Ellen Raskin was an American author and illustrator best known for her 1978 mystery novel The Westing Game. The novel follows the story of 16 heirs who gather for the reading of Samuel W. Westing's will and must work to solve the mystery of who murdered Westing in order to claim their inheritance. The Westing Game received wide critical acclaim, winning the Newbery Medal and establishing Raskin as an innovative author for children. It has since been adapted for film and theater and is still widely read and studied today for its clever mystery plot and memorable characters.

1. Amanda Woodruff
Professor Melba Tomeo
LIBR 268-10
History of Youth Literature
Summer 2012

2.  Born March 13, 1928 in
Milwaukee, WI
 Originally an illustrator
• Illustrated for The
Saturday Evening Post
• Designed & illustrated
more than 1,000 book
jackets
• Illustrated the original
jacket for A Wrinkle In
Time, the 1963 Newbery
Award winner

3.  Wrote her first picture book, Nothing Ever Happens on My
Block, in 1966
 A recurring theme in her books is that things are not always
what they seem
• Demonstrated through clever word play and characters who often
change physical appearance/image/role
 Her editor, Ann Durell, said in her 2004 foreword to The
Westing Game, ―…I never even tried to edit her ‗for
children.‘ She was too wise, too funny, too ingenious–and
therefore unique–to tamper with in that way. She said that
she wrote for the child in herself, but for once I think she
was wrong. I think she wrote for the adult in children. She
never disrespected them or ‗wrote down,‘ because she
didn‘t know how.‖

4.  Said that growing up during the Depression is what made her a
humorist.
 Donated The Westing Game manuscript to the Cooperative
Children‘s Book (CCBC) at the University of Wisconsin, Madison
• Had to ―convince‖ them three times before they accepted amid
the university‘s fears that they could not preserve the papers
properly
 Wanted students to understand what writing and revising a book
was really like
 Didn‘t mind if her original works fell apart as long as it meant the
students were using them
 Manuscripts (and audio of Raskin describing the writing process)
are now online at the CCBC
 Died August 8, 1984, at age 56

6.  More than 30 awards & honors for her books
and illustrations
 New York Times, Best Illustrated Children‘s
Books 1966, 1968
 ALA Notable Children‘s Book, 1968, 1969,
1971 through 1978
 Library of Congress Children‘s Book, 1969,
‗71, ‗74, ‗78
 Figgs and Phantoms named Newbery Honor
book in 1975
 Sadly, she never won a Caldecott for her first
love, illustrating

7.  1979 Newbery Medal
 ALA Notable Children‘s
Book
 Boston Globe-Horn
Book Award for Fiction
 Horn Book Fanfare
 Banta Literary Award
(Wisconsin Library
Association)
 Library of Congress
Children‘s Book

8.  The Westing Game is an excellent book,
but it also came out at the right time.
 Few other stand-outs in 1978
• A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeline L‘Engle
• The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson,
the only Newbery Honor book of 1979
• And two that were popular, but probably too YA to
be considered for children‘s book:
 The Basketball Diaries by Jim Carroll
 Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan

9.  Reminiscent of the
CLUE board game
(1944)
 Also reminiscent of
Agatha Christie‘s Ten
Little Indians/And Then
There Were None
(1939) and The
Mousetrap (1950),
except suspects aren‘t
being killed one-by-
one…

10.  "I sat down at the typewriter with no wish of an idea, just the urge
to write another children's book.... It is 1976, the Bicentennial
year. My story will have a historical background; its locale, the
place I know best: Milwaukee.... Recalling that Amy Kellman's
daughter asked for a puzzle-mystery, I decide that the format of
my historical treatise will be a puzzle-mystery (whatever that is). I
type out the words of `America the Beautiful' and cut them apart.
Meanwhile on television ... come reports of the death of an
infamous millionaire. Anyone who can spell Howard Hughes is
forging a will.... Now I have Lake Michigan, a jumbled `America
the Beautiful,' the first draft of a very strange will, and a dead
millionaire--a fine beginning for a puzzle-mystery.
• --Ellen Raskin, Horn Book 1979

11.  On a dare, Turtle Wexler sneaks into the spooky Westing
mansion only to find the body of Samuel W. Westing
 At the funeral, Westing‘s executor reads the will and names
sixteen heirs who will share $200 million dollars if they can
figure out which one of them is Westing‘s murderer
 The heirs are divided into teams of two and are each given
$10,000 and a set clues to assist them
 The clues seem to be random words at first but are, in fact,
pieces from the lyrics to ―America the Beautiful‖
 Westing‘s comment on the clues, ―It is not what you have,
it‘s what you don‘t have that counts.‖ (The missing letters
spell the answer…)

12.  Turtle Wexler—a clever 13-year-old girl with an affinity for
kicking the shins of anyone who touches her braids
 Grace Windsor Wexler—a haughty woman, Turtle‘s mother
& claimed niece to Sam Westing
 Angela Wexler—Turtle‘s dutiful older sister, miserably
engaged to Dr. Denton Deere
 Jake Wexler—podiatrist, husband to Grace, father of
Anglea and Turtle
 Dr. Denton Deere—arrogant medical student
 Sandy McSouthers—kindly doorman at Sunset Towers
where most of the heirs live
 James Shin Hoo—owner of Shin-Hoo‘s Chinese restaurant
on the 5th floor of Sunset Towers
 Doug Hoo—18-year-old track star, son to James
 Madame Hoo—wife of James, step-mother to Doug.
Speaks little English.

13.  Otis Amber—61-year-old delivery boy, seemingly dimwitted
 Berthe Crow—cleaning lady at Sunset Towers (later
revealed to be first wife of Sam Westing)
 Flora Baumbach—Seamstress that befriends Turtle, almost
as a mother figure
 Judge J.J. Ford—African-American female judge, Westing
paid for her education
 Chris Theodorakis—15-year-old wheelchair-bound boy. His
speech impediment belies his observant nature and quick
wit. Enjoys bird (and people) watching.
 Theo Theodorakis—older brother to Chris, friend to Doug.
Works in family café on first floor of Sunset Towers and
enjoys chess.
 Sydelle Pulaski—out-of-work secretary, feigns injuries for
attention

14.  The remainder of the story
follows the interactions &
efforts of the heirs to solve the
mystery
 Chess moves, bombings, stock
market investments,
mysterious letters and secret
identities add twists & turns to
the plot
 In the end, Turtle‘s cleverness
allows her to figure out what
happened to Sam Westing.
She never discloses the secret,
but the last two chapters allow
the reader to find out what
happened as Turtle (now
known as T.R. Wexler) grew up
and forged a very happy
ending for herself.

15.  Easily fits into both categories.
 Significance—received many awards, including
Newbery, which are presented to new books not ones
which readers are feeling sentimental about (at least
not yet). Even though the book is reminiscent of other
complex mysteries for adults, nothing like this had
been directed at children before. Raskin gives kids
credit that they can solve such a mystery. Still taught in
schools today.
 Sentiment—this was a first (and complex!) mystery for
many readers. Being given the tools and confidence
that they, like Turtle, could solve such a mystery was
empowering and special.

16.  Made into a 1997 movie titled, Get a Clue! (lukewarm reviews)
 In 2007, Dutton publishing acquired The Westing Quest
sequel from the Raskin estate though, sadly, nothing yet
has come from it
 Many student project book trailers can be found on
YouTube
 Found a neat, interactive website about the book made in
2001 by a 4th grade class from Plainfield, IL.
http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0214945/about_us/about_ma
in.html
 Interesting blog post about how one person felt The
Westing Game, with its changing characters and group of
misfits coming together in acceptance, was an important
and hopeful book for him as a gay man.
http://thenewgay.net/2009/03/read-me-westing-game-by-
ellen-raskin.html

17.  Durell, Ann. Introduction. The Westing Game. By Ellen Raskin.
1978. New York: Penguin, 2004. Google Books preview. Web.
4 Aug. 2012.
 "Ellen Raskin." Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale,
2003. Literature Resource Center. Web. 3 Aug. 2012.
 Karrenbrock, Marilyn H. "Ellen Raskin." American Writers for
Children Since 1960: Fiction. Ed. Glenn E. Estes. Detroit: Gale
Research, 1986. Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol.
52. Literature Resource Center. Web. 3 Aug. 2012.
 Raskin, Ellen. The Westing Game. 1978. New York: Puffin,
1997. Print.
 ―The Westing Game Manuscript.‖ Cooperative Children‘s Book
Center. University of Wisconsin, Madison, n.d. Web. 20 June,
2012.
 Thornton, Matthew. ―Raskin Redux.‖ Publishers Weekly 254.2
(2007). Web. 5 Aug. 2012.