Hello, everyone! Today, I am going to be sharing a review of the final book in the Moffats series, The Moffat Museum by Eleanor Estes!

Buy on Amazon– Add on Goodreads

Book: The Moffat Museum by Eleanor Estes

Genre: Classic Children’s Fiction

Blurb:

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.  (cover and blurb from Goodreads)

My Rating: 4 stars

Recommended Age: 8+ (or younger as a read-aloud)

My Review:

My Overall Thoughts: Lots of things are changing for the Moffat family in this story! While this wasn’t my favorite of the books, I still really enjoyed it, and I thought it was a good conclusion to the series!

Plot: This book is a bit different than the others since there is more of a central plot (the development of the Moffat Museum and the changes taking place in the Moffat family). This book shows the Moffat children growing up, as Sylvie gets married, Joey and Rufus get their first jobs, and more. The children also start their own museum that chronicles major events from their life (many of which involve adventures from previous books in the series).

Characters: Unlike the last two books, there isn’t one central main character. Instead, the focus shifts from different members of the Moffat family. The majority of chapters did center around Jane or Rufus, though, since they are closest to the target age of the readers. As always, I love the Moffat kids and reading about their adventures, and it was interesting reading about the different changes in their family and how they have grown as characters. I also thought it was fun that there are some appearances from characters in Estes’ Ginger Pye, a childhood favorite of mine.

Writing Style: This story, while still wonderfully written, didn’t have quite the same feel as the others in the series. I was not terribly surprised to find out that it was written around 40 years after Rufus M. was published. Despite that, I still enjoy Estes’ writing style, and it still captured the thoughts and feelings of the children well.

Themes: The main theme of this book is growing up and handling change, showing how the Moffat children adapt through various changes in their lives.

Content Notes: Sylvie gets married, so there is lots of talk about weddings. Joey has a crush on a girl in school (discussed in one chapter). Mentions of smoking.

I would definitely recommend the Moffats series to anyone who enjoys middle grade fiction or is looking for a fun family read-aloud! Let me know in the comments what some of your favorite series are! I will be back next Monday with an update from my May!