The Moffat Museum

The Moffats #4

by Eleanor Estes

There has never been a museum in Cranbury...until now. 

Among its treasures are the first bike each of the Moffat kids rode, stardust from a meteor that fell to earth, a beautiful painting made by Sylvie, and-most spectacularly-Rufus, the Waxworks Boy, who is as funny as he is waxy. The museum is so interesting that Mr. Pennypepper even brings tourists to visit. 

But the museum is really for Jane, Joey, and Rufus themselves, so they can remember all the good times they've had. Because life is changing for the Moffats. 

Yet even if Sylvie gets married, or Joey goes off to work, or Rufus grows up, one thing will never change: The Moffats are still the sort to hilariously fill even the most ordinary day with extraordinary fun. 

Genres: Fiction, Childrens, Middle Grade, Historical Fiction, Classics, Juvenile, Realistic Fiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1983

About the author

Eleanor Ruth Rosenfeld (Estes)was an American children's author. She was born in West Haven, Connecticut as Eleanor Ruth Rosenfield. Originally a librarian, Estes' writing career began following a case of tuberculosis. Bedridden while recovering, Estes began writing down some of her childhood memories, which would later turn into full-length children's books.

Estes's book Ginger Pye (1951) won the Newbery Medal, and three of her other books (The Middle Moffat, Rufus M., and The Hundred Dresses) were chosen as Newbery Honor books. She also received the Certificate of Award for Outstanding Contribution to Children’s Literature and was nominated for the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award. By the time of her death at age 82, Estes had written 19 children's books and one novel for adults.

Reviews

[Luisa Knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cleanliness

Religious & Supernatural - None

Romance Related - 8 Incidents: The oldest sister gets married in this book. Covers details of the wedding (not emotions) and more from the younger sister’s perspective so contains no mushiness.
Mentions a bride-to-be having parties and dances to attend. A finance gives his bride-to-be a hug.
An engaged couple playfully dance around the room. After saying their vows, a couple kisses. A boy has a girl he likes though he has never spoken to her. A boy thinks about a girl. "Breast pocket"

Children's Bad Words
Mild Obscenities & Substitutions - 11 Incidents: pooh, criminenty, shucks, what the dickens, what the Sam Hill, stupid
Name Calling - 1 Incident: Ignoramuses
Religious Profanities - 15 Incidents: gosh, goodness, gee whiz, golly, gee, thank heavens

Attitudes/Disobedience - None

Conversation Topics - 1 Incident: Mentions tobacco, pipes and cigarettes (smoked by the fathers/adults).

Parent Takeaway
Fun, cleverly witty and intact with good morals and sibling comradery, you couldn't ask for a more wholesome book!

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[Caroline VanAllen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series 🥹🥰 so sad it’s over. I’ve read this aloud to my 5 and 6 year olds and they both loved it too.

[Willow · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a poignant ending to an excellent series! These books are lovable and humorous as well as wise. Highly recommended.

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised at how good this was. As a johnny-come-lately addition to the series, it fits right in. The occasional tie-ins to Ginger Pye were also nice, making it almost (but not quite) seem like it's one big series of six books.

I can't stand Estes's amateur (or worse) illustrations. I skip right over them.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars. This is the Moffat family's curtain call although at the book's outset they don't know it, but it's the last summer that the primary 3 children will be together. Jane as always is a primary instigator and its her idea to open a museum containing objects of Moffaty importance. Just like the casual mention in the "The Middle Moffat" of the horses & ponies being off at war, the author tosses in another historical zinger when one of the townsfolk wonders if she can collect funds at the museum to send to the Armenians (Armenian Genocide 1915-1923). The event hinted at in "Rufus M" comes to pass as eldest child Sylvie (never a major player in the books) gets married (the part of Jane as flower girl is lovely) and moves away. Jane's journey to visit her is quite funny and is offset by Rufus' disappointment over an adult's joke. Then there is Joe's decision to leave high school at 16 and go to work; this is jarring for modern me, but it wouldn't be uncommon in the time period in which it was set, nor in the time period when the first 3 Moffat books were written and published. This sequel to "The Moffats", "The Middle Moffat", and "Rufus M" was published (written?) 40 years after its predecessor. While it does close the series, in some ways it seems like the author is looking back at her books. That doesn't make it a bad book, but perhaps it does diminish it somewhat. These books are set during WWI up through its end and maybe into 1919-20. The first three were published during WWII and even then hearken to simpler times. It's really no wonder that this latecomer from 1983 feels nostalgic. And I'm reading them as an adult in 2019 a century after they're set. I still think they're a lovely set of family literature. I read this to complete the set and for my 2019 Reading Challenge.

[Mona Aljilani · Rating 5 out of 5]

هي سلسلة جميلة عن عائلة الموفاتس ممتدة من الحرب العالمية الأولى.
الكتاب ده بيحكي عن عدم وجود متحف في مدينة كانبري، و بيقوم ٣ أطفال من الأربعة الصغار الابطال بإنشاء متحف خاص بهم ومن خلال المغامرات نستمتع بقراءة الكتاب ونتعلم تاريخ ونشوف رغم صغرهم الا ان شخصية كل طفل فيهم لها جمالها
استمتعت بالقراءة في سلسلة الموفاتس لدرجة ان حسيت اني طفلة معهم بادخل نفس الأماكن وباقوم معهم بالمغامرات كاني دخلت الرواية وعشتها.
الي بيحب ادب الطفل ارشح له قراءة السلسلة دي.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this series! So fun and funny!

[Ariel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm sorry this series is over. I had read the first one and I had read Rufus M. But I didn't even know about this last one which in some ways is the most charming. It's odd to see the children grow up and rally round their widowed mother trying to help make ends meet. In this one, the oldest brother, Joey, leaves high school to be an errand boy downtown and takes a correspondence course in drafting. (Reminds me of my grandmother who left school at 14 to work in an office and whose father want on her first job interview with her.) The eldest Moffat, Sylvie, has already gotten married to a minister and moved to New Rochelle. Rufus gets two paper routes. Only Jane is still wondering how she'll pitch in. Since these novels are autobiographical, I guess she decided to write. I'd like to read a biography of Eleanor Estes...I'll have to hunt one up.

[Eileen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again I had the thrill of finding out that there is another book in a beloved children's series written many years later! The last time I read about the Moffats almost forty years ago (yes, I am still picking up and reading children's books at my age!), Sylvie was engaged and the war was over. While I miss the sweet illustrations of Louis Slobodkin, the stories of the Moffat children are just as fun to read as before, with a little bittersweet twinge as you realise that, just like in real life, the children are growing up quickly. Jane, as ever, is a bit emotional, first with her sister marrying and leaving home, and then when she is waving goodbye to Joey on his first day of grown-up work. Her little plead for Joey to come back and join them as children again is very touching. But fortunately she is happy again, when she learns that Joey likes his job. I like how the book ended, with Jane looking at her mother resting at the end of the day, and wondering if her mother was thinking about her father? In all four books, the children's father was hardly mentioned, other that he had died before the events in the first book, so it was nice that he got a mention at the end.

[Amy T. · Rating 3 out of 5]

My ratings for this series are all over the map, but this last installment had something lacking. My son LOVED Rufus M, but I had a hard time keeping him engaged with this one. The stories were still super cute, especially the story about Jane on the railway handcar, but the author just repeated herself over and over. Nothing really moved. I didn’t realize at first that this book was written 40 years after the first three, and that the Pye series actually goes between books 3 and 4 of the Moffat series. Somehow I missed finishing book 3, Rufus M, before it went back to the library, so my reviews for the series are not complete. Overall, it was fun reading about daily life in a different time in history.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great book about the Moffats. This was written much later than the first three volumes, and the writing has a bit less of their innocence and spontaneity, but it still has many great vignettes of their lives which weave a sweet picture of a family and a time.
One thing I have appreciated with this series is that although the children have lots of imaginative plans, they don't always go wrong somehow -- as seems to happen in so many children's books! The Moffats have good ideas, and their ideas work out well! (The rose petals at their sister's wedding, for instance.) Very refreshing.
I'm sorry to say goodbye to this family, so I may read about the Pyes next. :)

[Karin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the final book in the Moffat series. It begins when Jane looks at the family's unused barn and decides they should turn it into a museum, because their town doesn't have one. The book isn't only about the museum, of course, because in it the oldest Moffat, Sylvie, gets married, and both Jane and Rufus have other adventures, most of which tie directly or indirectly into the museum or the wedding. I enjoyed this and am only sorry that this is the last installment. I'm quite pleased Estes went back and wrote this decades after she wrote the first three books.

[M W · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely adore the Moffats. This was my least favorite. I was probably also biased against it since I knew it was written quite a bit after the other books in the series. We did enjoy seeing characters from the Pye books again and, of course, the Oldest Inhabitant. And yes, I cried over Sylvie's wedding.

The Moffats will always be one of my favorite book families.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the text bears some evidence of Estes returning to the series after a long delay - the opening chapters are a little stilted - this book blooms into an understated but powerful meditation on the transience of childhood and trying to know how to manage fond memories. The story's museum serves as a brilliant device for those ends.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in Cranbury, CT. 248 pp. Fun, sweet story about the Moffat family... 4 children and their widowed mother; setting seems to be the early 20th century. At the start of the book, the children set out to create a museum; later, the oldest daughter is married and various other life-changing events happen.

[Johnny Bennett · Rating 2 out of 5]

The final book in the Moffat series, The Moffat Museum lacks the excitement at the beginning necessary to hook a reader. The middle portion does get some lift but it means one is off to a slow start. Overall, the book wraps up the series in a way making the reader expect more.

[Christian Holland · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read all four Moffat books as read-alouds to our sons, aged 9 and almost 8. We love them. The family members are kind to each other, look out for each other, and help each other. They're amazing books, and so funny.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was another good addition to The Moffats series, although not as good as the others, especially the first one. The children are growing up and so there isn't as much humor (although it's still there), but all in all it was an enjoyable read.

[Karen Maurer · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite Moffat book

[Silas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the part where Joey got a job.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read overall

[Sarah left GR]

Gift for SJB, Christmas 2019.

[Mary Burkholder · Rating 5 out of 5]

My children are sad we have finished the Moffat series.
Need I say more!

[GheenGirls · Rating 4 out of 5]

Turtle: good

[Heidi Burkhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a reread of a reread of a reread for me. I love Estes writing and enjoy reading this delightful series again and again!

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun series of books--I hate this is the last one. If I had read these when I was a kid, I'm sure they would have been some of my favorites.

[Tammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a precious series! I wish there was more. If you need some clean reading for a child this series is wonderful. Nothing bad happens, no bad language, no bad behavior but is a great glimpse of real-life in the 30s in the US. Will make kids think about how different their lives are now. Love the characters in all the books. Some very good talking points in each.

[Amy R D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful book but the illustrations have Joey as a younger boy but in the book he is fifteen and sixteen

[P. Hepburn · Rating 2 out of 5]

3.5

[Boyan Daneff · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing 😊