Module 7: Frindle

Bibliographic Citation: Clements, A. (1996). Frindle. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

Summary: Nick Allen decides to create a new word “frindle” meaning pen because of a lesson about words that came from his fifth grade teacher. It catches on like wild fire with the students at his school and quickly become the popular “it” word that everyone wants to use. The problem arises with his stern teacher, Mrs. Granger, who values the dictionary and the origin of the words and attempts to stop the nonsense around the word. The new idea of using “frindle” goes out of control and takes Nick into an adventure in which he learns lessons from.

Impression: Peace, Love & a Must Read!
A great easy and quick read for upper elementary students. It has a universal appeal and many young minds can relate to Nick’s problem of making a quick decision in which he doesn’t stop to think through or to think about how it can affect others. I appreciate that it has a happy ending giving that peaceful feeling in which his teacher, who chooses to play the antagonist in the situation, ends up revealing that she had her lesson for Nick in her mind the whole time. I love that the teacher wins and the student too!


Reviews: Nicholas Allen, a sharp, creative, independent thinker starts fifth grade looking for a way to sabotage his Language Arts class. The teacher, Mrs. Granger, is a legend, and he believes her when she states that it is the people who decide what words go into the dictionary. Picking up a dropped pen triggers a brilliant idea. He coins a new word for pen-frindle. It's all for fun, but frindle catches on and Nick finds himself on the "Late Show" and "Good Morning America" explaining his new word. Readers will chuckle from beginning to end as they recognize themselves and their classrooms in the cast of characters. A remarkable teacher's belief in the power of words shines through the entire story, as does a young man's tenacity in proving his point. Outstanding and witty.

- Bomboy,P. (1996). Grades 3-6: Fiction [Review of the book Frindle]. School Library Journal, 42(9), 201.


The author has created a fresh, imaginative plot that will have readers smiling all the way through, if not laughing out loud. Nick, a champion time-waster, faces the challenge of his life when confronted with the toughest teacher in school, Mrs. Granger. Always counted on to filibuster the impending test or homework assignment away, Nick has met his match in "Dangerous Grangerous," who can spot a legitimate question in a second and has no patience with the rest. In answer to "Like, who says that d-o-g means the thing that goes 'woof' and wags its tail? Who says so?" she replies, "You do, Nicholas. You and me and everyone in this class and this school and this town and this state and this country." And thus is born frindle, Nick's new name for pen, promising and delivering a classic student-teacher battle along the lines of — but far funnier than — Avi's Nothing But the Truth (Orchard). The battle assumes the proportions of a tall tale, and although outrageous and hilarious, it's all plausible, and every bit works from the premise to the conclusion. The brisk narration is rapid-fire, and Nick is one of the most charming troublemakers since Soup. The merchandising future of this one is too terrible to contemplate; the cutting-edge gift this Christmas has got to be a frindle.

– Watson, E.S. (1996). Frindle. Horn Book Magazine, 72(6), 732-733.


Use in Library: Orally state sentences with nonsense words and ask students to apply reading strategies in order to discover the meaning of the words. Illustrate a picture of anything of the students’ choice and label it with a their own nonsense word to put on display with a Frindle library display.

Module 7: After Tupac and D Foster

Citation: Woodson, J. (2008). After Tupac and D Foster. New York, NY: G. P. Putman’s Sons.

Summary: Two young best friend girls are surprised with a unique and fresh person entering their lives.  Her name is D Foster and she’s an easy-going and free-to-roam girl who quickly fits into their friendship and bonds with them.  They call themselves “Three the Hard Way” and they are all growing up and facing issues going on in each of their pre-teen lives.  Rapper Tupac Shakur’s music is easily relatable to D Foster and while the girls are learning about life they enjoy listening to his lyrics and melodies. But although D Foster is their close friend, the girls realize she still has a mystery about her and her foster child life.  A mystery they want to know more about.

Impression: Peace, Love and a Fun Read!

I love this story because I felt like it took me back to my own childhood.  You know those free from worry days, but on strict rules all the while some of my friends were those D Foster types of free to roam and do whatever they please.  I was that main character and was able to relate to her even more because of growing up on Tupac’s music. I would say it’s a fun read because it touches on so many topics of interest to young readers: family members in jail, being a foster child, abiding by parent rules, and friendships.  

Reviews: Gr 6-10-- D Foster, Neeka, and an unnamed narrator grow from being 11 to 13 with Tupac Shakur's music, shootings, and legal troubles as the backdrop. Neeka and the narrator have lived on the same block forever and are like sisters, but foster child D shows up during the summer of 1994, while she is out "roaming." D immediately finds a place in the heart of the other girls, and the "Three the Hard Way" bond over their love of Tupac's music. It seems especially relevant to D, who sees truth in his lyrics, having experienced the hard life herself in group homes and with multiple foster families. Woodson's spare, poetic, language and realistic Queens, NY, street vernacular reveal a time and a relationship, each chapter a vignette depicting an event in the lives of the girls and evoking mood more than telling a story. In this urban setting, there are, refreshingly, caring adults and children playing on the street instead of drug dealers on every corner. Readers are right on the block with bossy mothers, rope-jumping girls, and chess-playing elders. With Tupac's name and picture on the cover, this slim volume will immediately appeal to teens, and the emotions and high-quality writing make it a book well worth recommending. By the end, readers realize that, along with the girls, they don't really know D at all. As she says, "I came on this street and y'all became my friends. That's the D puzzle." And readers will find it a puzzle well worth their time.

Vikstrom, K. (2008). After Tupac and D Foster. School Library Journal, 54(4), 154.

Gr. 6–9.“The summer before D Foster’s real mama came and took her away, Tupac wasn’t dead yet.” From this first line in her quiet, powerful novel, Woodson cycles backward through the events that lead to dual tragedies: a friend’s departure and a hero’s death. In a close-knit African American neighborhood in Queens, New York, the unnamed narrator lives across from her best friend, Neeka. Then D Foster wanders onto the block, and the three 11-year-old girls quickly become inseparable. Because readers know from the start where the plot is headed, the characters and the community form the focus here. A subplot about Neeka’s older brother, a gay man serving prison time after being framed for a hate crime, sometimes threatens to overwhelm the girls’ story. But Woodson balances the plotlines with subtle details, authentic language, and rich development. Beautifully capturing the girls’ passage from childhood to adolescence, this is a memorable, affecting novel about the sustaining power of love and friendship and each girl’s developing faith in her own “BigPurpose.”

Engberg, G. (2008). After Tupac and D Foster. Booklist, 104(11), 51.

Use in Library: -Perfect book to pair with a poetry unit for middle school ages.  Tupac’s musical lyrics are poetry and students will be easily interested with this particular poet.  Students could also write poems to go along with the book possibly from the characters perspectives.

Module 6: Lost and Found

Citation: Jeffers, O. (2005). Lost and found. New York, NY: Philomel Books.

Summary: A story about friendship with beautiful illustrations. It begins with a little boy who finds a penguin and believes it is lost and wants to go home. The boy decides to take him home on his row boat and so the adventure to the South Pole begins. As he arrives at the destination and drops off the penguin, the penguin still has the same demeanor. As the boy rows away he realizes that it is not because the penguin is lost as to why he has a sad expression it is because he is lonely. The boy and the penguin’s friendship has begun.

Impression: Peace, Love & a CUTE Read!

This is one of those books that makes your heart melt.  It surely gives a peaceful feeling to the reader because it is so cute that these two very different creatures can come together to become friends.

Reviews: PreS-Gr 2-- "Once there was a boy who found a penguin at his door." From this opening line to the very end, this gentle story of friendship will capture young readers' imaginations. The child assumes that the penguin is lost, which is logical since the lumpy black-and-white bird does look awfully forlorn. Determined to help the creature find its way home, he discovers that penguins come from the South Pole, and the two board a rowboat. During their long sea voyage, the youngster passes the time by telling his companion many stories. However, when they finally reach their destination, he realizes that the penguin was not lost, but just lonely and looking for a friend. The soft watercolor paintings feature simple shapes and a palette that ranges from pale to bold. The boy has a square body, stick legs, and a round head with tiny dot eyes and an expressive mouth. For much of the tale, the characters are placed on crisp white backdrops, while colorful ocean scenes depict their journey. The text's subtle humor and the appealing visuals make this title a wonderful read-aloud.

Gallagher, G. (2006). Lost and found. School Library Journal, 52(1), 103.

A lad finds a penguin on his doorstep and resolutely sets out to return it in this briefly told import. Eventually, he ends up rowing it all the way back to Antarctica, braving waves and storms, filling in the time by telling it stories. But then, feeling lonely after he drops his silent charge off, he belatedly realizes that it was probably lonely too, and turns back to find it. Seeing Jeffers's small, distant figures in wide, simply brushed land- and sea-scapes, young viewers will probably cotton to the penguin's feelings before the boy himself does--but all's well that ends well, and the reunited companions are last seen adrift together in the wide blue sea. Readers who (inexplicably) find David Lawrence's Pickle and Penguin (2004) just too weird may settle in more comfortably with this--slightly--less offbeat friendship tale. (Picture book. 6-8)

Lost and found. (2005). Kirkus Reviews, 73(23), 1276.

Use in Library: -This book can be used as a read aloud with the very young elementary age.  It can also be used in various themed units such as friendship or emotions. Little ones will appreciate the happy ending, seeing the steps leading up to starting a friendship, and can relate to the characters’ feelings.

Module 5: One Crazy Summer

Citation: Williams-Garcia, R. (2010). One crazy summer. New York, NY: Amistad.

Summary: Told through the eyes of 11 year old Delphine who, along with her two younger sisters Vonetta and Fern, get sent in the summer in 1968 to spend time with their mother who left after the youngest sister was born. From the beginning the girls feel unwelcome and their mother, Cecile makes it known they are a bother to her daily routine of writing poems and printing them in her kitchen workspace. She is unmotherly to them and every day they are sent to the Black Panther's free breakfast program in Oakland.  They spend their days at the community center doing activities provided by Black Panthers and learning more and more each day. Hesitantly, the girls go often and although they do not share the views of their peers and women who run the camp they begin to understand the power of and lessons from the Black Panthers. Through time their opinions change and when the ending presents a moment in which their mother's attitude towards them changes it paints a happy ending.

Impression: Peace, Love and Historical Read!

Yep, this one is a peaceful read because of the warm fuzzy feeling you get after the girls and their non-emotion mother finally make that connection, not to mention it is all told through the reader learning a little more about the Black Panther’s movement in history.  I love how the girls’ strong characters are beautifully envisioned through the Williams-Garcia’s descriptions. This is one well written book!

Reviews: Gr 4-7--It is 1968, and three black sisters from Brooklyn have been put on a California-bound plane by their father to spend a month with their mother, a poet who ran off years before and is living in Oakland. It's the summer after Black Panther founder Huey Newton was jailed and member Bobby Hutton was gunned down trying to surrender to the Oakland police, and there are men in berets shouting "Black Power" on the news. Delphine, 11, remembers her mother, but after years of separation she's more apt to believe what her grandmother has said about her, that Cecile is a selfish, crazy woman who sleeps on the street. At least Cecile lives in a real house, but she reacts to her daughters' arrival without warmth or even curiosity. Instead, she sends the girls to eat breakfast at a center run by the Black Panther Party and tells them to stay out as long as they can so that she can work on her poetry. Over the course of the next four weeks, Delphine and her younger sisters, Vonetta and Fern, spend a lot of time learning about revolution and staying out of their mother's way. Emotionally challenging and beautifully written, this book immerses readers in a time and place and raises difficult questions of cultural and ethnic identity and personal responsibility. With memorable characters (all three girls have engaging, strong voices) and a powerful story, this is a book well worth reading and rereading.

Markson, T. (2010). One crazy summer. School Library Journal, 56(3), 170.

Eleven-year-old Delphine has only a few fragmented memories of her mother, Cecile, a poet who wrote verses on walls and cereal boxes, played smoky jazz records, and abandoned the family in Brooklyn after giving birth to her third daughter. In the summer of 1968, Delphine’s father decides that seeing Cecile is “something whose time had come,” and Delphine boards a plane with her sisters to Cecile’s home in Oakland. What they find there is far from their California dreams of Disneyland and movie stars. “No one told y’all to come out here,” Cecile says. “No one wants you out here making a mess, stopping my work.” Like the rest of her life, Cecile’s work is a mystery conducted behind the doors of the kitchen that she forbids her daughters to enter. For meals, Cecile sends the girls to a Chinese restaurant or to the local, Black Panther–run community center, where Cecile is known as Sister Inzilla and where the girls begin to attend youth programs. Regimented, responsible, strong-willed Delphine narrates in an unforgettable voice, but each of the sisters emerges as a distinct, memorable character, whose hard-won, tenuous connections with their mother build to an aching, triumphant conclusion. Set during a pivotal moment in African American history, this vibrant novel shows the subtle ways that political movements affect personal lives; but just as memorable is the finely drawn, universal story of children reclaiming a reluctant parent’s love.

Engberg, G. (2010). One crazy summer. Booklist, 106(11), 61. .

Use in Library: -A great book to pair with a history lesson about movements.  A guest speaker could also be invited to speak to students about the life and times of the late 1960’s and early 1970’s.  This would help students to understand and make the connections that the time period in which this story takes place in was not that long ago.

Module 5: Lockdown

Citation: Myers, W. D., (2010). Lockdown. New York, NY: Amistad.

Summary: Maurice “Reese” Anderson is a fourteen year old boy who has made a wrong choice in life and is in a juvenile prison.  He is serving his time for stealing prescription pads and selling them to a drug dealer.  It is while serving time and being given an opportunity to be in a work program that Reese begins to struggle within himself to get his life back in the right direction.  Luckily for him, he is has a glimmer of hope because he’s not at the larger adult prisons where people serve large amounts of time.  He has a chance to turn his life around but it is difficult because he wants to help out another who is often picked on and he still needs to maintain that tough cover to make it through the daily life in jail.

Impression: Peace and a Teen Read!

I must say this is definitely a teen read because of the struggle that the main character goes through. It can be easily relatable to teenager because they are constantly faced with making decisions that can affect the rest of their lives.  I would not say that I absolutely love this book simply because while reading it I felt that I wanted the story to get somewhere fast, you know get to some point fast or have something really exciting happen.  The story gave a peaceful feeling because you know that that happy ending is coming soon.

Reviews: Myers takes readers inside the walls of a juvenile corrections facility in this gritty novel. Fourteen-year-old Reese is in the second year of his sentence for stealing prescription pads and selling them to a neighborhood dealer. He fears that his life is headed in a direction that will inevitably lead him “upstate,” to the kind of prison you don’t leave. His determination to claw his way out of the downward spiral is tested when he stands up to defend a weaker boy, and the resulting recriminations only seem to reinforce the impossibility of escaping a hopeless future. Reese’s first-person narration rings with authenticity as he confronts the limits of his ability to describe his feelings, struggling to maintain faith in himself; Myers’ storytelling skills ensure that the messages he offers are never heavy handed. The question of how to escape the cycle of violence and crime plaguing inner-city youth is treated with a resolution that suggests hope, but doesn’t guarantee it. A thoughtful book that could resonate with teens on a dangerous path.

Chipman, I. (2009). Lockdown. Booklist, 106(7), 38.

Gr 9 Up--Maurice (Reese) Anderson, 14, stole prescription pads to make easy money for his family. Now he's serving time in a detention center. Working at a nursing home, he meets Mr. Hooft, who tells him that he doesn't like colored people or criminals. An antagonistic relationship quickly develops between them as Mr. Hooft verbally attacks the teen each time he attempts to carry out his duties. But there is greater trouble for Reese back at Progress; his impulsive behavior has left him at odds with the lead guard and the newly arrived gang leader. Now he must control his volatile and sometimes violent behavior when he is provoked as he awaits his appearance before the parole board. His fellow detainees have a wide variety of backgrounds, each offering a thread of connection to readers. Returning to common themes of justice, free will, and consequence, Myers again explores the mind of a young man struggling to survive the streets of Harlem. This latest work, while well written, doesn't achieve the emotional resonance of Paul Volponi's similar Rikers High (Viking, 2010). The characters feel static, and the depictions of the justice system and racial tensions will be familiar to many of Myers's readers. Hooft's incarceration in the Japanese camps during World War II is a somewhat unexpected revelation, but needs more historical background. Though not the author's most powerful work, this book has an audience waiting for it and should be purchased for most collections.

Shoemaker, C. (2010). Lockdown. School Library Journal, 56(2), 118-120.

Use in Library: -A book perfect to booktalk to a high school audience.  Teens are always faced with difficult decisions and at the same time want to maintain a certain image amongst their peers. This book is told from the main character perspective and its reader can make connections to him.  It is also an educational read for teens to get some insight on how their freedoms can be taken away by being locked up in a jail for long periods of time.

Module 4: Holes

Citation: Sachar, L. (1998). Holes. New York, NY: Yearling.

Summary: Young Stanley Yelnats IV finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. As it goes, there is an old family curse that dates back to his great great-grandfather who made a promise to a madam fortuneteller. This madam curse is for the family and affects all of the Stanley Yelnates for generations. When Stanley's wrong timing mishap gets him falsely accused and servicing time in a Camp Green Lake, he finds himself building relationships, some good and some not-so good and an adventure of uncovering a valuable treasure in his family’s past.

 

Impression: Love & Definite Read!

This is one story that I would love to read and re-read over again because it has stories that build upon stories and is very attention grabbing.  Young readers will not be able to put this book down because it is just that good.  One of my favorite parts is when the bad warden’s evil comes to.  It’s always that happy ending when the bad guy gets what’s coming to them and the good guy finishes first! Not such a peaceful feeling is given while reading this one because of so much adventure how can one be so peaceful with such a happy ha, in-your-face ending!

 

Reviews: Gr 5-8 --Stanley Yelnats IV has been wrongly accused of stealing a famous baseball player's valued sneakers and is sent to Camp Green Lake, a juvenile detention home where the boys dig holes, live feet deep by live feet across, in the miserable Texas heat. It's just one more piece of bad luck that's befallen Stanley's family for generations as a result et the infamous curse of Madame Zeroni. Overweight Stanley, his hands bloodied from digging, figures that at the end of his sentence, he'll "...either be in great physical condition or else dead." Overcome by the useless work and his own feelings of futility, fellow inmate Zero runs away into the arid, desolate surroundings and Stanley, acting on impulse, embarks on a risky mission to save him. He unwittingly lays Madame Zeroni's curse to rest, finds buried treasure, survives yellow-spotted lizards, and gains wisdom and inner strength from the quirky turns of fate. In the almost mystical progress of their ascent of the rock edifice known as "Big Thumb," they discover their own invaluable worth and unwavering Friendship. Each of the boys is painted as a distinct individual through Sachar's deftly chosen words. The author's ability to knit Stanley and Zero's compelling story in and out of a history of intriguing, ancestors is captivating. Stanley's wit, integrity, faith, and wistful innocence will charm readers. A multitude of colorful characters coupled with the skillful braiding of ethnic folklore, American legend, and contemporary issues ix a brilliant achievement. There is no question, kids will love Holes.

Follos, A. (1998). Grades 5 & up: Fiction. School Library Journal, 44(9), 210. 

This wry and loopy novel [Holes] about a camp for juvenile delinquents in a dry Texas desert (once the largest lake in the state) by the author of There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom and the Wayside School series has some serious undercurrents. Stanley Yelnats (appropriately enough for a story about reversals, the protagonist's name is a palindrome) gets sent to Camp Green Lake to do penance, "a camp for had boys." Never mind that Stanley didn't commit the crime he has been convicted of-he blames his bad luck on his "no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great great-grandfather." He digs five-foot-deep holes with all the other "bad" boys under the baleful direction of the Warden, perhaps the most terrifying female since Big Nurse. Just when it seems as though this is going to be a weird YA cross between One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Cool Hand Luke, the story takes off--along with Stanley, who flees camp after his buddy Zero--in a wholly unexpected direction to become a dazzling blend of social commentary; tall tale and magic realism. Readers (especially boys) will likely delight in the larger-than-life (truly Texas-style) manner in which Sachar fills in all the holes, as he ties together seemingly disparate story threads to dispel ghosts from the past and give everyone their just deserts. Ages 12-up.

 

Review of Holes. (2002). In S. Peacock (Ed.), Children's Literature Review (Vol. 79). Detroit: Gale. (Reprinted from Publishers Weekly, 1998, July 27, 245[30], 78)

Use in Library: -This book would be great to use with middle school aged students and in particular to target boys.  It could be used as a read aloud, with a reading club or as a suggested personal read to students who enjoy adventure books.  Being that the story builds upon other stories it is also a great read to suggest to reluctant readers.

Module 4: From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

Citation: Konigsburg, E.L., (1967). From the mixed-up files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. New York, NY: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

Summary: Young Claudia Kincaid has a plan to run away from home, but in order for her plan to go well she decides to take along her nine year old brother, Jaime, who is beneficial to her plan.  Jaime, who is good at saving money, tags along for the adventure and Claudia’s plan includes using his money to help them through their adventure.  Claudia decides upon a final destination of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.  Claudia and Jamie’s days are filled with touring the exhibits and in order to feed their hunger, they stretch their money by eating small meals.  Their adventure takes a turn into solving a mystery as they discover an angel statue that has an M initial.  Could this angel be artwork from the famous Michelangelo?  Claudia and Jaime are determined to find out and through their research, they find that Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler will have answers for them.

Impression: Peace & an Adventurous Read! This is not a read I can say I really enjoyed, although it does include adventure for young ones.  Everyone can remember a time or two when they would of liked to run away from home because they were upset about something.  This book can enable you to get involved in Claudia & Jaime’s adventure.  It is interesting to see how they are able to stay overnight in a museum of grand size and being able to stay undiscovered for days.  A few things I did not like about the story is how it is told through a different perspective other than one of the children and being able to see how one or both of the characters felt remorse for their decisions affecting their loved ones. 

Reviews: Claudia Kincaid, age eleven, is running away from home. She already has it all planned out, in fact. She leaves her unappreciative family, her annoying little brothers, and her straight-A grades for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where she will live in luxury, surrounded by some of the best art in the world. She does, however, bring one of her little brothers along, partly because he’s the least annoying of them and mostly because he saves his money, which she kind of needs to feed herself.

They really do set up shop in the museum, where they hide from security and sneak into school field trips’ tours. They learn all about all the different exhibits within the museum, from paintings to medieval weaponry. And their attention is caught by a mysterious statue nicknamed Angel, supposedly carved by Michelangelo himself, which leads to a whole mess of investigating.

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler is a kind of fun, kind of quirky in its tone, kind of an art education, and definitely a coming-of-age story about Claudia, who is so real she feels like she could walk out of the book and show up at your school. But I think the best part of the book is that even though it has some wise messages, it doesn’t preach. This book is one that allows you, like Claudia, to come to your own realizations.

avalancheLily. (n. d.). From the mixed-up files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Retrieved from http://www.teenink.com/reviews/book_reviews/article/442064/From-the-Mixed-Up-Files-of-Mrs-Basil-E-Frankweiler-by-EL-Konigsburg/

Elaine Konigsburg's first sharp bite of suburban life, Jennifer, He- cate, Macbeth...(131, J-43) was a dilly; this one's a dandy--just as fast and fresh and funny, but less spoofing, more penetrating. From the files of Mrs. Frankweiler comes the chronicle of Claudia Kincaid, almost twelve, and her brother Jamie, who is nine. Tired of being her same old taken-for-granted self, Claudia decides to run away, and Jamie goes along because he is flattered at being asked. Claudia has planned every detail: escape on the empty school bus, change of clothing in a violin case, sanctuary in the Metropolitan Museum. For a week the children elude the guards and exploit the opportunities of the museum: they sleep in a royal bed, bathe in the cafeteria pool, and pass part of each day in study on the fringe of lecture tours. Midweek, a marble angel of dubious origin arrives; Claudia is convinced that it is a Michelangelo and determines to prove it: she will authenticate Angel and become a heroine before going home. But no--by arrangement of Mrs. Frankweiler, she goes home a heroine only to herself (and happy); and she knows something about secrets she hadn't known before--they have to come to an end... Like the title, Mrs. Frankweiler is a bit of a nuisance; and an offhand, rather bemused reference to dope addiction is unnecessary but not inappropriate. What matters is that beyond the intriguing central situation and its ingenious, very natural development, there's a deepening rapport between their parents; "we're well trained (and sure of ourselves)...just look how nicely we've managed. It's really they're fault if we're not homesick." There may be a run on the Metropolitan (a map is provided); there will surely be a run on the book.

Kirkus reviews. (September 1, 1967). From the mixed-up files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Retrieved from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/el-konigsburg/from-mixed-up-files-of-mrs-basil-e-frankweiler/

Use in Library: -This book would be great to use as an independent read for students.  It could be used in a reading group and discussed as students move through chapters.

-It could also be used as a read aloud and can be compared to other Newbery Award winners.