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

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

 

This one is just fun. Maybe you read it in elementary school, I didn't, but I should have. When Claudia, an unsatisfied 12-year-old, decides to run away from home and take her little brother Jamie, and his piggy-bank, along, she has a plan for everything. They pack their clothes in their instrument cases and head to the Metropolitan Museum of Art instead of school. While sneakily staying at the Museum, Claudia becomes entranced with the mystery behind a new sculpture and refuses to go home until they discover all they can about its origin. 

Claudia and Jamie are easy to love, and their unique approach to running away from home piques intrigue and sparks imagination. All humans can relate to a child's dream of running away from home, and are able to rediscover that forgotten piece of childhood as they become involved in these very advanced, yet still juvenile schemes. From the Mixed-Up files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler should go on everyone's library card queue.

Little Britches: Father and I were Ranchers, Ralph Moody

Little Britches: Father and I were Ranchers, 
Ralph Moody

 

Sterling North, whoever that was, said that Moody's books should be read aloud in every family circle in America, and I think he's absolutely right.  Elementary aged Ralph moves across the country alongside his family with high hopes of living off the land and tending a successful ranch. When they arrive however, they stare at empty fields and a crooked house with broken windows. Ralph learns from his Pa how to make ends meet, try new and daunting things, and most importantly stay true to ones character. 

When reading Little Britches, Ralph's hardships are your hardships, his triumphs your triumphs, and life altering lessons change your life as well as his. I loved reading this book and could hardly set it down. Written in 1898, Moody captures the joy, pain, drama, suspense and achievement involved in so many of the hearts of our own ancestors. My family raised a ranch from scratch in Whitehall, Montana in the late 1800s early 1900s, and I loved reading this novel and simultaneously imaging the Capp family and their struggles as well as their triumphs. Highly recommending this book.