With the help of an unused adult train fare card that she found in a wastebasket, Claudia finds a way to get to the museum for free using the commuter train and a very long walk. She chooses Jamie as her companion partly because he has saved all his money. She takes refuge in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met) in New York City, with her brother Jamie. Twelve-year-old Claudia Kincaid decides to run away from her home in suburban Connecticut, because she thinks her parents do not appreciate her and she doesn't like it. Snappy dialogue, brilliant plot, evocative subject.what was the Newbery panel thinking when they awarded this book its highest honor?įrom the mixed-up files of Mrs.

And the siblings' interplay just can't be beat. I love Claudia's obsession with art and mystery, as well as Jamie's passion for gambling. The idea of two kids hiding out in The Metropolitan Museum of Art is so brilliant, it sends me running running to the stereo to do a wild, naked dance to The Muffs's version of KIDS IN AMERICA. The point of this rant is that there is a major exception to my 'I Hate Newbery Rule,' and it's this book. Otherwise, sit back, relax, and enjoy life, because nobody wants to hear your whining. I mean, if you really want to martyr yourself, do it creatively, like St. There's no magic or mystery to any of them.reading these books is akin to eating dry toast when you know damned well you could cover the bread with butter, cinnamon, and sugar. All of the books that have been given this 'honor' seem to have been written with the intent of teaching kids some crappy history lesson. Any time I see it on the cover of a book, I'm 98.5% sure it sucks. OK, I'll admit it: I freakin' hate the Newbery Medal.

El konigsburg from the mixed up files