A childhood favourite :)

This was my third reading of this Newbery Medal winning book. My first time it was read to me (and the rest of my class) by my third grade teacher. I was the same age as young Jamie at the time, and the book made quite an impression. When my own boys were the same ages as Claudia and Jamie I read it to them, just as my teacher had read it to me. The younger of the two was fascinated by Jamie, and was particularly tickled by his affinity for complications. Now my boys are grown, I’m old, and I read it yet again (on audiobook — something about this book calls out to be read aloud) to see if I could grasp and put into words the appeal this books has for generations of young people.

What struck me on this reading is the great respect this book has for its young protagonist. Nine and (almost) twelve, Jamie and Claudia’s ages, are usually a time when kids have precious little autonomy. A story of sixth and third grade siblings able to successfully pull off running away from home and living undiscovered for a week in the Manhattan Museum of Art is an idea with great appeal for kids near these ages. Running away is a fantasy almost all kids have at one point or another, and here it is presented as absolutely believable. Beyond that, the kids have smart dialogue — perhaps a bit too precocious, but never going beyond the point where it becomes unbelievable. This book presents kids as kids would like to imagine themselves.

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler is a classic book of adventure, mystery, and growing up. It is seasoned with humor. It has captured generations of children with its charm. Perhaps I’ll read it a fourth time if I’m still kicking when I have grandchildren of the appropriate ages.

From the Mixed-up Files of
Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
By E.L. Konigsburg

This is a delightful story for children of all ages. I'm wondering why I never discovered this book when I was a kid?

Claudia is planning to run away. She wants a different life, than that of the oldest child, with so many responsibilities. Her brother Jamie doesn't know it yet, but she has chosen him to be her companion. One reason she has chosen Jamie, is because he is good with money. Claudia usually spends her money on hot fudge sundaes, but Jamie has saved over twenty dollars.

Claudia plans for them to take a train to New York City, and stay in the Metropolitan Museum of Fine Arts. Hiding out, being hungry most of the time, and walking in order to save money, the two children experience the adventure of a lifetime. They also get involved in the mystery of an angel statue, which was sold to the museum by Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Could the angel statue be a real Michelangelo? Only Mrs. Frankweiler knows for sure.

Will Claudia and Jamie get caught in the museum? Will they run out of money, and need to go home, before solving the mystery? Does their family really miss them? Can they find Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler? Will she be willing to help them, if they do find her?

I recently spent the night in The Museum of Ancient History, in Draper Utah, with two of my granddaughters. They call it Dino-snores. We slept right under the tail of a huge dinosaur. There is definitely something intriguing about sleeping in a museum, especially when the lights go out.

Jill Ammon Vanderwood
Author: Through the Rug
Through The Rug 2: Follow That Dog (Through the Rug)
Stowaway: The San Francisco Adventures of Sara, the Pineapple Cat

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler follows siblings Claudia and Jamie who run away to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Claudia hopes to teach her parents a lesson as she does not feel appreciated, and she chooses her brother Jamie to accompany her. The two must work together in order to get by, and they begin to bond and grow closer as this happens. What seems like a fun trip where the two can hide out and learn a lot soon turns into a mystery where they hope to figure out the truth about a statue in the museum.

This was such a fun and quick read for me. I really liked seeing the relationship between the siblings. They complimented each other well as the trip allowed them to learn more about one another. It was really funny to see their quips and sarcasm. I also thought it was really interesting that the book was narrated by Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler herself. It starts with a letter from her and she occasionally interjects with comments, but she did not appear until towards the end of the novel. This structure worked really well and was unique. I really wish the book was just a little longer because I would love to see what everyone is up to following the mystery reveal and eventual return home.

I am really glad that my boyfriend bought me a copy of this book just because he saw it on The Office. I had not heard of it before and probably would not have picked it up otherwise. I can definitely see why kids would love this book, so I cannot wait to have it available in my own future classroom. I think it would even be fun to teach at some point.

Benim bi' tadım kaçtı.

A truly charming story. I especially enjoyed the ending.

As a child this was so boring I fell asleep while hearing it read out loud more than once.

Not so great; no favorite of mine.

So, what exactly would be the category for lingering behind and taking up residence in the Metropolitan Museum of Art? I'll go with criminal trespass till I learn otherwise. So - when I commit criminal trespass, should I blame Thomas Hoving, or E.L. Konigsburg? I recently finished False Impressions, and just finished From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, so I'm already making plans. Enough time has gone by since the publication of the book - 1967 - that the guards must have gotten out of the habit of checking the bathroom stalls quite so thoroughly, so there's no reason I can't use the same ruse to stay in the museum overnight. Let's see ... They say in the preface to the book that the fountain that used to be in the restaurant (which I believe has been moved) is now in Georgia, but there is one called the Pan Fountain - oh, and the reflecting pool around the Temple of Dendur, of course, of which seventy-five cents of the change in the water is mine anyway.

Oh, and in place of the fictional Angel of the book which may or may not have been "sculptured" by Michelangelo, there is Young Archer, which may or may not have been sculpted by Michelangelo. It's karma.

I will run away - taking the train; I'll pop for a taxi, and use the method Claudia and Jamie did to infiltrate and entrench myself into the museum. I don't know about sleeping in one of the antique beds, though; that seems a little squicky. And fragile. (And why would it be made up with sheets and all?) There must be an employee lunch room or something, or an administrative office with a couch or something. I'll figure it out.

So let's see. I don't have an instrument case like the kids who run away hid their socks and underwear in - but I have a pretty big pocketbook. And I don't have to check it. Hm. The laptop is probably not viable; I could charge it, but unless they have WiFi - well, I could use the time to finish the book.

The Mixed-Up Files is wonderful. I may not (may not) go through with this plan, but it's a really fun fantasy. It hit me hard because of all my reading about the Met lately - Hoving talks a lot about living with the art, about handling and having personal experience of it, and - - it's just mean. It's something I crave, and something I'll never have (unless I implement Plan E.L. Konigsberg) - the idea of having the whole of the Met to myself for the better part of every day is ... heady. Especially the part shown on the cover of this edition - the Arms and Armor hall. I love that place.



Except for those pesky alarms and sensors and such. The sixties were such a sweetly innocent time. And the kids in this book are sweetly innocent, and so very smart; it's a pleasure to be in on the planning and execution of such a great plan. The pen and ink illustrations in the edition I read were horrible - muddy, almost more inkblots than illustrations; they have to have been copies of copies of larger images. But the writing was great fun, despite the point of view of an adult added to a couple of years of watching Criminal Minds and Without a Trace making the kids' parents' terror a little more important to me than to the kids, but that's okay. The detailed money calculations were ... startling. I don't know why I never read the book when I was a kid, but I'm glad I did now.

And I really, really want to go hang out with the Young Archer.

چرا انقد کتابای رده‌ی سنی نوجوانان موردعلاقه‌ی من اند؟:')

از کتاب:
"About finding herself, about how the greatest adventure lies not in running away but in looking inside, and the greatest discovery is not in finding out who made a statue but in finding out what makes you."

One of the first books from the effervescent mind of the great E.L. Konigsburg, this novel stands up as well today as it did when it was first published.
Populated by strong, independent characters as in all of the author's stories, this book follows an interesting story thread of both unique survival and a pressing mystery, as Claudia and her brother hide in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Attempting to keep one step ahead of the police and their parents is not an easy task, but ultimately it matters mostly because Claudia ran away for a reason that she does not fully understand, and it is important for her to find that reason before going back with her parents.
"From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" is unforgettable, and peppered (especially close to the end) with E.L. Konigsburg's trademark nuggets of priceless wisdom, interwoven perfectly with the text as always.
One of my favorite features about this particular edition of the book is the miniature sequel to be found in the back. Apparently, E.L. Konigsburg wrote and used this sequel when accepting the 1968 Newbery Medal for "From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler". It is a pithy and funny addendum. :-)

Such a good story! It was simple but also original. I love it when children's stories give insight into human nature and convey some wisdom in a way that is natural and accessible to children. E. L. Konigsburg is very clever at doing just this.
I especially loved the emphasis the author puts on experiencing our humanity fully without incessantly searching for knew knowledge and thrills to get some kind of high. I often indulge myself in the postmodern trend of always wanting to learn new facts or gain some kind of new experience without ever stopping to just wonder at the amazing world we inhabit and soak it in. This passage, spoken by Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, was my favorite in the book:
"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."
Never forget to just BE people.