The Court of the Stone Children

by Eleanor Cameron

Hardcover, 1990

Status

Available

Local notes

PB Cam

Barcode

1201

Genres

Publication

Puffin Books (1990), 208 pages

Description

Aided by the journal of a young woman who lived in nineteenth-century France, Nina solves a murder mystery dormant since the time of Napoleon.

Awards

National Book Award (Finalist — Children's Books — 1974)
Sequoyah Book Award (Nominee — Children's — 1976)
Vermont Golden Dome Book Award (Nominee — 1974-1975)

Language

Original language

English

Original publication date

1973

Physical description

191 p.; 5 inches

User reviews

LibraryThing member threadnsong
One of those books I read and re-read, or at least started a lot of times. I was familiar with the first part, and I probably put it down when the list of characters grew larger and larger. I know I read it through once because I remember having an "ah-ha!" moment when a key painting is explained;
Show More
I would not have made the connection with the Napoleonic Wars and Napoleon's traits as a despot when I was a child.

It starts with a young-ish girl, Nina, (aged 12? 14?) who has moved from her nature-infused life in the Sierra Nevada to the hills and apartments of San Francisco and is struggling to find herself. A set of school popular girls let her know she's not welcome in their group, and it's with the help of another misfit, Gil, that she discovers a fictional French Museum. Gil has an interest in Time and while their friendship is not a central part of the story, the idea of Time certainly is. Nina has a "Museum Feeling" that becomes quite acute in her new museum home, and it's here she meets Domi.

Dominique is the daughter of the former owner of the Chateau that is now the museum who was once a confidante of Napoleon. In the courtyard of this museum is an arrangement of 6 stones statues, all children of the artist Chrysostome. It is also in this courtyard that Domi makes herself known to Nina through a token that Domi shares with the caretaker of the museum. (Any wonder that I was puzzled by all of this when I was 11??) Also as part of the museum is a two-volume journal kept by Odile, one of the daughters of Chrysostome, that holds the key to a two-hundred-year-old mystery.

So again, giving my eleven-year-old self a break here, there are lots of different threads in this tiny little book. I had half-remembered that the stone children came alive until something was fixed at the end (they don't), and I have always remembered the phrase "that funny way cat's whiskers have" when a person is scratching under a cat's chin. But any other details about this book had completely slipped my mind, so even though it's a re-read for me (another 2018 challenge), it was completely new.
Show Less
LibraryThing member simchaboston
Took me a little while to get into because of my annoyance with the main character's parents, but was quickly absorbed by the story. I found most of the characters likable and lively, particularly Nina and her museum friends, and the historical parts were intriguing (I do like the idea of a museum
Show More
feeling which allows you to sense the stories of the objects around you). No serious flaws, though the bok could use an afterword talking about the author's research, and I do wish there really was a French Museum in San Francisco -- though since I have French museums all around me right now, I shouldn't complain!
Show Less
LibraryThing member Cheryl_in_CC_NV
Some quiet young readers will love this. But the blurb is misleading - Nina does not go back in time, much less to France, and the adventure (such as it is) doesn't even start until about 2/3 of the way through. Mostly it's about this girl who has trouble making friends with most children, and
Show More
about museums, and about the nature of Time. Members of which discipline have the best handle on understanding Time? Artists, like Marc Chagall? Quantum physicists, who study the Uncertainty Princlple? Poets, like May Sarton? Gardeners, philosophers, psychics, musicians? Implied in the text, at least in my interpretation of Cameron's theme, is the answer 'anybody but most historians.'

If I owned this I'd consider reading it again in a few years, when in a different mood or place in my life - I'm sure I didn't fully appreciate it. However, it's a library book, so it goes back.
Show Less
LibraryThing member RobertaLea
I do like Eleanor Cameron's books. This was the National Book Award Winner in 1974. I can say, this isn't one of my favorites. It was okay, not sure how it earned such an honor.

Pages

191

Rating

½ (33 ratings; 4)
Page: 0.4586 seconds