Saturday, April 7, 2007

More on "From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler"

It seems as though we all love this book. I just finished reading it for the first time since elementary school. I don't think I ever finished it back then, but today i am in love with it. It's everything that I was hoping for when I started this Newbery project (not to sound too dramatic). I guess we're all looking for the same thing Claudia was, whether we knew it or not...that we would somehow be different after reading all of these books. Maybe that's why we start any new book or project or career.

Just a tip, I have the 35th anniversary edition of the book. There is a great section in the back by Konigsburg that talks about the Cupid sculpture that is mentioned in the book. I guess that the exact thing that Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler was afraid of happening to "Angel" actually happened years later to the Cupid statue in a random case of life imitating art! Beyond that, it goes into other little factual tidbits about the book. The drawings in the book are actual drawings of Konigsburg's children! She mentions stories she's written about her own grandchildren as well. I found the whole thing to be a great ending to this story.

2 comments:

Valerie said...

Oh cool! I just started reading this book to my son two days ago. I have fond memories of it from my own childhood, but haven't read it in many years. I'm glad to see your good review of it!

Sandy D. said...

I just finished it and now I want your edition! This book is definitely a "keeper" for me, so I'm going to get a better copy and give my 25 cent copy away (also I do not like the cover! WHY would Dell Yearling books use a different cover for their 1977 edition when the original was so wonderful?).