinski also was on her journey. I appreciated the fact that she wasn't just a regular teacher, but one that was overcoming her accident. I think I'll try to find some of Konigsburgs other books to read, after I get done with my stack of Newberry books.

As soon as I'm done with Dicey's Song, I'll send this on.