Having once refused to do a huge, ugly filing job, where everything was filed numerically and by hand (way back in 1975 when the dinosaurs still roamed the face of the earth, LOL), and after having worked on computers in some form or another since 1973 (can you say mag card typewriter?), I find the thought of mixed-up files very disturbing. I shudder at the thought of my files being thrown all helter skelter (somewhat like my bedroom right this moment). What troubles me more is that we're discussing a book that I had NEVER in my life before heard of. It appears to have been THEE thing to read, and yet both my kids and I missed it. So, I wanted to know more about this book and what in the world was the list talking about. I found it is still available through Amazon.com (not a commercial, just my preferred source other than Ebay), and I was able to glean the following about the book (in case there are any others here on the list who had dinosaurs as pets and can't figure out what in the hell all the hubbub is about): From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg (Illustrator) List Price: $5.50 Our Price: $5.50 Used Price: $1.91 (For what it's worth, I've recently tried their used books option and had great success.) Anyway, the reviews of the book on the Amazon site include: Editorial Reviews Amazon.com "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!" Book Description Read by Jan Miner Two cassettes / 3 hours 32 mins. Twelve-year-old Claudia Kincaid is restlesses--she wants to do something different, such as running away from her comfortable suburban life in Connecticut for a while. But not just any place will do because Claudia likes her comforts. It needs to be a place with a bit of luxury and some good company. Ans she wants to be gone just long enough to teach her parents to appreciate her. With careful planning, Claudia stages her own secret live-in at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, taking along her nine-year-old brother, not so much for company, but mostly because he is a miser and will have money. What happens to Claudia and Jamie, and the changes that come about in this sister-brother duo, prove greater than either had bargained for. --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition. Ingram Claudia and Jamie run away from home and wind up living at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. There they are privy to the introduction of a new statue and immediately are suspicious of its authenticity. 1968 Newbery Medal; Library of Congress Children's Book of the Year; ALA Notable Children's Book. From the Publisher When Claudia decided to run away, she planned very carefully She would be gone just long enough to teach her parents a lesson in Claudia appreciation. And she would live in comfort-at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She invited her brother Jamie to go, too, mostly because he was a miser and would have money The two took up residence in the museum right on schedule. But once the fun of settling in was over, Claudia had two unexpected problems: She felt just the same, and she wanted to feel different; and she found a statue at the museum so beautiful she could not go home until she had discovered its maker, a question that baffled even the experts. The former owner of the statue was Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler And without her help Claudia might never have found a way to go home. About the Author E.L. Konigsburg has never spent the night in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, like the heroine of her Newbery Medal-winning novel, From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, does. But she was born in New York, and she is a part-time painter. In fact she's done the illustrations for a number of books. Konigsburg did not grow up in the city. Her family moved to Pennsylvania when she was young, and most of her childhood was spent in small towns in that state. When she attended Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, she majored in chemistry, and after graduation she worked as a chemist, doing research and teaching. It wasn't until after she was married and had three children in school that Konigsburg began writing books. What is exceptional about Konigsburg is her ability to communicate convincingly from the point of view of a child. As the reviewer for The Horn Book said of Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth, "The story is full...of situations completely in tune with the imaginations of ten-year-old girls." One of Konigsburg's characters, Ben in (George), has an ornery inner voice called George that seems to have come from the mind of a real child. Konigsburg, who now lives with her family in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, is the author of many books for children with a wide variety of subjects and settings. One of them is a novelized biography of Eleanor of Aquitaine; several are collections of short stories; another is a historical novel about the Mona Lisa; and the rest are wonderful novels. Most of her books were named American Library Association Notable Children's Books, and a number were chosen by The Horn Book magazine for its Fanfare List. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler won the Newbery Medal and Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth was named a Newbery Honor Book. I sure do miss my old dinosaur! ===== Indigo Nights [log in to unmask] Looking for a job? Try: http://victorian.fortunecity.com/stanmer/414 __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Send FREE video emails in Yahoo! Mail! http://promo.yahoo.com/videomail/ ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . 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