Elizabeth Levy

It's a pity that these children's mysteries had to be titled as they are, severely limiting their likelyhood of rerelease, because they're absolutely wonderful. Hilarious and crazy, and in my mind, far better than your Cam Jansen or your Nancy Drew.

My cousin wrote a book called "I'm Afraid of the Vampire State Building". This book isn't it, but is close enough in title to make me look twice. Found it when I released a book at a little free library in Brewerytown (Philly).

Anyhow, I found the author's note very touching, referencing September 11, 2001. The story was kinda fun, kinda corny, but all around entertaining, in a way that reminded me of books written for kids back when I was young. And did I mention there are jokes?

I have mixed feelings about this book. It's a children's book I stumbled across, and on occasion I like to pick up a children's book and just have a light and fun read. This is pretty bland and generic for the genre of 1980s/1990s children's books, but there was nothing bad about it either. I know it's supposed to be a children's book, but I still felt the storyline was fairly simplistic. In only a few pages (book is less than 100 pages, in easy-to-read size 12 or 14-point font for the show more paperback version I got) we go from the beginning of the school year to around mid to late winter, with not much in between. Again, it's a kid's book, and the ending wraps up as neatly as you would expect for a kid's book, but this is not a particularly profound or memorable book. But then I did not like school, so maybe that colored my perspective of the events in this book? Haha.

The main character is in the 4th grade (about ages 9-10 years) but the reading level of this book would be appropriate for kids 1-2 years younger. show less

By including interesting historical details, author Elizabeth Levy really does allow the reader to think they were right there in Philadelphia watching the Constitution being written. Did you know that in order to keep the proceedings secret, the delegates nailed the windows shut even though it had been the hottest summer in years? Did you know that an ailing Benjamin Franklin was carried to the Convention by four convicts hired for the day? Besides sharing tidbits such as these, the author show more also discusses historical events which led up to the Convention, mini biographies of all the delegates, and the reasoning behind the development of the three branches of government. By skillfully combining clear, interesting factual information with humor, Levy made something as politically complex as the Constitution accessible to all readers. show less