The Thorne Rooms

The 5th annual reading of The Sixty-Eight Rooms book by Marianne Malone has begun in second grade.  It's hard for some kids to understand, but the setting of the book is real.  The adventure takes place in Chicago at an exhibit called the Thorne Miniature Rooms at the Art Institute.  But the author takes a real setting and makes magical things happen there.  The main characters Jack and Ruthie go on a field trip to the Thorne Rooms and they discover an amazing secret!  Here are pictures of the real Thorne Miniature Rooms collection that is at the Art Institute in Chicago.

For those of you asking, "What are the Thorne Rooms?"  Here is a short answer:

The 68 Thorne Miniature Rooms enable one to glimpse elements of European interiors from the late 13th century to the 1930s and American furnishings from the 17th century to the 1930s. Painstakingly constructed on a scale of one inch to one foot, these fascinating models were conceived by Mrs. James Ward Thorne of Chicago and constructed between 1932 and 1940 by master craftsmen according to her specifications.

These pictures below show the layout of the exhibit and show the size of the window to peer inside.  No one can fully grasp how amazing they are until seeing them in person.

The trip is Thursday, October 8.