The Sixty-Eight Rooms (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: The Sixty-Eight Rooms Jeannette Hulick Malone, Marianne. The Sixty-Eight Rooms; illus. by Gina Triplett. Random House, 2010 [288p]. Library ed. ISBN 978-0-375-95710-9 $19.99 Trade ed. ISBN 978-0-375-85710-2 $16.99 E-book ed. ISBN 978-0-375-89324-7 $16.99 Reviewed from galleys Ad Gr. 4-6 The titular rooms are the Art Institute of Chicago's Thorne Rooms, a series of painstakingly detailed miniature replicas of historical rooms with superlative dollhouse-like allure. On a field trip to the Art Institute, sixth-grader Ruthie Stewart and her best friend, Jack, discover a key in an alcove behind the Rooms, which allows them to shrink to enter the rooms and their suddenly magical world. The narrative is unfortunately sometimes stilted (especially some of the dialogue and the historical bits) and the characters are fairly stock. The logistics of the magic and of Ruthie and Jack's behind-the-scenes prowls, and the various mysteries (where did the key come from? Who else was in the Rooms before them?), are sufficiently intriguing to propel readers forward, though, and the miniaturized plot is enormously appealing, especially to those who have seen the actual Thorne Rooms. Triplett's occasional line illustrations are somewhat uneven; figures in action seem amateurishly rendered but objects such as the key are piquant in their detail. A covert overnight stay in the Art Institute, the boy-girl pairing, the smart old lady, and the determination to piece together some mysterious history all call to mind Konigsburg's From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Hand this to fans of that classic, or to readers with a taste for magical miniatures and dollhouses; supplement with a catalogue of the Rooms or the website pages devoted to it, and be prepared for lots of Art Institute field-trip requests afterward. An author's note differentiates fact from fiction. Copyright © 2010 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois