The Mysterious Benedict Society Youth Quotes

Ultimately, of course, Mr. B has a team of children and adults, but he knows he can't infiltrate the Institute without the kids—and not just because he needs them to pose as students. It's more than that. He needs their unique perspectives, their un-jaded minds, and their individual talents, not the least of which is Constance's stubbornness. If you have a younger brother or sister (or if you've ever babysat for a young child), it may never have occurred to you that a toddler's stubbornness could be an asset. What do you think now?

Have you ever had experience with this—trying to tell someone something and having them dismiss you because you're a kid? Clearly, all of the MBSers have, and it's a strange dynamic when you think about it. We want people to be respectful of others, but a lot of the time adults are disrespectful of kids (even though many of them think it's imperative that kids respect their elders). So… where are the kids supposed to learn that respect if it's never shown to them?

Ouch. So it's easy to slip children's thoughts into someone's mind because no one gives children's thoughts much… thought. But Mr. B does, and so does Number Two… and Rhonda, and Milligan. Which makes us wonder: have they been more or less immune to Mr. Curtain's messages solely because they don't watch a lot of TV and stuff like that, or are they at least partially immune because they listen to children's ideas and as such more likely to notice the messages?