FROM THE MIXED-UP FILES OF MRS/BASIL E.FRANKWEILER
ELEVATOR PITCH LINE
A twelve-year-old girl
Claudia feels unappreciated at home, plans to run way with her brother Jamie,
and recruits him. They run to Metropolitan Museum of Art and there discover a mystery
of the art world, which fascinates her and overwhelms the adventure.
SUMMARY
Twelve-year-old Claudia Kinkaid decides to run away from home with
the help of her little brother, Jamie. With Jamie's $27 dollars and Claudia's
smarts, they end up at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
They reach
the Met and fall into quite the routine: they wander around and join tour
groups during the day, hide in weird exhibits at night… Their adventure gets
way more adventuresome though, when they discover the hubbub around a recent
museum acquisition, a marble statue of an angel that may or may not be carved
by Michelangelo. Obviously, a twelve-year-old and a
nine-year-old are going to solve a big mystery in the art world that all these
historians and museum officials are stumped by.
All their
time spent in the library and sleuthing around the museum can only get them so
far, so they track down the person who sold the mysterious statue to the museum
in the first place—one Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. When they get to her big old
house, they ask Mrs. Frankweiler about the angel statue and she agrees to let
them know what's up on two conditions: (1) they must find the file on the angel
statue in her filing room in under one hour, and (2) they must tell her all the
details of how they ran away.
The kids
are up to the challenge. They go through all those mixed-up files find out that
it's true. The angel statue was made by the great Michelangelo! Mrs.
Frankweiler says that she'll give them the files on the angel statue in her
will, but that they can't tell anyone in the meantime before she dies. Claudia
wouldn't want to let anyone else in on her secret anyway.
The kids
can go home feeling like they've done something special, and after the kids
have left, both they and Mrs. Frankweiler contemplate whether or not they'll
visit each other in the future.
INTERESTING SCENES TO ILLUSTRATE
·
The
scene where Claudia sends his another illiterate young brother to Jamie’s room
as a messenger to deliver a list of “secret runaway duo” instructions that she
pinned to his pajamas. Jamie reads them carefully and memorizes them.
·
Claudia
and Jamie trying to blend into the background of massive/crowded New York City
like spies with their musical instrument cases stuffed all their supplies
(after they get off their school bus in random stop)
·
Claudia
and Jamie taking bath at the fountain in the museum’s restaurant and collecting
“income” from the coins on the floor
·
Kids
hiding from the guards at night in the bathroom standing on the toilet
·
Kids
hiding from the guards at night pretending they’re one of the sculptures
·
Kids
sleeping in an old, elegant bed from the sixteenth century among massive museum
collection
·
Kids
blending into walk-in tours during the day
·
Kids
getting food from automat with the trumpet and violin cases with their laundry
at night
·
The
scene where Claudia cries because she finally feels “special” after she finds
the prove in the office with many many filling files in Mrs. Frankweiler’s
house
MAIN CHARACTERS
Claudia Kincaid:
12, oldest of
four children and the only girl so she sets
the table and empties the dishwasher. She is straight-A student,
a critic of English grammar, and a good planner. She is all about making things
happen, and it’s her actions that propel the story along. Emotional. Boss, controlling, the seeker of secrets, sensitive
Jamie Kincaid:
9, is the third child and the
middle boy, in fourth grade, quiet and frugal. He
cheats at the card game War, playing with his best friend for money on the
school bus daily. Calming force, the joker
(quick on his feet)
TIME SETTINGS
1960s America middle class
generation, New York City
