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Sixty-Eight Rooms #3
The Pirate's Coin: A Sixty-Eight Rooms Adventure
Sixth graders Jack and Ruthie return in their third adventure in the Art Institute of Chicago's magical Thorne Rooms! During a school presentation, Ruthie and Jack discover that their classmate Kendra is descended from Phoebe Monroe, the young slave they befriended when they traveled to 19th-century South Carolina. Kendra tells them that long ago her family lost their good name and their business selling herbal remedies when mobsters accused them of stealing the recipes! Only Ruthie and Jack know the truth--because only they know about the secret ledger that Phoebe wrote the recipes in long ago! Ruthie and Jack's mission to clear Kendra's name takes them back to the Thorne Rooms, where a mysterious old coin leads them to 1753 Cape Cod and to Jack's own ancestor . . . the pirate Jack Norfleet! But playing with history can be dangerous! Suddenly, Jack's very existence is in jeopardy! Can Ruthie and Jack find the proof they need to help Kendra? And can they fix the past and save Jack's future . . . before it's too late?
224 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2013
25 people are currently reading
553 people want to read
About the author
Marianne Malone
13 books51 followersI was born and raised in the Chicago area. I was not a nose-in-the-book sort of kid, like many authors. Rather, I could be found climbing trees or building forts, or making something with my hands. It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy reading, it’s just that it was hard to squeeze it in with all the other things I wanted to do in a day. My mother was an artist – lucky me! – who taught me all kinds of wonderful ways to make art and to live a creative life.
She also took me to the Art Institute of Chicago frequently, which is where I fell in love with the Thorne Miniature Rooms. Many years later, after I’d studied art in college, began raising my family, co-founded a middle school for girls, and became an art teacher, the Rooms still captured my imagination. In fact, they turned me into a writer when I could no longer ignore the stories they planted in my head.
I wanted to create the kinds of books I would have loved when I was young, the kind of books that would have made me stop what I was doing, the kind of books I couldn’t put down. I had to work hard to learn how to turn these stories that lived in my head into books that young readers would enjoy. But that was half the fun of it – learning a new way to be creative!
She also took me to the Art Institute of Chicago frequently, which is where I fell in love with the Thorne Miniature Rooms. Many years later, after I’d studied art in college, began raising my family, co-founded a middle school for girls, and became an art teacher, the Rooms still captured my imagination. In fact, they turned me into a writer when I could no longer ignore the stories they planted in my head.
I wanted to create the kinds of books I would have loved when I was young, the kind of books that would have made me stop what I was doing, the kind of books I couldn’t put down. I had to work hard to learn how to turn these stories that lived in my head into books that young readers would enjoy. But that was half the fun of it – learning a new way to be creative!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews
January 8, 2025
Another win for Tiny Craig and I! So sad there’s only one left in the series!!!
July 3, 2022
3.5 stars
This series is becoming more exciting!
Ruthie and Jack are still exploring the Thorne Rooms at the Chicago Art Institute. They’ve got the shrinking and growing thing down to a science! When Jack wants to find out about a coin that belonged to one of his ancestors, the children get a bit careless and break the number one rule of time travel: nothing from the past must be changed, because it will affect the future. In this case, possibly Jack’s very existence…
I enjoyed this one a lot; it had a lot of “Back To the Future” vibes!
This series is becoming more exciting!
Ruthie and Jack are still exploring the Thorne Rooms at the Chicago Art Institute. They’ve got the shrinking and growing thing down to a science! When Jack wants to find out about a coin that belonged to one of his ancestors, the children get a bit careless and break the number one rule of time travel: nothing from the past must be changed, because it will affect the future. In this case, possibly Jack’s very existence…
I enjoyed this one a lot; it had a lot of “Back To the Future” vibes!
March 16, 2017
This book goes deeper into American history by picking up the storyline from the last book dealing with slavery. I was glad to see the kids dealing with a very meaningful mystery rather than just more adventures hopping through the rooms and in and out of minor scuffles.
There is a little snafu regarding what happens when you mess with the past too much but it was remedied so quickly that the stakes felt very low.
As usual I'm skeptical at how much trust the adults put in these kids, especially the random ones from history that meet two children, unchaperoned, wearing modern clothing always happen to swallow whatever basic story the kids spit out. It's also convenient that they primarily meet kids their own age when they're on their adventures.
But I'm looking forward to see how this series wraps up.
Oh, also, I hate the spider on the cover and the large illustration of one inside. Lol
There is a little snafu regarding what happens when you mess with the past too much but it was remedied so quickly that the stakes felt very low.
As usual I'm skeptical at how much trust the adults put in these kids, especially the random ones from history that meet two children, unchaperoned, wearing modern clothing always happen to swallow whatever basic story the kids spit out. It's also convenient that they primarily meet kids their own age when they're on their adventures.
But I'm looking forward to see how this series wraps up.
Oh, also, I hate the spider on the cover and the large illustration of one inside. Lol
November 8, 2013
loved it! I can't wait for their next adventure!
Read
February 2, 20144 stars--I love this series for kids! Great adventures and good stories for getting boys to read.
September 14, 2013
These books remind me somewhat of the Magic Tree House books but for older kids. I really enjoy the history and adventure in them.
October 15, 2017
Book number 3 in this really great series. Would be a fun way to introduce a unit on Civil War, Underground Railroad, or Slavery. I'm really hoping to make it to Chicago again to visit the actual Thorne Rooms!
"Sixth Graders Ruthie and Jack return to the Art Institute of Chicago's magical Thorne Rooms. During a school presentation, Ruthie and Jack discover that their classmate Kendra is descended from Phoebe Monroe, the young slave they befriended when they traveled to 19th-century South Carolina. Kendra tells them that long ago her family lost their good name and their business selling herbal remedies when mobsters accused them of stealing the recipes! Only Ruthie and Jack know the truth--because only they know about the secret ledger that Phoebe wrote the recipes in long ago! Ruthie and Jack's mission to clear Kendra's name takes them back to the Thorne Rooms, where a mysterious old coin leads them to 1753 Cape Cod and to Jack's own ancestor . . . the pirate Jack Norfleet! But playing with history can be dangerous! Suddenly, Jack's very existence is in jeopardy! Can Ruthie and Jack find the proof they need to help Kendra? And can they fix the past and save Jack's future . . . before it's too late?"
"Sixth Graders Ruthie and Jack return to the Art Institute of Chicago's magical Thorne Rooms. During a school presentation, Ruthie and Jack discover that their classmate Kendra is descended from Phoebe Monroe, the young slave they befriended when they traveled to 19th-century South Carolina. Kendra tells them that long ago her family lost their good name and their business selling herbal remedies when mobsters accused them of stealing the recipes! Only Ruthie and Jack know the truth--because only they know about the secret ledger that Phoebe wrote the recipes in long ago! Ruthie and Jack's mission to clear Kendra's name takes them back to the Thorne Rooms, where a mysterious old coin leads them to 1753 Cape Cod and to Jack's own ancestor . . . the pirate Jack Norfleet! But playing with history can be dangerous! Suddenly, Jack's very existence is in jeopardy! Can Ruthie and Jack find the proof they need to help Kendra? And can they fix the past and save Jack's future . . . before it's too late?"
August 7, 2024
As in prior adventures, in this third book of the Sixty-Eight Rooms, Jack and Ruthie get to help a classmate right a wrong done to her great grandmother -- the descendant of Phoebe, the slave girl whom they had met in South Carolina. They find out that she had paid for her freedom with the herbal medicines she had concocted, travelling North to Chicago perhaps because she remembered that that was where Jack and Ruthie were from. However, as they learn from their classmate, some decades later in the early 20th century, the mob challenges the ownership of the herbal recipes that Phoebe had written down for her family to use to build a business.
But that is not their only adventure as a side quest is extremely personal: Jack has a coin from his great great great great (more greats) pirate ancestor from Cape Cod in the early 18th century that has the same magical properties as Phoebe's slave tag and the Countess's key that have helped the two of them enter the miniature rooms at the museum and from there into the actual worlds the rooms represent. Having only his mother for family, Jack is eager to learn more about where he came from and meet Jack Norfleet, his namesake. But be careful what you wish for!
But that is not their only adventure as a side quest is extremely personal: Jack has a coin from his great great great great (more greats) pirate ancestor from Cape Cod in the early 18th century that has the same magical properties as Phoebe's slave tag and the Countess's key that have helped the two of them enter the miniature rooms at the museum and from there into the actual worlds the rooms represent. Having only his mother for family, Jack is eager to learn more about where he came from and meet Jack Norfleet, his namesake. But be careful what you wish for!
May 20, 2019
This was a fun read- more focus on time travel. It was almost too quick to resolve though- I wish there had been a little more to the time travel part of the story. I also love the interactions between ruthie and jack. I also love the historical fiction elements to these books. This is such a greatiddle grade series.
August 4, 2025
These books are so fun—two kids who magically shrink to explore carefully crafted and detailed miniature rooms in Chicago’s Art Institute and enter the past by exiting the rooms that “come alive”! They meet new people and have adventures that span both worlds and help others. And they mature and use their talents in the process.
May 22, 2018
The best book of the series!
June 19, 2020
finished 2020-06-11
Want to read
November 29, 2020Note: I received a paperback copy of this book at ALA Midwinter 2020.
December 20, 2020
I couldn’t finish this book. It was way to slow going. I couldn’t capture the main idea.
July 24, 2021
Another wonderful entry into the series. This time, Ruthie and Jack have been learning about genealogy in school. But genealogy is about to come alive for them in a while new way!
January 19, 2022
My 8yo and I loved this book and the entire series (so far. Can’t wait to read the 4th book). What magical fun.
April 29, 2022
This is the third book in the series - Mystery and Magic - I Loved it
Read
January 1, 2025Love this series about the miniature Thorne Rooms at the Chicago Art Institute
September 6, 2013
In the third adventure of close friends Jack & Ruthie at the Thorne Rooms exhibit in Chicago's Art Institute, things are about to get a little more personal. Ruthie first discovers that a school friend of hers is a descendant of the slave girl Phoebe Monroe - & that her family has been the victim of a terrible tragedy. Kendra's great-grandmother, who was the granddaughter of Phoebe, set up a large business as a purveyor of herbal remedies & mixtures, but she was accused by members of the mob of having stolen her proprietary formulas from them &, in the absence of any proof that they recipes belonged to her, she lost everything, including her good name. Kendra & her family are determined to restore that good name, & Jack & Ruthie may just be able to help.
However, Jack becomes distracted upon discovering that an antique coin, a Spanish "piece of eight", that has been in his family for generations, may act on the kids in the same way as the key formerly belonging to the Duchess Christina of Milan - when holding it in near proximity to the Thorne Rooms, Jack is shrunk down to a size where he is able to enter the different times & places within the miniature rooms. Can he track down the ancestor who originally owned the coin, a man rumored to be a pirate?
Kids who have liked the other stories in this series will find this one just as fascinating & easy to sink into. I know I myself would have adored this story, particularly its connection to the amazingly interesting study of one's own genealogy.
However, Jack becomes distracted upon discovering that an antique coin, a Spanish "piece of eight", that has been in his family for generations, may act on the kids in the same way as the key formerly belonging to the Duchess Christina of Milan - when holding it in near proximity to the Thorne Rooms, Jack is shrunk down to a size where he is able to enter the different times & places within the miniature rooms. Can he track down the ancestor who originally owned the coin, a man rumored to be a pirate?
Kids who have liked the other stories in this series will find this one just as fascinating & easy to sink into. I know I myself would have adored this story, particularly its connection to the amazingly interesting study of one's own genealogy.
July 5, 2017
Upside of time travel: you have a chance to help someone. Downside: if you change something, your best friend could disappear forever.
The class assignment was to learn something about your ancestors. Jack discovers, through his great Aunt George, that he is related to Jack Northfleet, a pirate. She even sends him a pirate coin that belonged to him. “This was so Jack. He had something to brag about but didn’t.”
Also making a presentation is Kendra, who talks about an ancestor named Phoebe Monroe who was born a slave, but bought her freedom and started a business. Unfortunately, Phoebe is cheated out of her business. Ruthie notices almost immediately that she and Jack have met Phoebe when they've traveled through the Thorne Rooms. She knows that they can find a way to help. As they begin yet another adventure, Ruthie and Jack go to Room A12 in the Thorne Rooms and the coin glows and gets very hot. "What secret enchantment flickered through the Pirate coin?" But when Ruthie and Jack travel back and meet Jack Northfleet, something goes terribly wrong because when they return, no one can see Jack but Ruthie. Have they changed history so that Jack no longer exists? And what will happen if they can't change it back?
The class assignment was to learn something about your ancestors. Jack discovers, through his great Aunt George, that he is related to Jack Northfleet, a pirate. She even sends him a pirate coin that belonged to him. “This was so Jack. He had something to brag about but didn’t.”
Also making a presentation is Kendra, who talks about an ancestor named Phoebe Monroe who was born a slave, but bought her freedom and started a business. Unfortunately, Phoebe is cheated out of her business. Ruthie notices almost immediately that she and Jack have met Phoebe when they've traveled through the Thorne Rooms. She knows that they can find a way to help. As they begin yet another adventure, Ruthie and Jack go to Room A12 in the Thorne Rooms and the coin glows and gets very hot. "What secret enchantment flickered through the Pirate coin?" But when Ruthie and Jack travel back and meet Jack Northfleet, something goes terribly wrong because when they return, no one can see Jack but Ruthie. Have they changed history so that Jack no longer exists? And what will happen if they can't change it back?
September 13, 2013
Ruthie and Jack are back for another great miniature adventure in the Thorne Rooms located at the Arts Institute of Chicago. They're on an adventure to discover more information about Phoebe Monroe and the pirate Jack Norfleet.
The Pirate's Coin is the third title in the Sixty-Eight Rooms Adventure series. It's my favorite so far in the series. The third installment of Ruthie and Jack's escapades involves an individual from previous travels (Phoebe Monroe) and a distant relative of Jack's (Pirate Jack Norfleet). The idea of an alternate history is shared in this story and that's always an interesting plot twist. Book three should be reader after books one and two. The Sixty-Eight Rooms Adventures is a series that must be read in order.
Cassandra Campbell returns to narrate the story! I love it when readers return to series. Even though it's been a bit since I listened to book two, I felt that I was right back into the story. Ms. Campbell was wonderfully consistent with the characters from book to book. Thank you for a job well done!
Reviewed from a library copy.
The Pirate's Coin is the third title in the Sixty-Eight Rooms Adventure series. It's my favorite so far in the series. The third installment of Ruthie and Jack's escapades involves an individual from previous travels (Phoebe Monroe) and a distant relative of Jack's (Pirate Jack Norfleet). The idea of an alternate history is shared in this story and that's always an interesting plot twist. Book three should be reader after books one and two. The Sixty-Eight Rooms Adventures is a series that must be read in order.
Cassandra Campbell returns to narrate the story! I love it when readers return to series. Even though it's been a bit since I listened to book two, I felt that I was right back into the story. Ms. Campbell was wonderfully consistent with the characters from book to book. Thank you for a job well done!
Reviewed from a library copy.
March 18, 2016
Amazon Book Description:
Sixth graders Jack and Ruthie return in their third adventure in the Art Institute of Chicago's magical Thorne Rooms! During a school presentation, Ruthie and Jack discover that their classmate Kendra is descended from Phoebe Monroe, the young slave they befriended when they traveled to 19th-century South Carolina. Kendra tells them that long ago her family lost their good name and their business selling herbal remedies when mobsters accused them of stealing the recipes! Only Ruthie and Jack know the truth--because only they know about the secret ledger that Phoebe wrote the recipes in long ago! Ruthie and Jack's mission to clear Kendra's name takes them back to the Thorne Rooms, where a mysterious old coin leads them to 1753 Cape Cod and to Jack's own ancestor . . . the pirate Jack Norfleet! But playing with history can be dangerous! Suddenly, Jack's very existence is in jeopardy! Can Ruthie and Jack find the proof they need to help Kendra? And can they fix the past and save Jack's future . . . before it's too late?
Sixth graders Jack and Ruthie return in their third adventure in the Art Institute of Chicago's magical Thorne Rooms! During a school presentation, Ruthie and Jack discover that their classmate Kendra is descended from Phoebe Monroe, the young slave they befriended when they traveled to 19th-century South Carolina. Kendra tells them that long ago her family lost their good name and their business selling herbal remedies when mobsters accused them of stealing the recipes! Only Ruthie and Jack know the truth--because only they know about the secret ledger that Phoebe wrote the recipes in long ago! Ruthie and Jack's mission to clear Kendra's name takes them back to the Thorne Rooms, where a mysterious old coin leads them to 1753 Cape Cod and to Jack's own ancestor . . . the pirate Jack Norfleet! But playing with history can be dangerous! Suddenly, Jack's very existence is in jeopardy! Can Ruthie and Jack find the proof they need to help Kendra? And can they fix the past and save Jack's future . . . before it's too late?
May 20, 2016
Through a school genealogy project, Jack and Ruthie learn that a fellow student is distantly related to Phoebe Monroe, the young slave girl whom they met in the previous adventure. Jack and Ruthie can clear the family name, but it means shrinking down and locating hidden documents inside the Chicago Art Institute's miniature rooms. Meanwhile, Jack's family history is also intertwined in the Thorne Rooms. An old coin --a piece of eight--leads him to travel back in time to 1753 and meet his ancestor, pirate Jack Norfleet. But suddenly, Jack begins to disappear! Changing history can bring disastrous results. Keeping track of all the magical restrictions, along with the spatial logic required to follow air ducts and specifically placed ladders, can be enough to make readers' heads spin. Add in all of the great-great-great-great-great-great ancestors, plus two parallel yet unconnected storylines, and this magical adventure slows to a crawl.
September 21, 2019
What makes these books so much fun is that each has such a distinctive plot. There are threads that run through the series that connect it all, but each book is its own separate adventure. More and more secrets come to light about the Thorne Rooms and the magic within them with each new story, and you just can't wait to learn what will be revealed next. The idea that Ruthie and Jack going into the past could change events was never explored more fully than in this book. It really showed what time travel could do, but also what wonderful friends they are. My only complaint is that the book itself really had very little, overall, to do with pirates. I felt it was more of a subplot and I was hoping it would have a bigger role. I loved this book, visiting different rooms, learning how they were built and how the magic in them works is such an enjoying thrill.
October 28, 2014
The Pirate’s Coin, the third book in Marianne Malone’s SIXTY-EIGHT ROOMS fantasy adventure series for children, is a slight improvement over the first two novels, The Sixty-Eight Rooms and Stealing Magic, which three of us here at FanLit agreed did not meet the potential of Malone’s excellent premise. Readers who haven’t dropped out yet, presumably because they have enjoyed the series so far, should also be pleased with this installment.
Ruthie and Jack just can’t stay away from the Thorne Rooms in the Art Institute of Chicago. This time the plot involves two separate threads that (again) take place in the worlds of two of the Thorne Rooms. One involves a classmate that Ruthie and Jack discover is a descendant of... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
Ruthie and Jack just can’t stay away from the Thorne Rooms in the Art Institute of Chicago. This time the plot involves two separate threads that (again) take place in the worlds of two of the Thorne Rooms. One involves a classmate that Ruthie and Jack discover is a descendant of... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
October 21, 2014
The Pirate’s Coin, the third book in Marianne Malone’s SIXTY-EIGHT ROOMS fantasy adventure series for children, is a slight improvement over the first two novels, The Sixty-Eight Rooms and Stealing Magic, which three of us here at FanLit agreed did not meet the potential of Malone’s excellent premise. Readers who haven’t dropped out yet, presumably because they have enjoyed the series so far, should also be pleased with this installment.
Ruthie and Jack just can’t stay away from the Thorne Rooms in the Art Institute of Chicago. This time the plot involves two separate threads that (again) take place in the worlds of two of the Thorne Rooms. One involves a classmate that Ruthie and Jack discover is a descendant of... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
Ruthie and Jack just can’t stay away from the Thorne Rooms in the Art Institute of Chicago. This time the plot involves two separate threads that (again) take place in the worlds of two of the Thorne Rooms. One involves a classmate that Ruthie and Jack discover is a descendant of... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
April 25, 2014
This is book 3 in the Sixty-eight room series. This middle grade novel has two mysteries. One part is Jack has a coin from his ancestors who happen to coincide with one of the rooms in the museum and the other is part of the continuation of the story that happened in the last book involving the slave tag. Items and actions from previous books come to light even though you don’t have to read them to enjoy this one. Both mysteries are solved by going back in time and something drastic happens when one item is removed from the past. I like this series.
August 6, 2013
My ten year old daughter was so excited to find that Malone had written another of these great books! She liked it just as much as the first one (68 rooms) and can't wait for more. I like them because, apart from being well written, they function as historical fiction and are really very educational. Lots of fun!
August 5, 2013
The third in the series and Marianne Malone keeps coming up with new twists! In this one, Jack and Ruthie alter history and discover the consequences. They also right a wrong from the past. Cassandra Campbell has such a warm, rich voice. Fabulous!
August 20, 2014
This series is a great combination of fun adventure, mystery, fantasy, historical fiction, and art-themed fiction for upper-elementary-aged kids. With the main characters being a girl and a boy who are good friends, both boys and girls will enjoy reading these books.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews