Publisher: Atheneum Books
First Published: January 1, 1967
Main Genre: Children’s Fiction
Pages: 176
Format: Paperback
Source: Hyde Bros. Books (a local Fort Wayne bookstore)
PURCHASE AT:
Amazon / Barnes and Noble \ Thrift Books
Synopsis:
(From Goodreads)
After reading this book, I guarantee that you will never visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art (or any wonderful, old cavern of a museum) without sneaking into the bathrooms to look for Claudia and her brother Jamie. They’re standing on the toilets, still, hiding until the museum closes and their adventure begins. Such is the impact of timeless novels… they never leave us.
E. L. Konigsburg won the 1967 Newbery Medal for this tale of how Claudia and her brother run away to the museum in order to teach their parents a lesson. Little do they know that mystery awaits!
There were books I missed when I was younger, and this was one of them. Life was too busy lifing. I’d heard great things, found a cheap copy at a local bookstore (mentioned above), and added it to my shelves. It sat there for a while until I wanted a short read—and this one stood out.
Main Thoughts:
As mentioned, I did not read this as a child. This book would have given me ideas, not good ones because the main characters run away from home. Mystery, mayhem, and a bit of heart ensue in this wonderfully written book. I loved so much of what was done by Konigsburg. She captured a lot of the elements of a child wanting to know there is something special about them and ultimately wanting to feel different within their life. This book gets major kudos from me for feeling so down-to-earth, which is probably the reason I fell in love with it. Major props to our writer.
FAVORITE ASPECT:
I loved the journey of the two kiddos, Jamie and Claudia, to get to Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler’s house and the story that unfolded once that occurred. The shift from the personalities of each character for this one moment because of a mission was fun to read because it read so authentically, but this wasn’t my exact favorite aspect of this book. The favorite aspect was the amount of truth of a childhood that was encompassed in this. That desire to be more. That desire to be different. Maybe even in a weird way to be seen. Konigsburg really puts emotions on the paper that reminded me of how I actually felt in my own childhood. I applaud Konigsburg for accomplishing this, as it is no small feat, especially since I am not a child any longer.
WORST ASPECT:
Was there one? Give me a minute? Oh yes, there was only one for me. This was so minor. Claudia is a grammar snob. I find grammar snobs to be deplorable. Language is often used to keep people out of vital conversations and Claudia just kept correcting Jamie throughout the book. Yes, that is a consistent personality, but meh I will never appreciate a grammar snob.
FAVORITE CHARACTER:
Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, OF COURSE! While most of the story is Claudia and Jamie, by far the best character is the eccentric character in the title. LOVED HER! I can’t see anyone not appreciating her zaniness/eccentricity. Made for the ending to be very fun.
WORST CHARACTER:
OH! So much of this book focused on Claudia and Jamie, so much of it. There were side characters like classmates, mention of parents, guards, and those sort of things. The vast majority though ends up being 6 characters that stand a bit more in the foreground of the story: Claudia, Jamie, Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, Saxonburg, and the butler. The butler was a snitch, but in a fun way, so I will say maybe he was the worst. None of the important characters felt bad here, but this is probably because it was a short book with a good focus on its main characters that had little flaw in them, except that grammar police crap. It isn’t every day I can finish a book and go, “hey I didn’t hate anyone.”
FINAL THOUGHTS:
The short nature of this book helped to remind me that if I would read even just 20-30 pages a night, I would always finish a book within a month for most of the books that I have on my TBR. I read the 162 pages of the main book within a week and that was skipping a day of reading. I found myself able to just read whatever amount of pages I wanted and then would often go to bed for the night. The fact that I kept coming back each night for the most part let me know that I enjoyed this tale and wanted to know what would happen to our main two characters. I wanted to know about “Angel” as well. Only a decent writer engages you and makes you come back after putting a book down. I 100% see why this won a Newbury Medal. I am glad, even if I am no longer a child, that I finally took the time to read this classic children’s literature book. It was worth the journey.
E.L. Konigsburg has won 2 Newbury Medals for Children’s literature. The first was the book reviewed, but she won a second for the book “The View from Saturday” in 1997. What a wonderful feat to accomplish not once but twice in your life!!!
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