I didn't like the sarcastic nature of all the characters in this book. I don't disagree that 6th graders may be sarcastic, but reading a book aloud to them that models it for them isn't what I'd like to do as a teacher. I won't be reading this book to the class or placing it in my classroom library. They can find it at the public library if they so wish. ( )

As is probably true of many everyday life books, The View from Saturday is all about the characters. I didn't really care that much about whether or not the four sixth graders won the knowledge bowl in the end; I just enjoyed reading about life from their perspectives.

Four chapters of the book are told first-person by each of the kids, and those were by far the best parts of the book. They're all really articulate, really thoughtful sixth graders who find each other and form a bond between them that involves this ritual of drinking tea on Saturdays, which is where the title comes from.

Yeah, drinking tea together on Saturdays is not the coolest thing in the world to your typical 11 or 12 year old, but it will appeal to readers who think of themselves as out of the mainstream, kids who can form their own ideas about what is cool. It's one of those books that's about appreciating how intelligent and complicated 11 or 12 year old people can be (at least from my adult perspective).

In the end, it's the idiosyncratic realness of the voices of the kids that makes this book so memorable and enjoyable. Some readers might argue that the kids are sort of unrealistically mature, kind, and intelligent, but I think extraordinary kids exist and are the kinds of characters that make for a really affecting read.
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it was a cute story ( )

A captivating story of four children who form a special bond and how it affects those around them. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and will look for other books by this author. ( )

Many aspects of this Newbery are excellent. A few are not.

I was enjoying the stories and the method of story-telling until toward the end. When Mr. Singh appears and gets quite metaphysical about things, it felt like Konigsburg was having troubles wrapping up the stories and needed some help.

Loved the way the stories were told and interlaced. ( )