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E.L. Konigsburg's From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler has endured on library shelves as many older Newbery books often do. In this episode we talk about whether the 1967 mystery cum adventure story still earns that spot on the shelf. We discuss Claudia Kincaid as a role model and possible queer feminist icon and also have a lot of feelings about the Met's admission policies. We look at epistolary writing style, parentless child tropes, and discuss whether inflation and technology have ruined madcap children's adventures. We also consult an expert who has served on the Newbery Award committee and Audrey and Kelsey fight over a Face Vase.

These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at [email protected]. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.

We cover a lot of ground in this episode and used some books and articles as jumping off points. Here’s a brief list of some of them if you want to do your own further research:

The Met's not free anymore: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/04/arts/design/met-museum-admissions.html
Great garage sale finds: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/618643/amazing-yard-sale-finds
What happened to automats?: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/automat-history