I had not planned on reading this novel, but I found this book on a random book shelf in my house, so I decided to give it a go. I feel like this is one of those books I should have read at least once sometime during my childhood, but I just never got to it. Well, I did in fact enjoy this book. I rated this novel four stars because although I did like it a lot, I just didn’t love it. It was pleasurable reading about the adventure that Claudia and Jamie had. This adventure/runaway ended up lasting several days. In my opinion they were brave and imaginative kids because I would have never done what they did or probably thought of the solutions they did. When you’re young like them many aspects in life seem simple and possible. Even though many of the incidents that occurred are unlikely to happen in real life they worked out great in this novel. At first I was wondering why they would choose to stay at a museum out of all the possible places they could have chosen in New York City. It wasn’t until later on when the plot unfolded that it was clear to me why this was an ideal place. Throughout this whole novel, I couldn't help but to wonder how devastated and scared their parents must have been while they were embarking on an adventure! This is a novel that is entertaining, a quick read, and has an insightful message. Also, this is random but I learned that Nouilles et fromage en casserole is basically Macaroni and Cheese.

An absolutely wonderful book. This is the story of a sister and brother who run away from home because the girl is victim to family injustices. They run away to the Metropolitan Museum of Art where they encounter The Angel by Michelangelo. I just love the concept of 'coming home lost'. Do yourself a favor and read this and capture the thrill of being twelve years old again.

3.5 stars.

From the mixed-up files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler has a few important life lessons.
When Claudia and one of her younger brothers, Jamie, runaway from home, they have everything under control.

But they discover a mystery and they want to do anything they could and more to discover it.

It went slower than I expected or wished for, but even so, the story was humorous (Jamie killed it!) and in spite of the very long chapters, the story flows fast and natural.
The last part was the best! I adored Mrs. Basil and the twist at the end was unexpected.

All in all, I definitely recommend this gem. :)

From the mixed-up files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, E.L. Konigsburg

Twelve-year-old Claudia Kincaid decides to run away from her home in suburban Connecticut, because she thinks her parents do not appreciate her and she doesn't like it.

She takes refuge in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met) in New York City, with her brother Jamie.

She chooses Jamie as her companion partly because he has saved all his money. With the help of an unused adult train fare card that she found in a wastebasket, Claudia finds a way to get to the museum for free using the commuter train and a very long walk.

تاریخ نخستین خوانش روز بیست و سوم ماه نوامبر سال2009میلادی

عنوان: فرار به موزه نيويورک؛ نویسنده: ای.ال کنیگزبرگ؛ مترجم شهره نورصالحی؛ ویراستار فریبا نباتی؛ تهران، پیدایش، سال1387، در216ص، شابک9789643495459؛ موضوع داستانهای نویسندگان ایالات متحده آمریکا - سده20م

هشدار: اگر میخواهید این کتاب را بخوانید از خوانش ریویو خودداری کنید

داستان دختر دوازده ساله‌ ای به نام «کلودیا» است؛ که با خانواده‌ اش در حومه ی شهر «نیویورک» زندگی می‌کنند؛ «کلودیا» که فرزند ارشد، و تنها دختر خانواده است، به علت بی‌توجهی خانواده، و یکنواختی زندگیش، تصمیم می‌گیرد، با برادر نه ساله‌ اش «جیمی»، به موزه ی «نیویورک» فرار کنند؛ او فکر همه چیز را کرده است، هزینه رفت و آمد، خوراکی، و جایی برای ماندن؛ «کلودیا» و «جیمی» نزدیک یک هفته، در موزه می‌مانند، روزها میان جمعیت، به عنوان گردشگر موزه، از بخش‌های گوناگون آن، دیدن می‌کنند؛ و شب‌ها، با پنهان شدن در گوشه‌ ای، شب را به صبح می‌رسانند؛ روزی، هنگام گردش در موزه، متوجه مجسمه‌ ای شصت سانتی، به نام فرشته می‌شوند، که مردمان، برای دیدن آن، صف بسته‌ اند؛ آن‌ها پی می‌برند، کارشناسان موزه، در پی هویت سازنده ی مجسمه، هستند، و عده‌ ای باور دارند، که آن مجسمه، ساخته ی دست «میکل آنژ» است؛ کشف هویت سازنده ی مجسمه، همان چیزی است، که «کلودیا» می‌خواهد؛ «کلودیا»، نیاز به تغییر دارد، دلش می‌خواهد، قهرمان شود، و فرارش از خانه، به یک دردی بخورد؛ «کلودیا» و «جیمی»، تصمیم می‌گیرند، هر طور شده، راز مجسمه را، کشف کنند، و بفهمند، چه کسی واقعا، سازنده ی مجسمه، بوده است؛ در پایان داستان «کلودیا» و «جیمی»، نزد خانم «فرانک وایلر»، صاحب پیشین مجسمه، می‌روند، تا راز مجسمه را، کشف کنند، و خانم «فرانک وایلر»، به آن‌ها اطمینان می‌دهد، «میکل آنژ»، سازنده ی مجسمه است؛ اما از آن‌ها قول می‌گیرد، این راز، تا پس از مرگش، نباید برملا شود؛ حالا «کلودیا»، وقتی به خانه برگردد، یک راز دارد، چیزی که او را، با پیش از فرارش، متمایز می‌کند؛ حالا دیگر لازم نیست، «کلودیا» مثل یک قهرمان، به خانه برگردد؛ همین که خودش می‌داند قهرمان است؛ کافی است؛

تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 13/11/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 29/09/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی

Finished reading this to the fam and we all liked it a lot but maybe the girl liked it best. But this is a Newbery-award winner, and sometimes those committees do get it right, this is a great book about adventure, risk-taking, secrets, developing intellectual curiosity. . . and art. Pretty funny, too. I read this decades ago when I was their age, and you get curious about whether the old classics hold up, and I have to say this one does! A classic worth that designation! Highly recommend!

I rated this five stars a long time ago, out of pure nostalgia, without really remembering much about the book beyond "they stayed in the museum." Well, I just finished reading it out loud to my son, and I would just like to reaffirm: YES, five stars. No question.

The plot is so subtle, compared with so much of what is being published now! But wow these kids are individuals. Wow they talk like real humans and have a real and wonderful relationship with each other. My son described Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler herself as "half forensic scientist, half philosopher." She's also 100% unapologetically prickly old lady, and 100% real herself.

It's so subtle, I was afraid my son would be bored or wouldn't get it, but he loved it. Really loved it. It was such a wonderful thing to read aloud together. These are the times he'll remember, I hope. I certainly want to hold those moments tightly in my heart.

A beautiful story about a brother and sister running away and deciding to live at the metropolitan museum of art. They get embroiled in a mystery about who's the creature of an angel statue. Read from the first person point of view narrative of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, it gives a different kind of insight into the children's motives and behaviors since we are really seeing the events from the outside. The book is unique and heartwarming, and I especially enjoyed the relationship between the brother and the sister, which reminded me of the spats and moments I had with my siblings as a child. Being a homeschooling mom, I try to read the books with my kids so we can discuss. This was one of those books. I believe the biggest thing that attributes to it being a classic is how it relates and portrays the human condition. In a very simple but elegant way it denotes how we are all searching for something for ourselves. Something like Claudia's secret. Something only we know that no one else does that makes us feel special. I also feel that E.L. Konigsburg's view on education is a good one - learning without speculation is meaningless. We have to take what we learn and figure out how we can use it and apply it to our own lives. While this might not necessarily be a new concept, I believe it's portrayed in a unique enough way to give it additional credence to being a classic. It does and will have longevity in that it's a book that I believe will be enjoyed through the ages. So it's a children's classic that I highly recommend. I leave you with one of my favorite quotes.

After hearing Claudia pronounce that everyone should learn one new thing a day, Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler replied,



" No," I answered, "I don't agree with that. I think you should learn, of course, and some days you must learn a great deal. But you should also have days when you allow what is already in you to swell up inside of you until it touches everything. And you can feel it inside you. If you never take time out to let that happen, then you just accumulate facts, and they begin to rattle around inside of you. You can make noise with them, but never really feel anything with them. It's hollow."

Would you believe we actually read this children's book as one of our library book discussion selections? Can you imagine a bunch of adults sitting around a table dissecting this one? Seriously, it was an amazing discussion pick - and I recommend considering this for an adult book discussion group. In fact, I would suggest looking at various YA novels, as well. Don't limit yourselves to just adult best seller picks. Children's books have a lot of great learning and educable moments within that make for great discussion experiences.

On to my review for Goodreads.

This is the story of Claudia and her brother Jamie who are in a sense, two runaways, kind of, who become involved in an art-historical mystery. Where do they runaway to: The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

The first paragraph sets the stage when the first sentence says it all:

"Claudia knew that she could never pull off the old-fashioned kind of running away."

Even the second sentence is telling us how logical minded she is that she can't fall back on anger or a simple knapsack on her back. She knew that she couldn't run from somewhere, she needed to run to somewhere. A big difference in thinking. And this is the true adventure of the story.

Amazingly, they spend a week in hiding at the Met. In reality, we can't even imagine in today's world that ever happening. Security is too vast. But for us as readers, we get to experience their awe of the art world, their baths in the "pool." How they scrounge around for food in the closed restaurant, utilizing the public bathrooms to clean oneself, which adds to the joy of their runaway experience.

The story is light-hearted. It gives us moments to pause at the children's independence. And certainly our feelings as adult readers as witnesses to it. And how many wouldn't want to be set free in a museum unbounded for days at a time? Sort of magical, yes?

But...Is it realistic? Of course not. But, set that aside, and just go with it. For adults, discussing it, we realized this was a story long before the Amber Alert. And in today's world, we would probably have been on the edge of hysterical about our lost kids.

So...Putting all that aside, when this book was written (1967)...this was a different time, place, and world view. We could appreciate it for that.

Such a fun book! It was well written and gripping. It’s one of those books that makes you want to live on your own for the adventure, kind of like the Boxcar Children.

I read this years ago as a child and just finished re-reading it with my 7-year-old son. It actually touched off a lot of interesting discussions about what has changed and what has stayed the same in the years since the book was first published in 1967 (my son piped up with all kinds of objections throughout the book, like "what about the motion detectors and the lasers around the art?"). Of course today admission is no longer free at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, no one is allowed to bring in backpacks and instrument cases, and it took me a good 20 minutes to explain to my son what a typewriter was and how it's different from a computer keyboard. Given these dramatic changes in technology and security, it's even more to Mrs. Konigsberg's credit that her book has endured throughout the decades, remaining as relevant and compelling as ever to each new generation of children and inspiring their interest in museums and art history. There is a terrific issue of Museum Kids available for free download on the Metropolitan Museum of Art's web site, written for kids, that includes an article written by the author about how she was inspired to write the book, as well as follow-up information to help kids find the different exhibits described in the book. It also tells which exhibits have been changed or removed, including the restaurant fountain which now resides in South Carolina.

This was my son's first book he read entirely in English (he is a rapid read of books in French already!) so I felt I needed to read it too. What a pleasant surprise! We both loved Jaime and Claudia and their adventures while running away and camping out in the Metropolitan Museum in NYC. It is a touching book with lots of life lessons; my favorite quote is "Happiness is excitement that has found a settling place, but there is always a corner of it that keeps flapping around." (P 155)
I have to thank NH Senzai's excellent Shooting Kabul for referring to this book because otherwise I would have missed it!
I would consider this required children's reading for the timelessness of its characters and the nostalgic value of what life was like in Manhattan back in the late 60s. Splendid!

5 stars for this old favourite!

I love children's books that don't dumb things down. E.L. Konigsburg never over-explains anything, she simply expects the reader to follow along and figure things out. She totally nails the interactions between the kids without ever becoming too "cute".

Although this book is somewhat dated, it's still thoroughly enjoyable, and I would hate to see it fall the way of so many children's classics that are modernized through heavy-handed (and often random) insertions of today's technology.