Customer Reviews

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

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4 star:		(69)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

FROM THE MIXED UP FILES OF MRS. BASIL E. FRANKWEILER

If you like adventure, suspense and perhaps a touch of survival you'll love this book.

Claudia Kincaid wants to be seen and thought of differently. So she decides to run away and what better place to go than the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, but Claudia doesn't want to go alone. She wants to go with her younger brother Jamie. Now, Claudia and Jamie need to solve a mystery about an old statue and survive without running out of money. Can they? Or will they have to turn themselves in?

There are three key themes in this book. They are survival, bravery, and planning.

Survival is shown because Jamie and Claudia are surviving in the Metropolitan Museum of Art without anyone knowing where they are. They also have to get there own food. They're basically taking care of themselves!

Bravery, in the book Claudia and Jamie are being really brave to run away all the way to New York from their home.

The only way Claudia and Jamie can survive still solving angels mystery is to plan out first so they don't make bad choices that they might strongly regret later.

I really like the author style of this book; it may be the way it all falls together. First when I looked at the book and the cover without actually reading it I wasn't very interested. Then I actually read it and found that out it was really good! The author fills the pages with twists and turns and cliffhangers, just making you want to read on.

The book is written in the third person. It's told by Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, she is a character that buys art and also helps the kids get back home. The author uses really great leads and the end of the chapters make you want to read on. But the ending falls really flat. You don't get the information until the end and then it all comes in at once. But other than that I love the book!

There are three main characters: Claudia, Jamie and Mrs. Frankweiler. Claudia, the oldest in the Kincaid family (and the only girl) is striving for something different and wants to be thought of differently. She wants to discover something, but what?

Jamie, Claudia's younger brother goes along with Claudia and becomes the official treasurer of the two; he keeps the money and spends it. Mrs. Frankweiler is a person who buys art and in angels case sells it to The Metropolitan Museum of Art. She also finds a way to bring the kids home! Even though the character of Claudia is really detailed, I don't really think that the character of Jamie is to strong. You don't really get to learn about what he is like or his personality is.

A big part in the book is setting. Claudia and Jamie are in the Metropolitan Museum of art for most of the book. To be a little more specific they decide to spend their time in the Museum in the Hall of English Renaissance. When they want to search for help about angel's mystery they decide to go to Mrs. Basils house in Farmington, Connecticut. The setting seems to be set just a little while ago maybe sometime around the 1990's I would say. The setting is really great. It's not to busy, but not to quiet. Overall, I would say it is my favourite part of the story.

I strongly recommend this book for kids age 7-12. These is also a great book if you have been to or want to learn about the Metropolitan Museum as this is where the story mostly takes place. I loved this book and I know you will to! Have a great read!

The book, "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" is a great one. Though it is short, it has illustrations and is adventurous. It doesn't have the "adult" type of adventure, but the "child" type of adventure. It was very interesting for me to read, and I loved it. There are two children that flee their home to live at... (I'm so sorry that I cannot give away the ending, or else you won't want to read it.)

The Ghost Writer

Again, I am sorry.

Claudia feels underappreciated in her suburban household - a thing all children have most likely felt during at least one time or another. Here, Konigsburgs writes of these feelings with brutal honesty and frankness. Because Claudia is not an only child, it almost seems as if to her, and to readers, that there isn't enough love and attention to go around. Unjustly so, the poor girl frequently gets caught up in chore after chore while her siblings are off the hook.

So she will run away and teach them all a lesson in "Claudia appreciation." The Metropolitan Musuem of Art will become her grandiose and excitingly fantastic home away from home, so to speak. And younger brother Jamie will accompany her, mainly because he has saved every single penny since birth and will have money, just what Claudia needs. Yet to say she's using her younger bro merely for financial purposes would be unjust. I believe Claudia truly wants and needs the companionship.

The highlight of their one-week vacation is a mysterious and ethereal statue of an angel, titled as such. It is oh-so mysterious because everyone is unsure of the statue's creator. Some believe it to be the renown Michelangelo - but it has yet to be confirmed and 12 year-old Claudia is incessantly in awe of thee angel's beauty. She knows she cannot go home until she uncovers the secret of the statue and that will mean having to get in contact with a total stranger, Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, who is the statue's previous owner. And if she refuses to help Claudia solve the mystery on her mind, she and Jamie may never get home.

FROM THE MIXED-UP FILES OF MRS. BASIL E. FRANKWEILER, first published in 1967, has been capturing the attention of children everywhere. Konigsburg has skillfully woven a loveable masterpiece that seems magical, almost too wonderful to be realistic. Yet it is. Claudia feels what so many of society's children today feel. And like many children, she keeps her feelings to herself and deals with pent up frustrations the only way she knows how, hence her escape to The Metropolitan.

I first read this novel when I was 9. I found myself relating to feeling less love from seemingly uncaring parents, due to having a sister who had no responsibilities and extra TLC because of her young age. I found myself envious of Claudia's grand escape to the musuem and I contemplated a night away from home spent at The Philadelphia Musuem of Art. That, of course, never happened. In retrospect, I realize how wild of an imagination I had. My mind was constantly roaming. Children today are just as creative - or they can be - which is why they'll much enjoy this book. Despite now being seven years older, I still frequently pick it up off my bookshelf, worn and dog-eared, to read it again and again.

I read this as a child and reread it recently for fun. And boy was it fun!

My mother bought me this book when I was seven years old. She gave me a brief synopsis -- a brother and sister run away and live in the museum. Naturally, my curiosity was fully aroused and I just had to read this book! I did and loved it! I read it several times from ages 7 - 9. To this day, I can remember the goosebumps I had from reading about Claudia and Jamie remaining on the school bus, ready to sneak off to the train station. I laughed aloud at the thought of them taking a bath in the museum fountain. They were the most original, the most resourceful and by far and away the most interesting and captivating runaways ever to grace the pages of literature. I still have my old copy from my childhood. It is something I will always treasure.

I read this book almost 30 years ago and loved it, I've bought copies for my friend's children and it's always a hit. Great book for kids who can identify with Claudia, who are intelligent, love art, feel a little misunderstood and crave adventure. Big kids like this book as well!

I first read this book in fifth grade. The entire Literature class was assigned to it, so we read it bit by bit during the day, and I couldn't stand waiting to know what would happen next. After three days of the teacher reading the book to us, I ran to the library and bought it for myself.

The characters and their adventures are simply delightful.

The plot of this novel may sound familiar: a young woman and young man, caught inside a museum they cannot leave, are trying to solve the mystery around a secret code they have found on a piece of Renaissance artwork. However, unlike a recent bestseller, this book was intentionally written at a junior high school comprehension level, and by a legitimate author-not some Dandy in a Brown sport coat with few original ideas. (This is not to suggest that hack plagiarized this novel, as though it were his Holy Grail-perhaps little more than a Pendulum swinging through his illumination; or a Legacy he does not acknowledge.)

I first read the book as a child, and now, 25 years later, I remember it fondly as one of those novels that helped shape my way of thinking. When I recently purchased it again, I was just as impressed with the quality of the storytelling. This book should rightly be considered not only one of the classics of young adult literature, but all literature.

Not bogged down with pointless plot twists or predictable betrayals, this book is short, yet dense with imagery. The characters are sympathetic and their reactions to extraordinary circumstances are credible. I would happily read this book six times before I read The DaVinci Code again.

What a fun book! Every child's fantasy is to live in a super-cool place, at least it was mine, and I remember reading this is a child and being SO envious. To live in a museum! Even if for only a week! And to work on the mystery of an statue! Wow! I loved it.

Happily enough, the magic had not worn off when I re-read it today. In Claudia and James, Konigsburg has created real kids, with real emotions and actions. The plot is exciting enough to hold attention, while still maintaining a sense of "this could've really happened!".

There was no moral lesson to be learned it this book--Claudia and James run away and nothing bad happens to them. Matter of fact, they succeed and are rewarded. For that reason, I suppose a bit of parental reminding that running away is dangerous and wouldn't happen like it does in books might be advisable.

Otherwise, it's an enjoyable read for adults and children alike and just might stir up an interest in art and museums. Books that encourage kids to have an interest history or art (like The Egypt Game) need to be recommended as highly as possible. This one will stir the imagination of any receptive child and might start a life-long enthusiasm--it was one of the starting blocks for me.

The Mixed up Files is a strange title for a book about two kids that run away. But getting over that small detail, the story is interesting and it was fun to follow the kids in their adventure, which of course involves more than just running away.

From the start, I liked the writer's style, where she states Claudia was "not running from somewhere, but to somewhere." She took her brother, because he had money, and hid out in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. What a place to run to.

Read this book because you want to, not because some teacher assigns it. You won't regret it. I would also recommend two books featuring kids taking action to solve problems for themselves: Holes, and Abby and the Bicycle Caper.