From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
Author:
Genre: Children's Books
Book Type: Paperback
Author:
Genre: Children's Books
Book Type: Paperback
As a child I remember loving this book a ton. I thought there was so much adventure and mystery here. I was really excited to read it with my 10 year old son (we read it as a family). We all thought it was a bit lackluster and I think a lot of it is because of how dated the book is. This is not one of those books that ages gracefully and remains relevant.
When I read this as a child I remember thinking the adventure of living in a museum would be amazing and I admired how Claudia and James made it all work out. This time through that seemed kind of silly and lame; there is no way you'd be able to do that in a museum today. My son ended up thinking that was âboring and sillyâ and couldn't get past the logistics of it.
As an adult I think the ending of the book had more impact on me than the rest of the story. I don't think when I read this the first time I grasped how important the ending was. I also think that the gravity of the ending was also missed by my son this time around, but my husband did appreciate it.
Unfortunately a lot of time was spent explaining archaic terminology and processes to my son because this book is just SO dated. Some of this was of interest to him and some was not. In the end I don't think anyone in the family liked how dated the book was. I supposed some could say it's a nostalgic look into the past, but that really doesn't fit the tone of the story.
Overall everyone in the family decided that this was an âokayâ book but not great. Complaints were that it was too slow, too boring, and just old sounding. My son thought the âliving in a museum idea was kind of neat but sillyâ. He also didn't think it was nice of the kids to leave their parents worried like that :-) In the end this is one of those books I kind of wish I hadn't re-read as an adult because it's not nearly as awesome and adventurous as I remembered. This just isn't one of those books that stand the test of time well.
When I read this as a child I remember thinking the adventure of living in a museum would be amazing and I admired how Claudia and James made it all work out. This time through that seemed kind of silly and lame; there is no way you'd be able to do that in a museum today. My son ended up thinking that was âboring and sillyâ and couldn't get past the logistics of it.
As an adult I think the ending of the book had more impact on me than the rest of the story. I don't think when I read this the first time I grasped how important the ending was. I also think that the gravity of the ending was also missed by my son this time around, but my husband did appreciate it.
Unfortunately a lot of time was spent explaining archaic terminology and processes to my son because this book is just SO dated. Some of this was of interest to him and some was not. In the end I don't think anyone in the family liked how dated the book was. I supposed some could say it's a nostalgic look into the past, but that really doesn't fit the tone of the story.
Overall everyone in the family decided that this was an âokayâ book but not great. Complaints were that it was too slow, too boring, and just old sounding. My son thought the âliving in a museum idea was kind of neat but sillyâ. He also didn't think it was nice of the kids to leave their parents worried like that :-) In the end this is one of those books I kind of wish I hadn't re-read as an adult because it's not nearly as awesome and adventurous as I remembered. This just isn't one of those books that stand the test of time well.
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