What do you think?
Rate this book
Stone Children #1
The Court of the Stone Children
Who is Dominique? When Nina first sees her in the French Museum, she senses that there is something unreal about the strange, beautiful girl. In fact, Domi is from Napoleon's time, and she has come to get Nina's help. For Domi's father was executed as a traitor during the French Revolution, and Domi is convinced that Nina can prove his innocence.
But to save Domi's father, Nina will have to solve a mystery that has lasted two centuries. And she will have to travel back through time, back to France and the court of the stone children...
But to save Domi's father, Nina will have to solve a mystery that has lasted two centuries. And she will have to travel back through time, back to France and the court of the stone children...
208 pages, Library Binding
First published January 1, 1973
4 people are currently reading
547 people want to read
About the author
Eleanor Cameron
28 books52 followersEleanor Frances Butler Cameron (1912 - 1996) was a Canadian children's author who spent most of her life in California. Born in Winnipeg, Canada in 1912, her family then moved to South Charleston, Ohio when she was 3 years old. Her father farmed and her mother ran a hotel. After three years, they moved to Berkeley, California. Her parents divorced a few years later. At 16, she moved with her mother and stepfather to Los Angeles. She credits her English mother's love of story telling for her inspiration to write and make up stories.
She attended UCLA and the Art Center School of Los Angeles. In 1930, she started working at the Los Angeles Public Library and later worked as a research librarian for the Los Angeles Board of Education and two different advertising companies. She married Ian Cameron, a printmaker and publisher, in 1934 and the couple had a son, David, in 1944.
Her first book came out in 1950, based on her experience as a librarian. It was well received by critics, but didn't sell well. She did not start writing children's books until her son asked him to write one starring him as a character. this resulted in her popular series The Mushroom Planet.
With the success of the Mushroom Planet books, Cameron focused on writing for children. Between 1959 and 1988 she produced 12 additional children's novels, including The Court of the Stone Children (1973) and the semi-autobiographical five book Julia Redfern series (1971–1988). She won the National Book Award for Court of the Stone Children in 1973, and was a runner up for To The Green Mountains in 1979.
In addition to her fiction work, Cameron wrote two books of criticism and reflection on children's literature. The first, The Green and Burning Tree, was released in 1969 and led an increased profile for Cameron in the world of children's literature. Throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s Cameron worked as a traveling speaker and contributor to publications such as The Horn Book Magazine, Wilson Library Bulletin, and Children's Literature in Education. She was also a member of the founding editorial board for the children's magazine Cricket, which debuted in 1973. In 1972 she and Roald Dahl exchanged barbs across three issues of The Horn Book, a magazine devoted to critical discussions of children's and young adult fiction. Her second book of essays, The Seed and the Vision: On the Writing and Appreciation of Children's Books, came out in 1993. It is her final published book.
From late 1967 until her death Cameron made her home in Pebble Beach, California. She died in hospice in Monterey, California on October 11, 1996 at the age of 84.[
She attended UCLA and the Art Center School of Los Angeles. In 1930, she started working at the Los Angeles Public Library and later worked as a research librarian for the Los Angeles Board of Education and two different advertising companies. She married Ian Cameron, a printmaker and publisher, in 1934 and the couple had a son, David, in 1944.
Her first book came out in 1950, based on her experience as a librarian. It was well received by critics, but didn't sell well. She did not start writing children's books until her son asked him to write one starring him as a character. this resulted in her popular series The Mushroom Planet.
With the success of the Mushroom Planet books, Cameron focused on writing for children. Between 1959 and 1988 she produced 12 additional children's novels, including The Court of the Stone Children (1973) and the semi-autobiographical five book Julia Redfern series (1971–1988). She won the National Book Award for Court of the Stone Children in 1973, and was a runner up for To The Green Mountains in 1979.
In addition to her fiction work, Cameron wrote two books of criticism and reflection on children's literature. The first, The Green and Burning Tree, was released in 1969 and led an increased profile for Cameron in the world of children's literature. Throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s Cameron worked as a traveling speaker and contributor to publications such as The Horn Book Magazine, Wilson Library Bulletin, and Children's Literature in Education. She was also a member of the founding editorial board for the children's magazine Cricket, which debuted in 1973. In 1972 she and Roald Dahl exchanged barbs across three issues of The Horn Book, a magazine devoted to critical discussions of children's and young adult fiction. Her second book of essays, The Seed and the Vision: On the Writing and Appreciation of Children's Books, came out in 1993. It is her final published book.
From late 1967 until her death Cameron made her home in Pebble Beach, California. She died in hospice in Monterey, California on October 11, 1996 at the age of 84.[
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
June 28, 2009
It is odd, considering that I could hardly remember this book's plot and haven't read it in many year and have never investigated the author, that it has remained in my mind one of my favourite books. However, I may have discovered something interesting about myself reading it today: this book might be responsible for my love of the French language.
The plot itself is not overly complicated, though some of it is convoluted. Essentially it is about a girl who is growing up and helps solve a mystery from the past. She learns to accept her new city by being accepted in a circle of friends and learning about her own passions. I love how well Nina is written, she comes alive off the page. The mystery of the story is very different from any in other books, and the setting is also fairly unique. It feels like Cameron lived the story as she wrote it, and she doesn't overwrite with purple prose.
I'm really glad that this lived up to my memory's view, and I will be keeping it on the shelf for future re-reads.
The plot itself is not overly complicated, though some of it is convoluted. Essentially it is about a girl who is growing up and helps solve a mystery from the past. She learns to accept her new city by being accepted in a circle of friends and learning about her own passions. I love how well Nina is written, she comes alive off the page. The mystery of the story is very different from any in other books, and the setting is also fairly unique. It feels like Cameron lived the story as she wrote it, and she doesn't overwrite with purple prose.
I'm really glad that this lived up to my memory's view, and I will be keeping it on the shelf for future re-reads.
June 15, 2013
Rereading books you enjoyed as a child can be interesting. Particularly if you do a number and the only conclusion you can come to, instead of "How did I enjoy such rubbish?" or "How did I manage to think this a fluffly little adventure?", is "Whatever was I thinking?" Some are better, some are worse, some have transformed themselves into profundity -- and there's absolutely nothing in your memories to tell you which will be which until you buckle down and reread.
Eleanor Cameron's oeuvre had all those reactions for me. The Court of the Stone Children was the one that had me wondering how it took on that additional meaning when I wasn't looking.
Nina is not much liking life in the Big City, and finding it hard to make friends. After she gets ridiculed for wanting to be "something in a museum" -- by which she means a curator -- she gets directed to the French Museum, which has all the things she loves in a museum. And a girl her own age, Domi, who is waiting for her, and has been for centuries.
Dreams, diaries, paintings, establishing the truth, and friendships ensue.
Eleanor Cameron's oeuvre had all those reactions for me. The Court of the Stone Children was the one that had me wondering how it took on that additional meaning when I wasn't looking.
Nina is not much liking life in the Big City, and finding it hard to make friends. After she gets ridiculed for wanting to be "something in a museum" -- by which she means a curator -- she gets directed to the French Museum, which has all the things she loves in a museum. And a girl her own age, Domi, who is waiting for her, and has been for centuries.
Dreams, diaries, paintings, establishing the truth, and friendships ensue.
May 3, 2018
Such a sweet book. Youth novels of today have a very modern tone that often serves to keep me out of the world they are trying to create, but this book, written I think in the 60's?, still has that soft, dusty, glowing vibe of vintage writing. The child's mental world isn't dumbed down at all.
Admittedly, a lot of what made me love the book was the way it conveyed the magic of history and old objects. This is a magic that I am familiar with, so I immediately identified with the main character and how she was drawn to the museum. The drift of the mystery and the uncovering of clues was natural and flowed well. And the solution, the way that love was the key, really touched me.
Perhaps my favorite part of the book, however, was how the girl continually found adults who understood her, or at least let her be who she was. I am too old now to fit myself perfectly into the role of the 12 year old main character, but I definitely want to be like the women who saw her truly and listened to her completely and trusted her as a human. I want to treat children that way, and give nobility to their inner worlds.
Admittedly, a lot of what made me love the book was the way it conveyed the magic of history and old objects. This is a magic that I am familiar with, so I immediately identified with the main character and how she was drawn to the museum. The drift of the mystery and the uncovering of clues was natural and flowed well. And the solution, the way that love was the key, really touched me.
Perhaps my favorite part of the book, however, was how the girl continually found adults who understood her, or at least let her be who she was. I am too old now to fit myself perfectly into the role of the 12 year old main character, but I definitely want to be like the women who saw her truly and listened to her completely and trusted her as a human. I want to treat children that way, and give nobility to their inner worlds.
July 26, 2017
I'm not sure how many times I read this as a child, but I was a big fan of Eleanor Cameron's realistic fiction, so it's likely I read it a few times. Picking it up again as an adult, I can tell exactly what I loved about it. First of all, Nina wants to grow up to be something in a museum. Did books like this make me love museums, or did I love this book because I loved going to museums? Not only is there lots of time spent in the museum - a building full of recreated rooms from a Napoleonic era French house - but there's a ghost, the diary of a girl who lived long ago, and a mystery buried in the past.
On top of that, Nina is a girl who cares deeply about her surroundings. Her family's new, ugly apartment is horrifying to her - she wants a view, and light, and beautiful things, even if they're shabby and worn. I'd forgotten that part of the story - that Nina is obsessed with finding her family a new apartment, that she takes refuge in the museum not only because of the history and her "museum feeling" but also to get away from the ugliness of her apartment and the city. It certainly didn't matter to me, in the 1990s, that the book was published in 1973. There's not too much to date it, other than Cameron's writing style, which is perhaps a little more old-fashioned. But for girls who devour old-fashioned stories - L.M. Montgomery's books have a similar sensitivity to the aesthetics of settings and homes - this feels relatively modern.
Nina is a character that will appeal to quieter, bookish types - the girls who live half in their imaginations anyway, and kind of wish they lived in a different century. And the story is nicely balanced between her personal story and the story of the historical mystery - she's not just a device for bringing in the more dramatic 19th century story, but a character in her own right, and in the course of solving the mystery she finds her own place in the world. This is one I'm glad I reread.
On top of that, Nina is a girl who cares deeply about her surroundings. Her family's new, ugly apartment is horrifying to her - she wants a view, and light, and beautiful things, even if they're shabby and worn. I'd forgotten that part of the story - that Nina is obsessed with finding her family a new apartment, that she takes refuge in the museum not only because of the history and her "museum feeling" but also to get away from the ugliness of her apartment and the city. It certainly didn't matter to me, in the 1990s, that the book was published in 1973. There's not too much to date it, other than Cameron's writing style, which is perhaps a little more old-fashioned. But for girls who devour old-fashioned stories - L.M. Montgomery's books have a similar sensitivity to the aesthetics of settings and homes - this feels relatively modern.
Nina is a character that will appeal to quieter, bookish types - the girls who live half in their imaginations anyway, and kind of wish they lived in a different century. And the story is nicely balanced between her personal story and the story of the historical mystery - she's not just a device for bringing in the more dramatic 19th century story, but a character in her own right, and in the course of solving the mystery she finds her own place in the world. This is one I'm glad I reread.
January 25, 2008
This is a long ago favorite but I never realized until tonight there was a book that followed it.
December 15, 2023
This is a fun and easy MG read. There were so many things about it that I loved—Nina's obsession with museums, the perspective on practical academia and history, the adults who actually listen and talk to the children as if they have brains. Also the emphasis on how the beauty of your environment actually makes a huge difference in how you live life.
The plot and pacing were a little strange; it didn't feel as structured as many other books. But it still held my attention. It wasn't snappy, but it didn't need to be. It felt less like a speech and more like a conversation with a cup of tea by the fireside, and that's a vibe I really like.
(Although, how old is Nina? I never could quite tell. Also, I kept reading her dialogue as if she had a British accent, even though she's from San Fransisco.)
The plot and pacing were a little strange; it didn't feel as structured as many other books. But it still held my attention. It wasn't snappy, but it didn't need to be. It felt less like a speech and more like a conversation with a cup of tea by the fireside, and that's a vibe I really like.
(Although, how old is Nina? I never could quite tell. Also, I kept reading her dialogue as if she had a British accent, even though she's from San Fransisco.)
May 18, 2023
Beautifully written, and Gil was my favorite character. BUT a key plot point made me super uncomfortable the whole time!
Nina, a girl just recently moved to San Francisco and hating it, discovers a French Museum where she can see ghosts who ask her to help right past wrongs. So far so good. The main ghost is sixteen-year-old Domique, and the Stone Children her age.
The turning point of the plot (and my comfort levels) relies on the discovered fact that Odile (one of the Stone Children) and Dominique’s father were in love.
Dominque was 16. So was Odile. Domique’s father was 35.
I understand it was the Napoleonic Era, but still—falling in love with a girl the same age as your daughter??? And EVERYONE (even Domi) is just chill with this???
Similar in flavor to:
-The Snow Spider Trilogy by Jenny Nimmo
-Tom’s Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce
-From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
Nina, a girl just recently moved to San Francisco and hating it, discovers a French Museum where she can see ghosts who ask her to help right past wrongs. So far so good. The main ghost is sixteen-year-old Domique, and the Stone Children her age.
The turning point of the plot (and my comfort levels) relies on the discovered fact that Odile (one of the Stone Children) and Dominique’s father were in love.
Dominque was 16. So was Odile. Domique’s father was 35.
I understand it was the Napoleonic Era, but still—falling in love with a girl the same age as your daughter??? And EVERYONE (even Domi) is just chill with this???
Similar in flavor to:
-The Snow Spider Trilogy by Jenny Nimmo
-Tom’s Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce
-From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
August 5, 2008
(Not really time travel, but close enough)
I know Laurie really liked this one, but somehow I never got past the first couple of pages when I was a kid--too bad, because it's just the kind of book I liked, especially with all the art.
I know Laurie really liked this one, but somehow I never got past the first couple of pages when I was a kid--too bad, because it's just the kind of book I liked, especially with all the art.
February 19, 2009
Dry, boring, and safe. =)
November 23, 2025
Eleanor Cameron isn’t so much an author as a wonderful revelation, but she’s also an excellent author! I cannot for the life of me understand why she’s not as popular as other young adult fiction writers from this era like Judy Blume or Norma Klein. I think because she wasn’t sexually explicit, her writing wouldn’t have been as controversial. Her writing and prose is gorgeous and certainly not overly sentimental. This is delightful story of Nina, who moves from the hinterlands of the Sierra Nevada to San Francisco and discovers an enchanted museum, but the story behind it is not very whimsical moreover, it’s a bit dark and very exciting. I highly recommend this book and the author.
May 20, 2019
This is the story of Nina as she try's to fit into a new city she does not love, it's the story of Domi who is from the past, it is the story of a beautiful French museum in San Francisco and the story of a whole slew of unique characters! When I began this book I expected a simple children's story but I was deceived! This book explores big ideas of time and history! Has fantastic writing and descriptions! The story line sucks you in and you can't wait for wrongs to be righted! Once I finished I wanted to begin again!
April 26, 2019
An engrossing book that *doesn't* talk down to kids, but raises their vocabulary, their vision, their thoughts, their knowledge --- all within the framework of an atmospheric time-slip novel. I personally loved it. Not sure that most of today's young readers would appreciate this award-winning book, however. :(
November 3, 2019
I'm just not a mystery reader, so this didn't grab me as much. I love her writing though, thick with strong words that definitely lend a feeling of mystery and suspense. I like that the characters were strange but still also relatable. It was an interesting read, different from her others I've read.
November 20, 2019
This was good, although maybe I need to reread in a more focused manner. It seemed to veer in different directions. While the ending brought things together, perhaps it would feel more coherent on a second reading. I liked the partnership of Nina and Gil, but that was not a constant. While Nina is clearly the main character, Gil seemed sometimes to be essential and sometimes superfluous.
August 25, 2018
Winner of the National Book Award in 1990. A mystery that goes back 2 centuries.
January 9, 2019
Rich, dense and flavorful for young and old.
April 18, 2020
While visiting a museum, Nina meets a girl from the Napoleonic era whom she helps to solve a mystery.
March 28, 2024
Such a beautiful and atmospheric book! I wish I'd discovered it earlier.
July 12, 2024
A mystery to be solved from 200 years ago by a young girl who is adjusting to life in a new busy city vs the small town she came from. New friends are found, future plans are found. An excellent read no matter how long ago read.
August 13, 2025
This was a great Young Adult book about a young girl who meets a ghost. I enjoyed it. It was well written.
December 19, 2025
Mi libro favorito de pequeña, desde que me lo regalaron a los once años o así. Lo releí muchas veces.
January 1, 2026
3.5 stars
July 6, 2017
A bit of a ghost story, a bit of a mystery, this is a big departure from the Mushroom Planet books. The writing reminded me strongly of Zilpha Keatley Snyder.
March 30, 2014
I bought The Court of Stone Children when I was in Elementary school, honestly just because the picture of Nina on the cover looks just like one of my cousins. I started it, but when it turned out to be above my reading level I put it down and forgot about it until about a year later, when I read it again and immediately decided it was my favorite book of all time.
Although it is no longer my favorite book, The Court of Stone Children remained in the back of my mind the way few books ever have, hence the five-star rating. To this day I smile whenever I hear the name Dominique, remembering how magical it seemed when I first read it. Although I can't remember some of their names anymore, the groundskeeper, Gil, and even Domi's cat still seem as real to me as the first time I read the book.
Five stars from me, for being the most memorable and magical book of my childhood, and for creative and unique characters.
Although it is no longer my favorite book, The Court of Stone Children remained in the back of my mind the way few books ever have, hence the five-star rating. To this day I smile whenever I hear the name Dominique, remembering how magical it seemed when I first read it. Although I can't remember some of their names anymore, the groundskeeper, Gil, and even Domi's cat still seem as real to me as the first time I read the book.
Five stars from me, for being the most memorable and magical book of my childhood, and for creative and unique characters.
July 17, 2016
This book was SO. COOL. I seriously need to reread it. It’s sort of a mystery and a lot of it takes place at a museum thing and there’s an ancient mystery to solve and the heroine, who’s just a normal girl, meets this other girl who… well, I guess she’s a ghost but that sounds creepy when I put it that way but it’s NOT, I promise, and she’s a French girl from the time of Napoleon and the heroine needs to help her solve a hundreds-of-years-old mystery involving a statue and a journal and a painting and a murder I think… I don’t remember it all that well, I just know I really loved it, especially because there was this awesome boy who was really cool whose name was Gil. He was all mysterious and epic. :D Anyways, it's really hard to describe but for some reason I really enjoyed it a TON. ^_^
August 9, 2007
I loved this book as a kid! Part of it was the fact that Eleanor Cameron wrote about San Francisco, which was not too far from where I lived. Part of it was also my fascination with marble statues, like the titular "Stone Children" of this book. Mostly I could identify with the lonely Nina, who dreams of being a museum curator and encounters Dominique, a lovely ghost from Napoleon's time. Nina finds herself having to solve a mystery that took place centuries before. This is a great book for the intellectually curious, especially if they like history and theories about space and time, but I think any kid can relate to Nina's struggles to find her place in the world.
October 22, 2014
I discovered this book in the school library in 5th grade and read it several times. It was magical and mysterious and delicious. For some reason it found its way back into my mind recently, and when I finally remembered the title I was so delighted, I ordered myself a copy on Amazon. Rereading it as an adult was disappointing. I felt like the writing was labored and didn't feel the magic at all this time. So the jury's still out on this one. I'm going to read it to my kids and see what they think.
September 16, 2010
Nina's a young teen (maybe 12?), new in San Francisco, awkward with peers and mostly alone. Through Gil, she discovers the French Museum, and there meets the mysterious Dominique. The voice (writing in 3rd person) seemed somewhat affected and self-conscious, but reminiscent of a young teen. (It brought back some familiar feelings.) I would have liked fewer grownups in the story. What comes through strongly is the sense of mystery, magic, and the passion for the museum.
June 17, 2008
I liked this book, because it draws you into another world. Firstly, the world of museums which is great, and secondly, the world of someone's diary from France in the time of Napoleon. Nina is a character that you can identify with - her loneliness, and her imagination. Thanks to google for helping me find the title and author of this book!
November 3, 2008
Oh, how I loved this book as a child. I think this book is the entire reason I love San Francisco so much. Because I discovered it through this book. The protagonist has no friends and spends all her time daydreaming and consorting with 18th century cats and solving mysteries. A favourite.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews