When Claudia decided to run away, she planned very carefully. She would be gone just long enough to teach her parents a lesson in Claudia appreciation. And she would go in comfort-she would live at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She saved her money, and she invited her brother Jamie to go, mostly because be was a miser and would have money. Claudia was a good organizer and Jamie bad some ideas, … ideas, too; so the two took up residence at the museum right on schedule. But once the fun of settling in was over, Claudia had two unexpected problems: She felt just the same, and she wanted to feel different; and she found a statue at the Museum so beautiful she could not go home until she bad discovered its maker, a question that baffled the experts, too. The former owner of the statue was Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Without her-well, without her, Claudia might never have found a way to go home.
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I have read this book to sixth graders for years and I loved the twist at the end and the forshadowing that preceded it. My classes enjoyed it also.
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg – My fourth grade teacher read this to us after lunch every day. Mr. Costen had great taste in books, and I’m pretty sure it was the only time all day that we were quiet and still. Perfect for a middle grade reader or an adult who still kind of wants to live in a museum after hours! Happy Reading!
The book describes a world that no longer exists! : the fountain in the dining room at the Met, the Automat, kids without cell phones– My favorite adventure book at 11 and at 61.
The book might feel dated because of its details. Rather than focus on the things of the past era, the emotions of the characters are timeless. Staying overnight in this museum has long been a fantasy of mine. The “Night in the Museum” movies scratched that itch, but this book incited my interest to begin with. Read it along with kids, especially before visiting any great museum. As you tour the exhibits you can conspire with them to sort out how to do the same in whatever museum your visiting.
This is such an amazing adventure. It’s fun and smart. I still reread this occasionally.
For those kids who want a little bit of adventure and mystery in a book, I feel this is perfect.
Claudia is tired of being the big kid at home and wants to escape the routine, but she needs money to make her plan work. She invites her miserly brother, and the adventure begins. While away, she stumbles upon an art mystery, involving a beautiful statue and Michelangelo, that can only be resolved by visiting a meticulous art collector and trying to find answers within her many file cabinets.
I think it is AMAZING. Would totally recommend.
I loved this book, heck, I wanted to live in this book. My wish was finally granted when I went to NYC to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and saw all the things, and the bed, that the children saw when they ran away from home!
My 5 year old choose this book as her “blind date with a book” even though we tried to tell her that it was a book for an older kid. She insisted and so we started it. I think she listened to the first 2 chapters and then lost interest. Since I had started, I couldn’t simply stop reading.
It turned out to be a pretty cute book. Claudia and her brother Jamie run away together. I was curious how they would make it in New York City, but Claudia was quite the planner and thinker when it came to all that.
I can Relate. Best plot twist ever! Siblings dont ALWAYS fight.
I first read this when I was still single digits of age, so it was fun to come back to it decades later. I think it really holds up, and is lovely in a slightly dated way.
Twelve-year-old Claudia Kincaid runs away from home, because she thinks her parents don’t appreciate her enough. She chooses her brother Jamie to go with her because he’s good with money. But they don’t head for he woods. They head for the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met) in New York City.
A fun read, and the audiobook version I listened to struck just the right tone.
Still love it as much as I did when I was 10. Not telling how long ago that was.
This is one of my favorite books for kids. Even re-reading as an adult it made me remember reading this as a child. It’s a super fun story and has all the good things kids love.
I read this book aloud to my 13-year-old and 11-year old kiddos. I picked it because I had always heard of it but hadn’t yet read it. I didn’t know anything about it either. But then we were planning to attend a children’s literature festival and Alan Gratz was going to be there. He wrote a book called “Ban This Book,” and I briefly saw somewhere that it had SOMETHING to do with From The Mixed-Up Files. I thought I’d better read this book first, so that book would make more sense. I’d read several of Gratz’s books and given them lots of stars, so I knew I would surely like that book, and indeed, I would probably enjoy THIS one. I was right. I’m glad we read it first, and now we’re reading the Gratz book. I especially enjoyed the “olden days” feel of the book, the fact that so much of it takes place in a museum, and that the kids were the main characters. I loved Mrs. Frankweiler’s outlook on learning something every day, or not, letting what you’ve already learned simmer and kind of take root, and I loved the sentence about happiness. I wrote those down in my “quotes from books” notebook. I can’t wait to finish Gratz’s book and see why they are banning THIS book from their elementary library. I bet they don’t get away with it after all!
Best book ever
A classic must read
Whimsical and fun.
Loved it
A kids’ book that is so well-written. I just re-read it so I could discuss with my fourth grade grandchild.
A timeless treasure for middle-schoolers and adults who love stories with lots of imagination!