Plot Summary

         The View from Saturday, written by E.L. Konigsburg is a fictional story about a sixth grade Academic bowl team.  Their team leader is their teacher.  After not teaching for ten years due to an accident which paralyzed her from the waist down, she is finally ready and able to help these sixth graders out.  The story is told in multi voice, sharing different views from each sixth grader on the team.  It is first set in the time of the final round of the bowl.  A question is asked and then it flashes back to an event that leads them to the answer.  For example the first question is “What is the meaning of the word calligraphy and from what language does it derive.” (Konigsburg, 4).  It then flashes back to Noah’s summer, where he learned all about calligraphy.  We then find out the answer through his story.

         Another plot to the story is showing how all of the students connect in some way.  Three out of the four students are related in one way or another due to marriages in their family.  It may be confusing at first but after hearing each of their stories they finally all connect and it is then mentioned a few times after that to remind the reader of the connections.

         As the book goes along they compete in many rounds and finally it is down to the final two teams; the sixth graders vs. an eighth grade team from another district.  Everyone is very surprised because this has never happened before.  There are about seven questions asked and answered throughout the story, but do they win it in the end?

Textual Elements

Setting:  The story takes place in a town called Epiphany.  Although the book flashes back to stories of each child, the main part of the story is in their hometown in New York, where they meet each other, become a team, and then compete against other schools.  This happens through flashbacks through the teacher and the unusual boy, Julian. 

Characters:  There are five main characters in the story.  Four of them are the students who compete in the challenge, and the fifth is the teacher who chooses them to be on the team and guides them to the final bowl.

              Noah – He is the first character whose story is told from his past.  He talks about going to Florida over the summer to stay with his grandparents while his parents go on a trip.  There are many events that happen while he is there.  He is very proud of everything he accomplished down there and is not scared to brag about it.

             Nadia – She is the second character whose story is told.  Her parents are divorced and for one month in the summer she has to go down to Florida to visit her dad.  Her family is big into turtles and it becomes a big part of answering the questions.  It also opens up new doors for her, her father, her grandfather, and most importantly Ethan.

             Ethan – Visits his grandmother in Florida, who has recently married Nadia’s Grandfather.  He is in Florida the same time as Nadia and they do not become close until later when they are in the same classroom.  However his story telling is based on how he met Julian, the new boy in town.

             Julian – He and his father have just moved into the Sellington House, which will soon be turned into an Inn.  He is very different from the rest of the kids at school and gets made fun of often.  After a few days of school, he secretly invites three other students to his house for tea.  Of course these three people are Noah, Nadia, and Ethan.  They go questioning if it is going to be strange or not.  After sitting down and having tea, they realize they all get along very well.

             Mrs. Olinski – This is the teacher of the sixth grade class.  She is a paraplegic who was paralyzed in a car accident ten years ago.  She knows she has to pick four students to be in the academic bowl, however her decision is based on something unknown.  At first she wants to pick one of the bad students, but later decides to pick Julian, who is the fourth and final member.  She is asked many times throughout the book how she picked her team, however she never actually realizes how until the end.

Point of view:  As mentioned before, this book is told by multiple points of view. The students and teacher mostly tell it.  They each share their story with the reader about their past and up till the present.  Some of the chapters are in the present at the Academic Bowl.  These parts are told in third person and were just stating what was happening at that point in time.  It is interesting to see different points of view from each character.  Many of their stories overlap, but are told in a completely different way.

Theme:  The theme of the book is based of the title, A View from Saturday.  First of all the point of view changes periodically throughout the whole book.  This might reference the “view” part of the book.  Another important part of the title is Saturday.  Every Saturday the team gets together and has tea.  Even before they were a team, Julian brought them together.  From that point on they called themselves “The Souls.”  Although it might seem like a short and simple name, Nadia states, “Less is More.” (Konigsburg, 90).  This becomes a recurring theme in the book.

Text/Font choices:  The font was the same throughout the whole book.  I think the book would have been improved if the font were changed for each character speaking.  When it is told in third person it should also have a different font, so the readers aren’t confused about who is talking.

Analysis and Critique

Social relevancy:  The book would be a good choice for middle school students to read because it not only gets them reading but the questions with answers in the back of the book gets them engaged.  If reading it to a class, you could incorporate this book into many other lesson plans, such as a quiz bowl, or a read aloud, where different students read different parts of the story.  It may seem confusing at first to the students but if you show them a character map and come up with how each student is related it becomes easier for the student to understand.  One important part of the book, that some students may be able to relate to is the fact that Julian is at first an outcast, and everyone looks at him funny.  However, by the end of the book he is a popular kid among “The Souls” and he is the one who brought them together.  Some students may feel like outcasts but this book can help show them they still have a chance at making friends.

Citation

Konigsburg, E.L. The View from Saturday. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996.