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E. L. Konigsburg (1930–2013)

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

37+ Works 32,287 Members 608 Reviews 38 Favorited

About the Author

Elaine Lobl Konigsburg, noted children's writer and illustrator, was born February 10, 1930 in New York City. She received a BS in chemistry from Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie-Mellon University) in 1952. She did graduate study at the University of Pittsburgh. Her best-known titles show more included A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver, The Second Mrs. Giaconda, Father's Arcane Daughter, and Throwing Shadows. She won the Newbery Honor in 1968 for From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler and the William Allen White Award in 1970. She won the Newbery Medal again in 1997 for The View from Saturday. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler was adapted into a motion picture starring Ingrid Bergman in 1973 and later released as The Hideaways in 1974. It became a television film starring Lauren Bacall in 1995. Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth was adapted for television as Jennifer and Me for NBC-TV in 1973. She died on April 19, 2013 from complications of a stroke that she had suffered a week prior at the age of 83. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: Ron Kunzman/Simon & Schuster, via Associated Press

Series

Works by E. L. Konigsburg

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (1967) 17,159 copies, 283 reviews
The View from Saturday (1996) 6,408 copies, 128 reviews
A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver (1973) 1,422 copies, 17 reviews
Silent to the Bone (2000) 1,392 copies, 37 reviews
The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place (2004) 1,385 copies, 34 reviews
The Second Mrs. Gioconda (1975) 1,337 copies, 12 reviews
Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth (1967) — Cover artist, some editions; Illustrator, some editions — 1,325 copies, 26 reviews
The Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World (2007) 526 copies, 23 reviews
Father's Arcane Daughter (1976) 433 copies, 8 reviews
About the B'Nai Bagels (1969) 370 copies, 4 reviews
T-Backs, T-Shirts, Coat, and Suit (1993) 281 copies, 2 reviews
Throwing Shadows (1979) 258 copies, 3 reviews
Up from Jericho Tel (1986) 216 copies, 3 reviews
Journey to an 800 Number (1982) 214 copies, 2 reviews
(george) (1970) 209 copies, 8 reviews
Altogether, One at a Time (1971) 177 copies, 5 reviews
The Dragon In The Ghetto Caper (1974) 153 copies, 1 review
Samuel Todd's Book of Great Inventions (1991) 90 copies, 2 reviews
Samuel Todd's Book of Great Colors (1990) 43 copies, 2 reviews
Amy Elizabeth Explores Bloomingdale's (1992) 34 copies, 6 reviews
Caroline? [1990 TV movie] (1997) — Writer — 4 copies

Associated Works

The Secret Garden (1911) — Introduction, some editions — 37,131 copies, 568 reviews
A Newbery Christmas (1991) — Contributor — 313 copies, 1 review
A Newbery Halloween (1991) — Contributor — 159 copies, 2 reviews
When I Was Your Age, Volume Two: Original Stories About Growing Up (1999) — Contributor — 92 copies, 2 reviews
To Break the Silence (1986) — Contributor — 10 copies

Tagged

20th century (187) adventure (324) art (378) British (175) chapter book (456) children (1,048) children's (1,892) children's books (322) children's classics (197) children's fiction (449) children's literature (1,027) classic (1,240) classics (1,236) England (559) family (298) fantasy (209) fiction (4,571) friendship (639) garden (176) gardens (254) historical fiction (490) juvenile (387) juvenile fiction (313) kids (259) literature (346) middle grade (246) museums (196) mystery (745) New York (194) Newbery (456) Newbery Medal (531) novel (403) orphans (308) own (281) read (680) realistic fiction (663) runaways (224) to-read (1,122) YA (586) young adult (865)

Common Knowledge

Members

Discussions

YA Modern Fiction in Name that Book (July 2016)
What Are You Reading the Week of 7 February 2014? in What Are You Reading Now? (February 2015)

Reviews

 
Flagged
aidelyz | 282 other reviews | Nov 29, 2024 |
3.5/5

I didn't enjoy this as much as Konigsburg's previous works. Things really didn't pick up until the middle of the book and the characters felt underdeveloped. That said, the premise is fascinating - Konigsburg does excel at weaving art history into her plots.

Reading some of the reviews surprised me. Yes, there are more complex* topics covered in this novel. Does that make them inappropriate for middle schoolers? I don't believe it does. Often times, teachers and parents underestimate children's comprehension and awareness and unwittingly shape negative attitudes around certain themes by avoiding them altogether.

*I'm referring to Nazi Germany and nudity in art. While the global history of homosexuality is complex (as is any type of history), homosexuality itself is not. Love is love is love is love is love. It's way past time we treated it as such.
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EllAreBee | 22 other reviews | Nov 16, 2024 |
This is one of those books I should have read in elementary school. I love E.L. Konigsburg and I'm sad that I didn't read this until now. Better late than never, though.
 
Flagged
EllAreBee | 127 other reviews | Nov 16, 2024 |
This is one of those books you read in like early middle school that I never read. I had a special edition sitting on my shelf so I finally decided to give it a read. I was pleasantly surprised since I had absolutely no idea what the book was about when I first started reading. I feel like living in a museum was always a fantasy I had when I was a kid. The idea of being able to live amongst the art and the artifacts would be so cool, so to read a silly little story about that exact idea was really fun and cute. For a children's chapter book I think it works well for the audience it is appeasing to.… (more)
 
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clougreen | 282 other reviews | Nov 16, 2024 |

Lists

scav (1)
1960s (1)
1970s (1)

Awards

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Statistics

Works
37
Also by
6
Members
32,287
Popularity
#602
Rating
4.1
Reviews
608
ISBNs
412
Languages
13
Favorited
38

Charts & Graphs