Every once in a while, I read a children’s classic I somehow never got assigned in school or got to on my own, just to see what all the hype was about. I don’t know how I missed From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, but I wish I’d gotten to enjoy it back then.
The book tells the story of Claudia and Jamie, siblings who run away from home (at older sister Claudia’s behest) and decide to live at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. Carrying their clothes in instrument cases and using the nickels Jamie has won by cheating his best friend at cards, the children are surprisingly successful at evading discovery in the museum. While there, they become intrigued by the museum’s new acquisition, a statue that may be a long-lost and forgotten work by Michelangelo. While experts and scholars debate the work’s authenticity, Claudia and Jamie become determined to answer the question for themselves. Their investigation eventually leads them to the mysterious woman who sold the statue in the first place, the titular widow Mrs. Frankweiler.
Even without allowances made for a children’s book, the novel is full of humorous moments and clever twists. I especially enjoyed that Konigsburg felt no need to go over the top and have these two ordinary children suddenly and inexplicably outsmart all the adults around them. Konigsburg allows them to just be kids, with funny idea and huge misconceptions and all.