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

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler is a novel by E.L. Konigsburg that won the 1968 Newbery Medal.

Related Topics:
E.L. Konigsburg - Newbery Medal

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The book tells the story of precocious Claudia, a 12-year-old girl who feels underappreciated by her parents. She decides to run away from home just long enough to show her family what they would be missing without her. Unfortunately, she doesn't enjoy hardship or discomfort, which makes traditional running away problematic. A plan is hatched to stay at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. She persuades her younger brother Jamie to accompany her: he's quiet, but most importantly, he has a secret stash of cash he accumulated by cheating at card games with his best friend.

Related Topics:
Metropolitan Museum of Art - New York City

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Much of the early part of the novel details how Claudia and Jamie settle in at the museum: blending in with school groups on field trips during the day, hiding in the restroom at closing time, and emerging at night to bathe in the fountain and sleep on antique beds. During their stay, they become fascinated with the newest exhibit: a beautiful statue of an angel that may or may not have been crafted by Michelangelo. Their dwindling resources of time and money are spent trying to uncover the secret of the statue, hidden somewhere in the voluminous and erratically organized files of the statue's previous owner, Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.

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