From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler: Special Edition Paperback – March 19, 2019

Needed to add a hardback copy to my collection. I read this book so many times when I was in elementary school. So enjoyed it. Also bought a copy for my grandsons.

I’m not sure how I missed reading this as a kid but I am sure glad I did now! Wonderfully drawn characters and valuable lessons.

I loved this book it was amazing my daughter said, she loved every part of it but she loved the main character

Children’s books are great for adults to read occasionally. In addition, to just being a change of pace, I find that the simple straight forward stories get to the essence of so many things. Children’s book don’t have to have multi-layered plots with anti-heroes or twists and turns.Instead children’s books tell simple stories that often do a great job of getting to root meanings of life.From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs Basil E Frankweiler is one of the classics that I think has held up fairly well. Claudia, a 12 year-old oldest child that feels like she is underappreciated by her parents and decides to run away. Her younger brother, Jamie, comes with her mostly for the adventure. Most kids would identify with one or both of these reasons for running away.They take the train from the suburbs of Connecticut to Manhattan and move into the Metropolitan Museum of Art. While they are there, a statue starts showing that may be a lost work of Michelangelo. This gives a purpose not only to the story, but especially to Claudia, who ran away in part to find purpose and meaning.If you haven’t read the story, I won’t blow the whole thing, but I did think the book held up very well from 1967. It does not feel like an old book, although clearly there are anacronysism that modern readers (child) will not always understand (if nothing else the wildly different prices.)I listened to the audiobook from the library. As always, books that I have not read since childhood seem so much shorter today than my memory of them. I listened to the whole thing during an afternoon of data entry work.

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E Frankweiler is a mystery book. But it's not like other mystery books-- other mystery stories are vague, but this one talks openly about hidden facts. It's the story of two kids who decide to run away from home because they feel rejected from their family. The oldest, Claudia, decides that they should hide at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where everything is glamorous. The sneaky kids have been hiding inside the museum for a week without being caught, before the story becomes even more interesting when they discover the Angel, a statue that may have been created by the artist Michelangelo!This book was really enjoyable to read. It didn't feel challenging, and I liked the action and the mystery. The writing was conversational, since the narrator, Mrs. Frankweiler, loves to insult her lawyer Saxonberg. I thought it was pretty funny because of the wacky plot. It grabbed me and I wanted to keep reading. My favorite part is when the kids first thought of trying to run away, although I was also very curious to learn who really carved the Angel. Maybe the author wanted readers to become curious-- it worked! The only thing I would have changed if I was the author, would be to make James not a cheapskate, because it didn't fit with the overall excitement of the story.Middle school readers or mature older elementary readers will enjoy this action-packed tale. Very young readers might not get much out of the plot of the book: we start knowing nothing, and as we read, we understood much more. Although the book felt complete, the ending leaves the reader with many questions. I found it pretty unbelievable that two young kids could run away successfully. I definitely don't think this book could happen today in 2017, because things aren't as cheap anymore!

Alright, time to admit it: who didn’t have an urge to run away from home some time during their growing up years? But it takes guts to do so, and even a little resourcefulness. Enter Claudia Kincaid of Greenwich, Connecticut, the heroine of E.L. Konigsburg’s From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Claudia yearns to escape the injustice and monotony she’s experiencing as the oldest and only girl of her family: having to empty the dishwasher and set the table, arguing about whose turn it is to choose a TV program, and growing bored with being known as the girl with Straight As. She wants adventure, and, with her financially-savvy little brother Jamie in tow, flees to New York City and of all places, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where her curiosity and intelligence lead her right-smack into the middle of a nifty little mystery surrounding a statue called “Angel.” Throughout their adventure at the museum, which becomes their home away from home, the Kincaid kids prove to be so smart, so determined, so much a cut above other kids their age, the reader cannot help but love and respect them, as does the eccentric Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, who plays a shadowy role throughout the narrative but is central to the story’s surprising and heartwarming conclusion. This delightfully imaginative tale may be the best bedtime story ever written. And E.L. Konigsburg could very well be the most gifted children’s author of all time. If you’re looking for a different sort of read with beloved characters, this one is it.