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From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
From the MixedUp Files of Mrs Basil E Frankweiler
Author: E. L. Konigsburg
When Claudia decided to run away, she planned very carefully. She would be gone for just long enough to teach her parents a lesson in Claudia appreciation. And she would live in comfort -- at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She invited her brother Jamie to go, too, mostly because he was a miser and would have money. — The two took up residence in...  more »
Info icon
ISBN-13: 9780440931805
ISBN-10: 0440931800
Publication Date: 6/1995
Pages: 160
Reading Level: Young Adult
Rating:
  • Currently 4.3/5 Stars.
 148

4.3 stars, based on 148 ratings
Publisher: Laurel Leaf
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover, Audio Cassette, Audio CD
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

Amyyma avatar reviewed From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler on + 5 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
This was one of my favorite books as a child because it featured my favorite art museum as well - The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met). And the best part about Claudia and Jamie's run away adventures is they get to stay over night at the museum, solve a mystery and earn the respect of the reclusive and mysterious Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.

Even time I go to the Met, I entertain thoughts of hiding myself away in a bathroom stall just like Claudia did so I could stay the night too! Of course, the security guards are well aware of this book and throughly check all the bathrooms at closing every night.
northville avatar reviewed From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler on + 3 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
Classic childrens book that is almost more enjoyable for grown-ups! two children run away from home and hide in the Metropolitan Museum in New York. All sorts of historical asides and insight into human nature all wrapped up together in a charming book. After you've read it, go visit the museum!
reviewed From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler on
Helpful Score: 3
This book for young people won the Newbery Medal. A girl and her younger brother run away from home to a museum and solve a mystery. It has a clever plot and is well-written, and I appreciate the fact that the author was not out to rub a child's nose in death and misery in the name of being relevant to modern youth. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it less than stories that have more humor and maybe a touch of fantasy or imagination in them.
reviewed From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler on + 2 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
One of the best books for an 11 year old girl I can imagine. And if yoy're not 11 anymore you may love it too. Especially if you like funny books about adventure in NYC!
reviewed From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler on + 3 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
"From The Mixed-Up Files Of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" is a fantastic book, about two siblings (a young boy and girl) that decide to run away. This book captures their journey, from taking baths in a fountain, to sleeping in a bed that is on display at teh museum. This is an awesome book for all ages!
Read All 53 Book Reviews of "From the MixedUp Files of Mrs Basil E Frankweiler"

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reviewed From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler on + 2 more book reviews
Fun! I loved it more than my daughter did.
reviewed From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler on + 38 more book reviews
I read this book as a kid, and I loved it! I am ordering it so that I can read it with my kids. If your kids like fun and adventure, this is a great read!
thepinkpapayagirl avatar reviewed From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler on + 12 more book reviews
SO much fun!
buzzby avatar reviewed From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler on + 6062 more book reviews
Very odd book. It was a read aloud in my 4th grade class back in 1968 (Mrs. Stockbridge probably picked it because it won the Newberry Award), but after an exciting start, the class soon got bored with it, and - HORRORS! - she and the class decided we should stop reading it. When I protested and said that I thought it was interesting, she said the most humiliating thing a teacher ever said to me - "You would!" Well, she still was one of my favorite teachers.
cookie2 avatar reviewed From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler on + 3 more book reviews
Best book ever. My Favorite book on my bookshelf!!
reviewed From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler on + 79 more book reviews
Another fun Newbery Award Winner. I love reading these Award winning novels because they are so good. A couple of curious kids in a museum...very fun!
katzen0466 avatar reviewed From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler on + 55 more book reviews
Haven't you always wanted to hide in a museum until after closing? I have since my 4th grade teacher read us this book in class.
reviewed From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler on + 11 more book reviews
This is a fun story about a brother and sister running away from home and hiding in a museum. It's fun because at night they get to sleep in some of the exhibit beds, hide from the staff, and take baths in the museum fountain and collect the fountain change for their lunch money. Of course they make it back home safe and sound in the end after making a really special friend, Mrs. Frankweiler.

It is reading level 6.8 according to Scholastic.
reviewed From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler on + 552 more book reviews
A NEWBERY AWARD-WINNING CLASSIC
Annotation
Having run away with her younger brother to live in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, twelve-year-old Claudia strives to keep things in order in their new home and to become a changed person and a heroine to herself.

From the Publisher
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, 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.
reviewed From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler on
At 55, I recently reread the book and it holds ups. And while changes in the ways we communicate and do security in public places might make the nights in the museum tough from a modern perspective, the book still has a lot of wonder and delight. y only disappointment was that when my middle-school self contemplated how I would do it from my NJ home, I was sleeping under the blue whale at the Museum of Natural History.
reviewed From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler on + 46 more book reviews
I've heard about this book forever; I know it's a children's book, but many children's books are so good, even for adults (indeed, that's a hallmark of a good children's book!). Well, I was so disappointed and disgruntled, shall I say! I didn't like it at all, it was tedious, and the title was a misnomer.
sapphirescarlet avatar reviewed From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler on + 16 more book reviews
I first read this book in junior high. I loved it, couldn't put it down, and it started a love of mysteries for me that has continued to this day, some 40 years later. E. L. Konigsburg has a great grasp of the mind of a pre-teen girl; her characters are believable, lovable and quirky. There might be a few scenes that made me sad as a kid, because the adults in the book act responsibly for the most part. But I got so caught up in the world of these runaways that I didn't even think about what their parents might be going through. In fact I can recall the first time I read it I completely missed the references to stories in the paper about the runaways, etc. Only when re-reading it as an adult did I pick up on that subtle understory. Konigsburg is well deserving of her Newberry Awards, and I look forward to reading more of her writing.
ghostlysun avatar reviewed From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler on + 37 more book reviews
I read this many years ago as a teenager. I remember enjoying the book, but I don't think I was highly impressed. I expected a little more to happen to kids locked in a museum. At the time I was only interested in paranormal and horror novels. It's a cute story nonetheless.
reviewed From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler on + 2 more book reviews
Excellent young adult fiction
reviewed From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler on + 13 more book reviews
Good Read
reviewed From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler on
Loved it as a kid and an adult!
reviewed From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler on
Great characters!
CocoCee avatar reviewed From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler on + 404 more book reviews
Age 8 to 12. Great story of a sister and brother who run away and hide out in a museum. With this 35th anniversary edition, don't miss the author's afterwards.
reviewed From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler on + 22 more book reviews
Couldn't put it down.
luv2cnewthings avatar reviewed From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler on + 55 more book reviews
It has been over TWO DECADES since I've read this book, but when the title popped up on screen my eyes widened and a smile crept onto my face.

I remember reading and loving this book waaay back in elementary school! I remember reading how the older sister was methodic and planning, which reminded me a lot about myself. I remember the younger brother simply following. I also remember how the book went from a pair of runaways into something of a mystery. What did it start with? An emblem at the bottom of an angel statue. (If I remember correctly.)

Even as a child, it was a very fun and easy read.


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