4^th Grade and Up

Two best friends on the run…to IKEA.

Frankie and Walter aren’t really running away. Just like the kids in their favorite book, they are running to somewhere. Specifically, a massive furniture store. They’ve been obsessed with the Ikea catalog for years. So, they make a plan, pack their backpacks, give their parents the sleepover switcheroo . . . and they’re in.

One night all their own, with no grown-ups or little brother.

One night of couch jumping, pillow forts, and unlimited soda refills.

One night of surprises and twinkle lights and secrets they have been keeping – and waiting to share.

One unforgettable night in Ikea.

Let me start out by saying that spending the night at IKEA…BEST IDEA EVER! When I found out about this book I actually squealed with joy.

Since I don’t want to give away too much information on what mischief the kids get into, I’ll just list the fun things you can do at IKEA while you wait for your parents to decide which cabinet or bed sheets they want:

1) Hide inside a bin filled with stuffed animals then jump out and scare people.

2) Dress up as a lion, hide in a wardrobe, and when people open the door, jump out and yell “Welcome to Narnia!”

3) Pretend you live there.

4) See how many Swedish meatballs you can eat in one go.

5) Hide stuffed animals in random area of the store.

6) Put random things in other people’s carts when they aren’t looking.

7) Resist being drawn to the thousands of things that you neither want or need.

If you haven’t guessed by now, this book was inspired by the classic ‘From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler’ by E.L. Konigsberg. I read this book when I was a kid and I thought it was pretty good. Then I listened to the audio recently and just couldn’t get into it. Two things bothered me about the book’s plot. 1) What kid would actually run away to a museum? I would understand it more if it was the American Museum of Natural History from the movie Night at the Museum where everything comes to life at night. And 2) What era is this story taking place? 50’s? 60’s? 70’s?

This weeks’ Weird but True Fact about Sweden

In Sweden, October 4 in National Cinnamon Bun Day.