The Money Room

by Eloise Jarvis McGraw

Searching for a treasure their great-grandfather left in a "money room" on his farm in Oregon, two children realize that someone else is also searching.

182 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

Eloise Jarvis McGraw was an author of children's books. She was awarded the Newbery Honor three times in three different decades, for her novels Moccasin Trail (1952), The Golden Goblet (1962), and The Moorchild (1997). A Really Weird Summer (1977) won an Edgar Award for Best Juvenile Mystery from the Mystery Writers of America. McGraw had a very strong interest in history, and among the many books she wrote for children are Greensleeves, Pharaoh, The Seventeenth Swap, and Mara, Daughter of the Nile.

McGraw also contributed to the Oz series started by L. Frank Baum, writing with her daughter Lauren Lynn McGraw (Wagner) Merry Go Round in Oz (the last of the Oz books issued by Baum's publisher) and The Forbidden Fountain of Oz, and later writing The Rundelstone of Oz on her own. The actual writing of the books was done entirely by Eloise; Lauren made story contributions significant enough for Eloise to assign her co-authorship credit.

She lived for many years in Portland, Oregon before dying in late 2000 of "complications of cancer".

McGraw was married to William Corbin McGraw, who died in 1999. They had two children, Peter and Lauren.

-Wikipedia

Reviews

[Priscilla King · Rating 4 out of 5]

Middle school children are introduced to grown-up topics like real estate and stock certificates in a story where the kids rescue the adults, but in a believable way. I enjoyed it as a teenager; might not have enjoyed it in middle school.

Adults who like a cozy mystery might want to go back and read this one too. Being told from the children's point of view makes it positively wholesome. No murders; pure treasure hunting all the way.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the dust jacket: "Thirteen-year-old Scott and his younger sister Melinda expected new-school problems but not the baffling, peculiar events of their first weeks on the Oregon farm their great-grandfather had left their mother. They had always heard talk of his "Money Room" but never a hint of where-or what-it was. Now, with no friends yet and their mother absorbed in her new job, they were determined to find whatever treasure the old house held.
Spurred on by a passage from an old diary and the startling contents of a tin box they found in the attic, Scott and Lindy plunged into a deepening mystery, one that soon had them wondering uneasily who else was trying to find the Money Room, and what would happen if he got there first."

I've had this book unread on my shelves for years remembering only that it is set in Oregon. I finally read it and enjoyed it. I think it has aged well considering it was published in 1981. 13 year old Scotty and his 9 yr old sister Melinda (Lindy) move with their widowed mother from Medford to small town Dover, Oregon. They are to live on their great-grandfather's farm, which includes filbert trees, as their mother begins a job in real estate in nearby Cedarvale.

The brother and sister are actually nice to each other and supportive. They even devise a code to share notes with each other. The mother is present and involved in their lives. They have a pet parakeet and a dachshund. The story is a mystery that isn't scary and doesn't revolve around murder. It showcases difficulties in moving to a new place, trying to fit in (especially when everyone else in town has known each other since birth), making friends when you aren't gregarious and outgoing, and realizing there can be good things where you have moved to. It also introduces German inflation marks and the concept of stocks and bonds to children.

"Barney's mother was still living, but not even his pop knew where, and Barney went so stiff-faced and inarticulate at the mention of her that Scotty hastily dropped the subject, abruptly aware that there might be something even more painful than having a parent die." pg 126

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eloise Jarvis McGraw writes great books for middle school grade children. Many years ago I loved one of the few of these that was then published in the UK - Master Cornhill (about the Great Fire of London). The books can be hard to track down, except that the Internet Archive's Open Library has many of them so I got hold of this one and read it. That is a fantastic resource.

The Money Room is about a family who move back into a family home in Oregon. The great grandfather of the two children in the story reputedly had a hidden money room and so they go searching for it. Most adults dismiss that as childish fantasy, but it seems not all. It seems someone else is after the contents of the money room, and seeks out to defraud the family of it.

As with many of this author's books, there are lessons about history (specifically the great depression for this one) intertwined with a good plot and wonderful characters. There is good reason why this author one three Newbery honours. I will read more of her work as and when I can find it.

[Rodger · Rating 4 out of 5]

A widowed mom and her two kids move into their inherited family farm house. There is an old family joke about their great grandpa having a money room, or is it a joke?

This book is about transitioning into a new place, making friends, the comfort in the familiarity of riding a bicycle, kids learning about their ancestor (great grandpa), searching for treasure, deciphering code, talking parrots, and a mysterious person to watch out for.

The setting for the book is in a fictional small town in Oregon, called Dover. it mentions real places: Medford, Portland and Oregon City.

There were a couple of typos:

On page 56, where the code is explained, ironically it was transcribed with an error so that it does not match itself.

"Come s down." P. 91

[Elizabeth Gibbs · Rating 4 out of 5]

When their father is killed, a young boy, his little sister, and their mother move into an ancestor's home. The boy and his sister search for the infamous "money room". There wasn't a lot of action and climax was weak. I expected a lot more.

[Cws]

JM-McE

[Wendy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this, but it was just never very interesting.