Rereading The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

I recently saw several blog and twitter posts about rereading one's favorite book.  Both sides of the issue were explored in a lot of detail. There was one particular post that seemed to infer students should not be allowed to do so for "credit" in class. 

Whoa there.  Hold up.

I don't care what you read.  I care that you read.  Manga and anime your thing?  Cool.  Like sports bios?  Awesome.  Into military history?  Have at it. 

Although we give credit for reading, how dare someone say "you can't read that" or "that doesn't count"?!?!

I think you can tell I am on the side that rereading is OK.  In fact, I can honestly say I've reread several books multiple times.  There are quite a few books I reread nearly every year, usually during the summer.

I decided after that post for this book a day thing, one of the books I'd read would be The Westing Game, my all-time favorite book.  When I started teaching, I had 7th grade at Carrigan, the same year I read it as a student.  It was first on my list of books to do with my class.

I plan to record a review for this.  I'll be showing you all my tattered, beaten copy of Raskin's classic.  I hope it survives the journey to school in my bag. 

A game of whodunit ensues when a multi-millionaire dies.  His will declares he was murdered by one of his 16 heirs.  Paired up, each is given a set of clues.  It's a race to find the murderer and claim the money. 

I can't even say how much I love this story.  Even though some of the details are a bit outdated, it's still a great book.  I hope someone new discovers it or someone reads it another time.  Perhaps after reading this blog, you'll find your old favorite and reread it too.