The View from Saturday

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Summary: They called themselves "The Souls".
Review: Epiphany Middle School's quiz bowl teams have never done very well. But this year, things have gone quite against the flow. Who would have thought that the four young sixth-graders would beat the seventh-graders? It was unimaginable, a fluke win-- until they beat the eighth-grade, too. That's when word started spreading through the school, among teachers and students alike-- this was the team. For once, there was the smallest chance that Epiphany's quiz group would go far-- and they made it, all the way to the state finals.

That's where their story begins. Their names were Julian, Nadia, Ethan, and Noah, and they called themselves The Souls. They first met at a Saturday tea party, an idea inspired by their love of the story "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland". In their path to the state finals, The Souls discover many things: their special ties with each other; a relationship with their advisor Ms. Olinski; and, in the end, the knowlege of their true selves-- who they really are on the inside.

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Summary: THIS IS THE BEST BOOK I HAVE EVER READ!!! THE BEST!!!!!
Review: THIS IS MY FAVORATE BOOK!! I LOVED IT EVEN MORE THAN I LOVED THE MIXED UP FILES OF MRS. BASIL E. FRANKWEILER!! THAT MEANS THAT IT IS MY FAVORATE BOOK OF ALL TIME!! I LIKED IT HOW E.L. KONISBURG MADE THEM FRIENDS BEFORE THEY MET EACH OTHER AT SCOOL. I ALSO LIKED IT HOW THEY KNEW EACH OTHER CLOSELY. LIKE HOW THEY KNEW WHO THEY SHOULD LET ANSWER THE QUESTION. THAT SHOWS GOOD TEAMWORK. THEY WERE PRETTY SMART KIDS TO KNOW THE ANSWERS TO ALL THOSE QUSTIONS!! AND HOW THEY BEAT OUT ALL THE OTHER SCHOOLS!! PERFECT!!!! THE BEST!!!

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Summary: This book is not just for kids!
Review: Sea Turtles, Florida, sixth grade brain bowl, odd teachers, exotic friends, grandparents dating--its all here in this wonderful new book by Konigsburg. I'm a media specialist in a middle school and this is everything I look for in a book as a Mom and an educator. I have teens of my own, and I look for books that children, teens, and adults of all ages will laugh at and enjoy. Besides being a good read for elementary-middle school students, this book would make an excellent choice for a class set of books for classes working on thematic units that deal with Florida, endangered animals, the aging of America, sixth grade or brain bowl. The characterizations are fresh and endearing. The situations are embarassing and deal with real life problems in a humorous, but caring manner.

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Summary: A really cool story!
Review: This story was really cool. I liked it because it was a story about 6th graders like me beating 7th and 8th graders in a contest. It was also about learning to be kind and care for others. The book was kind of boring and strange in the beginning, but later on in the book, it was really good

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Summary: Sixth Grade Underdogs Rise to the Top!
Review: E.L. Konigsburg has a knack for charming her readers with surprising and pleasing connections between the characters in her books. This is especially true of "The View From Saturday," a book with a title that leaves you wondering until you finally think -- "Aha!" deep into the text. While telling the story of four bright, insightful sixth-graders who learn a great deal about themselves as they work together as a team, Konigsburg seems set on exploring the importance both of individuality and interconnectedness. In the narratives of each of the four central characters -- Noah, Nadia, Ethan and Julian -- there is a stunning moment of self-knowledge. Noah's giving nature becomes obvious as he becomes an integral player in a wedding held in his grandparent's retirement community. Nadia finds her way out of self-imposed isolation by realizing "Inside me there was a lot of friendship that no one but Ginger [her dog] was using." Ethan, too, is isolated and lonely -- and thinks to himself that "Sometimes silence is a habit that hurts." And Julian, the outsider who becomes an insider, uses his talents as a magician to bring the group together. The group of four decides to call themselves "The Souls," and take on the project of helping their teacher, Mrs. Olinski, through her first year of teaching after an accident which confined her to a wheelchair. Olinski selects the four to compete in the Academic Bowl -- or does the team select her? In many ways, the book is a jumble of stories -- but amazingly, by the last page, each individual thread ties into a most satisfying knot. A reader of any age is happy to see this group of sixth-grade underdogs rise to the top.

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Summary: Takes a while to get "hooked"--but you you will!
Review: I don't think this book is as accessible as the last several years Newbery winners, but by the time you have finished it you know you have read a thoughtful, well crafted story that reminds our children the importance of KINDNESS and CARING. Tell kids to keep reading ... I didn't start loving this book until nearly page 100! Then I was hooked

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Summary: Teaspoons and afternoons
Review: As you may know, the Newbery Award is the highest honor a children's book can garner in the United States. Newbery winners are a touch and go lot, and a lot of kids avoid them like the plague. I've always been particularly interested in those award winning books that appeal to kids just as much as they appeal to the adults that shower them with praise, moolah, and awards. For instance, many adults felt that the book "A Single Shard" was well written, while a host of kids looked on it as dulldy dull dull. Both children and adults have agreed that "Holes" and "The Tale of Despereaux" are great books that are fun to read. Then you come to "The View From Saturday". Honestly, I thought this was a fabulous book. It was the rare children's novella that took the great risk of offering wisdom to its readers. It dares to make you think about life, the world, and how one interacts with other people. I can tell you a million reasons to love it, but I honestly haven't a clue if kids would enjoy it. Therein lies the mystery.

"The View From Saturday" follows the lives of four sixth grade quiz bowl champs and their paraplegic coach/teacher. Alternating their final quiz bowl championship match with short stories about the different journeys each kid has had to make, the book is adept at distinguishing between each individual in the group. We begin by listening to a story told by Noah. Noah reminded me of nothing so much as the spaz boy in the spelling bee documentary "Spellbound". A bit of a nerd, but pleased with his own inventive thoughts and ideas, Noah becomes the best man at a geriatric wedding. Then we hear Nadia's story about staying with her divorced father and newly remarried grandfather (hence the Noah connection) in Florida. This flows nicely into Ethan's story. His grandmother married Nadia's grandfather, and he overcomes his reluctance to interact easily with others with the help of his new friend Julian. Julian is the least troubled of the bunch, a boy of Indian heritage who is coming to America after living on a cruise ship. Together, the four band together into a group called The Souls. They are selected by Mrs. Olinski (though for a long time she doesn't know why) as her newest Quiz Bowl team and work effortlessly together in a group as friends and teammates.

A synopsis of this tale really doesn't do it justice. Konigsburg is an adept writer and she knows exactly how to balance a story with both emotion and humor. I was particularly taken with Nadia's tale about living in Florida. Somehow, the author was able to conjure up feelings of being ignored and abandoned perfectly. As Nadia feels an (in my opinion) entirely justified sense of self-pity, we as readers understand what she's going through perfectly. Little triumphs are measured with small defeats. One of the things this book dares to say, and says so well, is how awfully mean people can be. That's a pretty loaded idea. Books today enjoy showing a mean person and then revealing the back story to their crimes. Here, we understand that sometimes a person's just mean to be mean, and it makes them unsuitable as friends as a result.

Then there's Konigsburg's usual jabs at adults in positions of authority. In this particular case she's aimed her sights at people who naturally expect themselves to be smarter than children, yet constantly make mistakes regarding multiculturalism, grammar, pronunciation, etc. And she doesn't drill this idea home by ever putting the adults in situations where they spar with the kids. Instead, they tend to spar with Mrs. Olinski, assuming that because she is a) Just a teacher and b) Confined to a wheelchair she must therefore be less worthy of intelligent human discourse. The result is usually both funny and profound.

Funny and profound is a good way to describe this entire offering, actually. It has its oddities, that's for sure. You have kids in this book saying sentences like, "Oh, that is too bad. Dad is picking me up before supper, and he will be disappointed if I do not eat with him". Not a contraction in sight. Do sixth graders actually act like the ones in this book? Probably not. Will you be amused by them anyway? Probably so. Will actual living breathing sixth graders be amused, intrigued, and challenged by this book? I have absolutely no idea. Maybe yes, maybe no. Whether or not they will, the book is fabulous, fun, and wise beyond its years. It's like a little dose of Zen religion without hokey mysticism or flowery prose. This book respects you, it respects your opinions, and it respects your sense of self-worth. If you have any desire to read something that accomplishes all this and more, pick it up for a glance.

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Summary: Nadia's Adventures
Review: I have been on a rampage to try to read Newberry Award and Newberry Honor Books. I will soon assign students to read some of these great pieces of literature. I could not get myself to read this book. I tried at two diffent times, but I found it to be confusing, boring, and utterly disappointing. I asked a few other students for their opinions and 2 out of the 3 strong students could not get into it. Very disappointed. Why was this an honor book?

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Summary: My view of Saturday
Review: I would like to respond to the snotty reviewer who demands Konigsburg made up the TIP acronym and got it wrong. While in today's standard English "ensure" would be grammatically correct, at the time of the origination of the "tip" jar in 18th century England creative or non-standard spelling was quite common. The acronym is correct and if you don't believe me, look it up in Webster's dictionary, they concur with Julian and the corrected Academic Bowl judges.

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Summary: THe View From Saturday
Review: THis book absolutly sucks. i hate it. im not trying to be a rebel its just that i have had to read this book 3 times and do reports over it and it is very annoying with alot of flash backs and confusing connections. I DO NOT RECCOMMEND THIS BOOK because of all of the above if u have questions or u need an overview of the book i would be happy to give u any info u need just email me at [e-mail]