From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg
Reading level: Ages 9-12

When suburban Claudia Kincaid decides to run away, she knows she doesn't just want to run from somewhere, she wants to run to somewhere -- to a place that is comfortable, beautiful, and, preferably, elegant. She chooses the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Knowing that her younger brother Jamie has money and thus can help her with a serious cash-flow problem, she invites him along.

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Once settled into the museum, Claudia and Jamie find themselves caught up in the mystery of an angel statue that the museum purchased at auction for a bargain price of $225. The statue is possibly an early work of the Renaissance master, Michelangelo, and therefore worth millions. Is it? Or isn't it? Claudia is determined to find out. Her quest leads her to Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, the remarkable old woman who sold the statue, and to some equally remarkable discoveries about herself.

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.