School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-6-Take a key from Alice in Wonderland, add a night at the museum from The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, and lace it with time travel. That's the adventure waiting sixth grader Ruthie and her friend Jack when they visit the Art Institute of Chicago on a field trip in Marianne Malone's tale (Random, 2010). Inside the institute sits the Thorne Rooms, 68 legendary miniature rooms each reflecting a different historical period. The magnificence of the rooms captures Ruthie's imagination. In her own simple life, she can only dream about such opulence. When Jack manages to get a backroom peek at the exhibit, he convinces Ruthie to go with him. That's when Jack discovers a magical key tucked into a corner of the floor. When Ruthie touches the key, she shrinks, allowing her to explore the Thorne Rooms. Ruthie and Jack discover that the rooms are much more than historical recreations-they are portals to the trials and tribulations of earlier times. The friends must conquer the challenges confronting them in the different eras or be lost in time. Their wondrous adventure, filled with twists and turns and blending fantasy with history and modern day problems, is sure to intrigue listeners. Cassandra Campbell's narration is spot-on, and her pacing will hold listeners' attention throughout.-Robyn Gioia, Bolles School, Ponte Vedra, FL (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Debut author Malone pens a fantasy tale of museum time travel that suffers from an underdeveloped cast of characters and some disappointing plotting decisions. When daring 11-year-old Jack finds a key in the hallway behind the Thorne Rooms, 68 miniature historical dioramas housed in the Art Institute of Chicago, he hands it to his best friend, Ruthie, a cautious girl who yearns for excitement. To their shock, she shrinks to five inches tall. After figuring out how to shrink Jack down, the duo hide in the hallway past closing time, try on fancy clothes and armor, battle a cockroach, and are thrilled to find that doors lead out from the rooms into the actual past. Cop-outs abound, there are no villains to speak of, and the sixth-graders generally seem too good to be true ("You mean you've never been to the Thorne Rooms?" Jack asks Ruthie early on. "I thought everyone had!"). Readers will find little excitement in either the time travelogue or the clinical descriptions of the genuinely delightful Thorne Rooms, which deserve better. Ages 8-12. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved