From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg (1967) 162 pages

I'd been meaning to read this Newbery Award winner for the past dozen or so years, ever since my daughter enjoyed it in grade school. Claudia, the oldest of four children (and the only daughter) is coming up on age twelve, feeling unappreciated and bored with life. She saves her money and recruits one of her younger brothers, Jamie (age 9), to accompany her in running away from home. (Jamie has saved almost all of his allowance, plus he regularly wins money in ongoing card games of War with his friend.) He agrees, and with extra underwear and socks stashed in their musical instrument cases, they take a train to New York and take up residence in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They're smart kids who have pre-planned how to avoid detection. The reader is kept alert by the periodic insertions of the narrator, whose identity we learn near the end of the story. I can empathize with Claudia's general blah feeling about her life, and I appreciate how the story wraps up.