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

Questions Just for Fun

If you were to run away for a few days, where would you choose to run away to?

Take a look at the Metropolitan Museum of Art website. If you were Claudia or Jamie, which galleries would you have wanted to spend most of your time in?

Questions to Think Critically and Biblically

As Claudia and Jamie spend their days in the museum galleries, they learn about art from different periods and cultures. Throughout history, humans have sought to create works of beauty. This is different from animals, which create for survival, not beauty. Why is it that humans are the only creatures on Earth that seek to create things to be beautiful?
Discussion Guide - Read Genesis 1:27-28. Discuss how God has tasked us, as His image bearers, to “fill the earth and subdue it.” This command involves reflecting God through the way we create and making things of beauty that point back to Him.

Claudia tells Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler not to call their parents, as it will “cause a commotion.” How does this response reveal that Claudia has only been thinking about herself throughout the whole adventure?
Discussion Guide - Discuss how this response reveals that Claudia never gave any thought to how worried her parents would be over her and Jamie’s disappearance. She was only thinking of what she wanted to do and the point she wanted to prove.

In her story to Saxonburg, Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler explains that finding herself was the most valuable part of Claudia’s adventure. Does this align with the biblical worldview? Are humans called to “find themselves”?
Discussion Guide - Read Matthew 16:24-28. Discuss how the call of the Christian is not to find ourselves but to give all that we are to God. He knows us better than we know ourselves, and He alone knows what is best for us.

Bonus Question

If you have taken your child through Foundation Careful Thinking Curriculum, discuss how Claudia desperately wants to know the truth about the Angel statue. However, Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler reveals that even if she gave the authentication documents to art experts, they would not all agree about the authenticity of the documents. Say, “Like this situation, there are many times when we will not be certain about what is true. Does this mean that we give up on truth and stop searching?”
Discussion Guide - Discuss how certainty is not the standard for knowledge. Review the truth covered in Unit 4, Lesson 1—Strong support is the standard for knowledge. Then review some of the activities and games from that lesson.