Ruthie and Jack are just normal 6th graders by day, but when they go to the Thorne rooms in the museum in Chicago they are able to turn small enough to go into those rooms and explore them. Sometimes, they are even able to explore the outside of those rooms and meet real people who lived in those time periods. One of their assignments in their 6th grade class was a genealogy report. One of their classmates, Kendra, talks about her ancestor who was a slave and was eventually able to gain her freedom and start a successful business, but her name ended up being sullied because someone else claimed that she stole their recipes for her business. She and her descendants have been trying to clear her name ever since. Something about this story reminded Ruthie of a young slave girl they were able to meet in the Thorne rooms, her name was Phoebe. When Ruthie finds the notebook that she had given Phoebe to practice learning to write in the Thorne rooms filled with recipes for lotions she knows that somehow Phoebe is Kendra's ancestor and that she and Jack must find a way to clear Phoebe's name.
This is such a cute series. I love how the author has taken a real thing, the 68 Thorne rooms, and used their imaginations to create a place for Ruthie and Jack to have adventures. I love Ruthie and Jack, they are both such great kids. I love how they are able to shrink and go into the Thorne rooms. I also like that they sometimes make mistakes, but they aren't afraid to admit that they have or to make things right. I hope to be able to read many more of Ruthie and Jack's adventures!
I was able to borrow this book from my local library.Labels: 68 Rooms Series, Marianne Malone, middle grade book
