Wednesday, March 4, 2009

From The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

I just got done reading a really cute book for my Children's Literature class. I thought it was a very clever book. It was an easy read and had some really chuckle worthy moments. To me what made this book so good was that it was a cute clever book, but then at the end it was one that made me think a bit too. The story is about the adventures of a young boy and girl who run away from home and live in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York for a week without being discovered. During this week away from home they find themselves drawn to a new statue that the museum had acquired and to the mystery behind whether or not this little statue was truly carved by the artist Michelangelo.


There were a few quotes at the end of the book that I thought were very good, so here are a few of them.

"The adventures is over. Everything gets over, and nothing is ever enough. Except the part you carry with you. It's the same as going on a vacation taking pictures so that when they get home they can show their friends evidence that they had a good time. they don't pause to let the vacation enter inside of them and take that home." - pg.140

"I could tell that she felt happy. Happiness is excitement that has found a settling down place, but there is always a little corner that keeps flapping around." - pg. 151

"Claudia said, 'But Mrs. Frankweiler, you should want to learn one new thing everyday....' 'No,' I answered 'I don't agree with that. I think you should learn, of course, and some days you must learn a great deal. But you should also have days when allow what is already in you to swell up inside of you until it touches everything. And you can feel it inside you. If you never take the time out to let that happen, then you just accumulate facts, and they begin to rattle around inside of you. You can make noise with them, but never really feel anything with them. It's hallow.'"


Anyway, just thought I'd share that little bit with you! :)



2 comments:

Lyd Stew said...

I just read that a while back- I thought it was cute too. I thought it was a strange name... I think I could have come up with something a little shorter, but clever book. Isn't it the one where they live in the museum for a while and run away?

Amy Jo Romney said...

Wow, I totally forgot about that book. I think I read it forever ago when I was young. I liked it I think. Ever since then I have always want to try to stay over night in a meuseum. But I have never really been near any museum beside the teton flood museun. I don't think that would be so fun to sleep in.
i love the quote about happiness.