“From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler” - E. L. Konigsburg

 🖼️ I read this classic in the 3rd or 4th grade, and my elementary-age kids enjoyed reading it as well. They particularly loved the parts describing the details of how Claudia and Jamie managed their limited finances while on the run, as well as how they acquired food, a place to sleep, and even how they washed their clothes at a laundromat (these kids were adventurous, but they were civilized!).

🖼️ Claudia has the same craving for something beyond the ordinary as Harriet from “Harriet the Spy”; it’s a trait that appeals to kids and adults.

🖼️ As the wise Mrs. Frankweiler could sense, this was no ordinary case of tween runaways. It was a journey of self-discovery for Claudia. She was running away from suburban tedium and the unfairness of being the eldest girl in a family of boys. With the help of Mrs. F, Claudia eventually learns that what she was looking for wasn’t a secret or an adventure, but something more in herself.