This book was read to us about 20 years ago in 7th grade English class and It was a great story a great adventure for children to read. I do not recommend running away to a museum.

This is an old favorite of mine that I often buy for children to whom I want to give a gift. My own children enjoyed the book in the 70s, both as I read it to them and as they read it for themselves. My grandchildren loved the book too. Now I buy it for other children with whom I am acquainted. My own childhood daydreams imagined hiding in a library where I could sample the books at will. My environment was too narrow to imagine being in a museum. I recommend this book for any child.

You know that book you read once, and remember fondly forever? This is one of those books for me.
What's not to love about the premise of running away to a museum? And not just ANY museum, the NY Met!!! I was so jealous of just that very idea, let alone the mystery of whether Angel is by Michelangelo! Reading this book again is like sitting down for coffee with an old and admired friend. You might not spend as long in there as you did years ago, but the conversation is wonderful, and the story still engages and entertains, regardless of age.

I bought this book from a Readers Club order sheet I brought home from school some 35 years ago. Although I no longer have the book, it is the only book that I recall enjoying immensely. I'm suprised that so many reviews reflect the same sentiments as the "One Book" that they rememeber the most. I thought I was the only one who felt this way. I decided to purchase the book again and will enjoy rediscovering the magic I felt long ago. When I am finished I will give it to my niece.

I havent read this book, since some where between grade school and middle school. But from what i remember from it, this book, teaches kids to go for their dreams and not to get discouraged by anything

This book is so good.I read it to my 7 year old she loved it.It is well written. I recommend it to all the young readers.This is a book for 7-13. You should read From The Mixed-Up files of Mrs.Basil E. Frankweiler. I hope you enjoy it!

I bought this book because I was primarily interested in the afterword by E.L. Konisburg. For my part, even though I am a grown woman now, I can still somewhatidentify with Claudia Kincaid and how she feels as the firstborn girl in the family. This is because that's what I was, growing up. I also think if I could run away, that's how I'd want to do it, too.

Two generations have now enjoyed this wonderful tale. Our oldest says that he is now glad to be able to visit a real museum ,but it was a dream inspired by this book.

I think it's time to shelve this book. It does not deserve a place on the children's classics. There are a number of problems with the book. First off, it's a dull tale. It could have been exciting--the tale of two children running away from home and living in a museum--but it ends up being mundane. There is precious little suspense in the story, and the children never seem overly concerned about getting caught.

Indeed, the children do not seem overly concerned about very much at all. They give precious little thought to their parents (who after a hours would be going crazy--after a week would suffer psychological damage). They think little about lying, betrayal, cheating at cards, swindling a friend's money at cards, stealing coins from the museum fountain, trespassing, or the harm they might be causing others. Such problems can be excellent fodder for a novel! Who wants angelic characters? BUT such problems need to be confronted and overcome--not ignored. In short, they address almost none of the moral dilemmas posed by the novel. They just drift through the plot in a narcissistic manner.

As if recognizing the tedium of her own tale Konigsburg gives us the mystery of the Angel statue. It is an implausible and poorly resolved mystery which never adds much momentum to the story. My 6 year old and I were not dying to find out the answer to the mystery. The novel's apex comes when Frankweiler and Claudia conspire in secrecy and share the potency of secrets. It's a powerful notion, but there is a risk is glorifying secrecy for children. Having a personal, burning secret can be a source of pride and intrigue, but it can also be a harmful tumor. As with all of the moral issues in the book, Konigsburg does not address the multi-edged nature of secrecy. Undeserving of the Newbury, this novel is now undeserving of our further attention.

I didn't find the writing style or the plot very engaging. It seemed dragged out and I didn't find the conclusion very satisfying.

Aside from not enjoying the story, why would I want to hand my child a book about two children that run away? The children are unrealistic and are also rude to adults and each other. They cheat and lie. Their actions have no consequences. There are so many other more engaging children's books that also have moral story lines. This one is not on our family's "must read" list.

I have worked in the museum field for more than 15 years, and can attribute my intrigue with museums to reading this book in 2nd grade! When I meet new colleagues in the field and we get to talking about our early love of museums, this book always comes up in conversation -- so many of us remember this book planting the seed for our future careers. Thank you, E.L. Konigsburg!!

As one of my first chapter books I ever read, this still remains the most memorable from my youth. In fact I remembered the story, but not the title. It wasnt't until my recent trip the the NY Metropolitan Museum of Art that I saw it. What an exciting discovery!

The book is so much fun - the kids are on their own, and yet their learning and enjoying the museum while they are involved in various hijinx.

In my opinion, this is a must-have.

Two siblings, a boy and a girl, run away from home and hide in the Metropolitan Museum of New York, where they become involved in trying to find out whether a new statue was the work of Michelangelo. In the end they do find out by talking to the person who sold the statue to the museum.
So there you have it: easy to read, easy to summarize, pleasing and somewhat diverting. It's no brain teaser, though, it didn't really draw me in, I didn't feel captivated by the language or the story - I cared what happened to the characters but in a detached way, sort of like you wish your neighbors well but don't ponder too much on it.
I don't really understand why this is supposed to be a classic: I mean it's not bad, but common: can it really compare with something like Pinocchio, or Alice? It's too much of a light souffle for that, in my humble opinion.

I had to read this in 5th grade and it was torture throughout. The story was good but the way it was written gave no true human reactions and it was a normal book with a weird displaced mistery put into it.

I received 8 of 10 individual orders of this used novel within a few days and the other two before the deadline. The quality of the novels was overall good - perfect covers and very slight yellowing. I had one query from a vendor for which I received a prompt reply from the vendor and from Amazon. I'm very satisfied.

As I child I would have wanted to be Claudia: brave enough to run away, worldly enough to live in a museum, and smart enough to figure out the "cupid" mystery. But having read it only a few days ago, as an adult, I'd like to have written some of lines author E.L. Konigsburg attributed to her narrator Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Here are two examples:

"Happiness is excitement that has found a settling down place, but there is always a little corner that keeps flapping around."

"...Some days you must learn a great deal. But you should also have days when you allow what is already in you to swell up inside of you until it touches everything. And you can feel it inside you. If you never take time out to let that happen, then you just accumulate facts, and they begin to rattle around inside of you. You can make noise with them, but never really feel anything with them. It's hollow."

Note: Find a new edition that contains Ms. Konigsburg's Afterword. You'll like her discussion of things around and in the museum that have change, or stayed the same, since she wrote the book.

I feel funny reviewing books that are older than I am (this was published in 1967), but I will share what I thought. I thought this was a cute story, and I don't know how I missed this one when I was young...it seems like it would have been just my style! And, except for a few details (such as how much things cost and the fact that Claudia wears a petticoat), it doesn't feel like it's outdated. I thought a couple of parts were particularly funny, like when Claudia and Jamie find an unopened candy bar on the ground, and Jamie wants to eat it. Claudia says "You better not touch it. It's probably poisoned or filled with marijuana, so you'll eat it and become either dead or a dope addict." How funny!

I think you have to be a kid or a kid at heart to properly understand the magic of this book. What kid did not dream of running away? Here is a girl, a very practical girl, who makes that dream come true. She and her younger brother create an elaborate plan to run away and hide in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Remember, this was written before huge advancements in security. As they live an awesome life in a museum, they allow themselves to become part of a possible mystery.

This is an exciting and smartly-written book that manages to laugh at itself and his characters while still making you love everyone connected to this clever story.

It's wonderful to see a book first published in the later 1960's still being loved and enjoyed today. It was a special treat to pass this fantastic read on to my children since it was one of my favorites growing up. Living near enough to New York that we get to the MET at least once a year made it even better for them.

Some things haven't changed in over 40 years. Kids Claudia's age still feel they have the worst parents and most miserable situation at one point or another. What sets this story apart from other "kid hates parents, kid runs away..." stories is that Claudia comes up with an adventure so that she isn't running away, but running to something - the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art. Rather then reciting the whole story I'll just say this is a fabulous book and if you didn't read it as a child, get it and read it now with your children.

After the Witches by Roald Dahl this is my second favorite children's book. I just absolutely love it!!

From the Mixed-up Files of
Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
By E.L. Konigsburg

This is a delightful story for children of all ages. I'm wondering why I never discovered this book when I was a kid?

Claudia is planning to run away. She wants a different life, than that of the oldest child with so many responsibilities. Her brother Jamie doesn't know it yet, but she has chosen him to be her companion. One reason she has chosen Jamie, is because he is good with money. Claudia usually spends her money on hot fudge sundaes, but Jamie has saved over twenty dollars.

Claudia plans for them to take a train to New York City, and stay in the Metropolitan Museum of Fine Arts. Hiding out, being hungry most of the time, and walking in order to save money, the two children experience the adventure of a lifetime. They also get involved in the mystery of an angel statue which was sold to the museum by Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Could the angel statue be a real Michelangelo? Only Mrs. Frankweiler knows for sure.

Will Claudia and Jamie get caught in the museum? Will they run out of money and need to go home before solving the mystery? Does their family really miss them? Can they find Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler? Will she be willing to help them, if they do find her?

I recently spent the night in The Museum of Ancient History, in Draper Utah, with two of my granddaughters. They call it Dino-snores. We slept right under the tail of a huge dinosaur. There is definitely something intriguing about sleeping in a museum, especially when the lights go out.

Jill Ammon Vanderwood
Author: Through the Rug
Through The Rug: Follow That Dog (Through the Rug)

I picked this book up at a local book store because I was going on vacation. I read a lot of complex books and such, in my profession so I was looking for something simple, easy to read, but very fun and enjoyable. WEll, this book accomplished all of the above.

The book is a great introductory book to a young person who is a pre-teen making a transition into chapter books. Ms. Konigsburg develops the characters well, especially the children, and I promise there are surprises around every corner.

My favorite character in the book has to be Mrs. Frankweiler. She is so mysterious only because she wants to be. I remember many times growing up wishing I had some all-important secret that I could keep to make me important. Then I wondered could I actually keep the secret? Mrs. Frankweiler doesn't just have one important secret she has file cabinets full.

I went to the national Naval Air Museum in Pensacola, FL right after reading this book, and found myself asking where would I hide in here.

I love this book, and would reccomend it to the young and the young at heart. Just when you think you know everything, trust me you know nothing in this book. Even at the end you understand that Mrs. Frankweiler is the master keeper of secrets.

Does anyone know what the title of the movie was that is based on this book?

I love this book. I saw it one day in the bookstore with my 7 year old who is a good reader. I bought it for her as a gift and re-read it first. I enjoyed it again as an adult and she has enjoyed it too. A good read with enough excitement and mystery to keep you turning the pages (but nothing scary).

I think this is one of the best books I read growing up. I can't say enough good things about it. It is a must read!

One of my childhood favorites! I recently went to the Met and just had to purchase and re-read the book!

I absolutely loved this book! I am 23, and can remember reading this book over and over as a pre-teen/young adult and loving it. I currently have it in my library and re-read it every once in a while. I am definitely keeping it for my children to read, and I would recommend it to anyone!

"From the Mixed-up Files...' is one of the great books for middle school-aged children. Years ago I enjoyed reading it after my daughter recommended it. This year I gave it to my niece. Not to be missed!

I want to go to New York to see this museum. This book was incredible and I loved the style of writing and the way the story unfolded letting each character have their own voice. I loved the notes at the end from the author. I really could tell she loved these characters and did care about their ever after. Every child should read this book. Wait, every adult should read this book!

I bought this book for a class that I was student teaching for, and to my dismay none of them heard of it. Thanks to standardized testing books like these collect dust. My class loved it, and I highly recommened having it on the bookshelf for future generations

I LOVE THIS BOOK! It is interesting and exciting with a bit of mystery and suspense, but it also has a soft side that lets you really connect with the author and characters.

I LOVE THIS BOOK! It is interesting and exciting with a bit of mystery and suspense, but it also has a soft side that lets you really connect with the author and characters.

I read this book as a child and absolutely loved it. This is one book I definitely want my children to read and I've made it a habit to buy it as gifts for my friends' children as well.

My third grade teacher bought me this book when I was struggling to learn how to read to help me want to learn. The story captured my attention and my enthusiasim for more learning. I was thrilled to rediscover this book and share it with my girls. My 3rd grader has enjoyed it so much that she has already shared it with a school friend and has others wanting to read it, too! It's still good after all these years!

What can any one say about this 35 year old Newbury award winner. A must read for any child visiting New York City for the first time. A great book to read aloud to the entire family. Enjoy!!

From The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler talks of two kids: Claudia, the straight-A student, and Jamie, a particularly annoying character who quite favors the word "Baloney."

The story starts out when Claudia and Jamie run away from home and they chose the Metropolitian Museum of Arts as their hideout. As they tour the museum they encounter a statue, one of the most beautiful things they have ever seen in their entire lives. Claudia was interested in who could have sculpted this wonderful piece of art, but guess what? There didn't include the name of the sculptor, and the museum didn't even say anything about where this statue came from. So Claudia and Jamie decide to do a little investigating, and they find out that a woman named Mrs. Frankweiler had sold it to the museum for a bargain price of $225. Could it be a fake? Will Claudia and Jamie ever track down Mrs. Frankweiler? Read this book to find out.

I will tell you that I personally did not enjoy this book as much as I thought I would have. I personally enjoy mystery stories, but this story was pretty different from the books I usually read. I may not have enjoyed it, but I will recommend this to readers that prefer a different kind zang in the mystery genre.

Like many of the reviewers here, I read this book as a child and loved and remembered it. I grew up and now I work at the Met and I have gotten the book for my kid.

When I told my kids the basic idea of this story, they were excited. When they heard it, they were mesmerized. They enjoyed it so much, we had to extend a bedtime so that they could hear the end. Very well done.

I loved this book at age 10 and just gave it to my 8 year old niece. It is a G-rated mystery about a sister and brother who "run away" from sub-urban Connecticut and hide out in the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. How they get there and hide out inside is entertaining. Along the way, they get involved in a mystery. No violence, no sex, very innocently entertaining. It was written in the 1960's so the setting might be somewhat dated to the text-messaging 10-year-olds of today. I would set that aside if I was you - it is a fun read for a young person who has moved on from "childrens books" but it not ready for Young Adult fiction.

I read this when i was about 9 or 10. I thought it was amazing. I loved how the author describes Michaelangelo's "David." This book is one of the first teach me how to enjoy amazing literature, and not just read the book, but analyze it's meaning.

Enjoy,
Loran

I read this book as a child and have never forgotten it. I was THRILLED to discover it again and have since bought several copies to pass on to the children in my life. Such a cute and interesting story...helped fulfill a fantasy of mine of hiding out in a museum! Pass it on...this is a great, great book.

Not knowing 'From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler' was and is a favorite book of our granddaughter, we purchased a copy as part of her Christmas gift. When she opened it and said it was a book she had read and reread many times, I thought for sure we would have to make a book return. "I love this book," she said, "and I'm keeping it so I can finally have my own copy." Based on her reaction, I think I can safely say this is sure to be a great read!

Not knowing 'From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler' was and is a
favorite book of our granddaughter, we purchased a copy as part of her Christmas gift.
When she opened it and said it was a book she had read and reread many times,
I thought for sure we would have to make a book return. "No way,
I love this book," she said, "and I'm keeping it so I can finally have my own copy."
Based on her reaction, I think I can safely say this is sure to be a great read!

I just bought this book for my 4th grader and had to read it again myself. It was one of my favorite books as a 4th-5th grader.

I read this book as a child. I thought of it often over the years. One of the only books that I remember to such exacting detail. I even remebered the name of the book but not the authors name. After taking my son to the Art Institute in Chicago, It made me want to find the book for him. The mystery was fun. The idea of sleeping in Marie Antionettes bed,taking baths in the fountain is the part that captures the imagination forever. I still want to hide away at the museum.Too bad Hot Fudge Sundaes cost way more than 40 cents and Woolworths is gone. However,the book will stay with you forever.

This book is great so far. It is full of mystery and adventure. Twelve year old Claudia has run away with her brother Jamie to the Metropilan Muesum of Art. Claudia decided to bring along her brother Jamie with her because he has a lot of money. While they are there at the muesum, Claudia and Jamie come across a great mystery in the muesum that is all over the newspaper. If you would like to find out what this great mystery read this book! Teachers it is also a great book to read with your class. Also edutactional!

This Newbery award winner is about Claudia and Jamie, two kids who run away from home. They leave the suburbs and head to New York where they stay in none other than the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They sleep in an old bed in the French section. They hide in the bathrooms. They even take baths in a fountain (and get paid for it, sort of)! But when a new exhibit comes in, the fun really starts. The Angel is beautiful, exquisite, and mysterious. The question: is the sculpture really done by Michelangelo? Claudia and Jamie will do anything to find out. I think I loved the book mostly because I really liked the idea of living in a museum. This book is good for all ages, but I expected it to be longer.

I remember this from my own childhood favorites and am now reading it with my daughter--
A great story with Humor and Mystery!

I read this in the 3rd grade back in 1978. It was always one of my favorite childhood books. Just recently, a friend of mine gave me an old copy and I reread it. It brought me right back!

It made me interested in art as well. I could always draw, but after reading this book, I thought more about appreciating it as well. The first time I ever went to the Metropolitan Museum in NY, the book was all I could think of. I am actually going to purchase it for my 4th grade son.

This book has stood out in my mind throughout the years as one of my favorite books I read when I was a kid. This is because of the wonderful story that was so different than anything I was reading.

This is the story of Claudia and her brother Jamie. Claudia is upset because, being the only girl in the family, she feels that her brothers just sit around while she does all of the work. She decides to run away and takes Jamie with her.

They run away to the Metropolitan museum of art. They have to try to survive on the little money they have and not be caught be the museum staff.

While in the museum they see "The Angel." This sculpture contains the very interesting mystery which is sustained throughout the book.

This book was so much fun to read. I have read it at least three times. Jamie and Claudia's relationship make the book so funny and the storyline is so great that it makes this book hard to put down.