From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
Common Sense Note
The premise of living inside a museum is enthralling, and E. L. Konigsburg provides every detail a kid could want. The author's scratchy drawings, never terribly attractive, look dated and muddy. Two runaway children demonstrate ingenuity in taking care of themselves in this superbly written novel. Huge dollops of art history seem entertaining when the characters experience it firsthand.
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Cindy Kane
Though it may read like a fantasy today, this perfect, kid-size adventure is pure delight. The author's attention to detail makes this adventure real and satisfying. How Claudia and Jamie make and execute their plans is a large part of the excitement. Konigsburg names everything they buy, from the twenty cents to dry their laundry to the seventeen-cent tip Jamie gives a cab driver. Their meals at the Automat are described as lovingly as the mysterious statue. In 1967, of course, everything cost less, the museum's geography was a bit different, and girls wore petticoats. Yet Konigsburg's craft makes the story timeless. She observes the characters as closely as their surroundings. Claudia's need to show off and Jamie's tendency to cheat at cards are as much an endearing part of them as their loyalty, humor, and ingenuity.
The quest for the sculptor's identity is bound inextricably with Claudia's own search for self. The mystery is complicated, but the irascible voice of Mrs. Frankweiler allows the author to clarify without ever seeming to lecture. An unusual choice for a children's-book narrator, eighty-two-year-old Mrs. Frankweiler makes a precise and witty storyteller. She even saves one delicious secret for the very end.
Konigsburg's second Newbery winner, The View From Saturday, will appeal to readers who like putting together the puzzle pieces of a story.
From the Book:
Claudia doesn't want adventure. She likes baths and feeling comfortable too much for that kind of thing. Secrets are the kind of adventure she needs. Secrets are safe, and they do much to make you different. On the inside where it counts.
Plot Summary:
Claudia Kinkaid feels unappreciated by her parents and bored with her orderly, straight-A existence. She is nearly twelve when she decides to run away from her home in suburban Connecticut. Being practical, she chooses a comfortable destination--New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art--and a thrifty traveling companion, her nine-year-old brother Jamie.
After careful planning, Claudia and Jamie arrive at the museum, hiding from the guards in the rest rooms, sleeping on priceless beds, and bathing in the fountain. But when a statue of an angel, rumored to be a possible Michelangelo, is given to the museum, Claudia decides they must solve the mystery. Their search leads them to the statue's original owner, eccentric Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, who narrates the story in a peppery letter to her lawyer. Mrs. Frankweiler both solves the mystery and helps Claudia understand why the secret of the statue is so important to her.[
Related Books:
Other Books by E. L. Konigsburg
About the B'nai Bagels
Altogether, One at a Time
The Dragon in the Ghetto Caper
Father's Arcane Daughter
(George)
Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth
Journey to an 800 Number
A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver
The Second Mrs. Giaconda
T-Backs, T-Shirts, COAT, and Suit
Throwing Shadows
Up from Jericho Tel
The View from Saturday
The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place
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Sexual ContentThe siblings take a bath together in the museum fountain, and there is a nonexplicit drawing of the scene. |
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Social BehaviorThe children barely give a thought to their parents' feelings when they run away. They steal change from a fountain and lie to adults. Both Jamie and Mrs. Frankweiler cheat at cards. |
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