Reading Pathways: E.L. Konigsburg

February 10 is creator E.L. Konigsburg’s birthday, and whereas most individuals are acquainted with her basic youngsters’s e-book From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, she wrote greater than 20 books, together with image books. Born to 2 Jewish immigrants, Konigsburg grew up in small cities in Pennsylvania. She was valedictorian of her highschool class, majored in chemistry at Carnegie Mellon, and was the primary individual in her household to earn a school diploma.

Konigsburg began writing within the mornings after her third baby went to high school. In 1968, she gained the Newbery Medal for Mixed-Up Files, and was additionally awarded a Newbery Honor for her e-book Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth. She is the one creator to be awarded each in the identical 12 months. Almost 30 years later, in 1997, she gained the Newbery once more for her novel The View From Saturday.

In 2006, she was a U.S. nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen award, for her contributions to youngsters’s literature. She died in 2013 on the age of 83, from problems of a stroke that she had the week earlier than.

Konigsburg tackled many matters that different authors won’t have touched in youngsters’s literature greater than 30 or 40 years in the past: antisemitism, racism, classism (About the B’nai Bagels), pornography (additionally B’nai Bagels), psychological well being (George), and variety — a lot of her books have racially numerous characters or disabled characters — to call just a few. Was this all the time dealt with the best way we’d count on it to be dealt with now? Of course not, as a result of these books have been written a long time in the past and our language and use of language has modified and developed, because it ought to consistently be doing. I’ve cringed when studying a few of her writing. But there are additionally some superb scenes the place characters level out the specific racism or ableism of different characters, and the place moms don’t hesitate to decorate down their entitled, sexist sons and husbands. Keeping the time interval when these have been written in thoughts after I reread (and skim for the primary time) a lot of her books, it felt a bit groundbreaking to me.

In that respect, whereas I completely love Mixed-Up Files, I feel it’s a disgrace that extra of her work isn’t talked about or taught. Other books of hers are rather more numerous and layered, diving into some fairly deep matters.

Many of Konigsburg’s characters are precocious children — or at the very least that’s how they learn to me. Kids who overthink, overanalyze, and sure stand on the fringes of social scenes. They’re very articulate, form of quirky, and really feel deeply. Especially with a few of her older books, this could make for some very dated, stilted studying. But in her later books, which I are inclined to get pleasure from extra, the writing feels smoother and extra relaxed.

If you’ve learn Mixed-Up Files and are focused on exploring different books by Konigsburg, listed here are some that I’d counsel.

About the B’nai Bagels

First printed in 1969, that is one which’s undoubtedly dated in its language and a few scenes, however I feel it exemplifies the sorts of characters Konigsburg usually writes, in addition to the matters she tackles. Mark is nervous about his upcoming Bar Mitzvah: issues are bizarre together with his former finest pal who moved to the wealthy a part of city and now hangs out with an annoying child, and to make issues even worse, his mother signed as much as handle his Little League workforce — and his brother’s the coach. Keep in thoughts, this was 1969, so to have a mother do this isn’t a small factor. Mark’s brother and even his dad make some feedback, which his mother nips within the bud. When the workforce begins successful, issues are nice — however when he finds out some info that would change every thing with the workforce, Mark has some exhausting selections to make. This seems like a snapshot of Jewish suburban life within the late ’60s, virtually harking back to The Wonder Years, with the observations about one’s household and social life.

The View from Saturday

This was printed in 1996 and gained the Newbery in 1997, and as you learn it, it’s clear why. The characters are the identical observant, quirky, extremely articulate children which might be on the fringes. Konigsburg addresses racism and ableism on this e-book in numerous methods, and the entire e-book felt a bit Westing Game–esque to me. Not within the sense of a giant thriller (though there’s a slight thriller), however how there are layers to everybody and every thing, with nothing being fairly because it first appears. It facilities round 4 college students who’ve been chosen to be on an Academic Bowl workforce, who name themselves The Souls. No one anticipated them to win, however after they begin beating everybody else, the highlight is on them. Their instructor, Mrs. Olinski, is requested how she selected them, and as every of their tales unfold and intersect, we will slowly piece collectively how and why. In my opinion, this needs to be the e-book for which Konigsburg is understood.

The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place

One of the final that Konigsburg wrote, this can be a pleasant e-book set in 1983 and follows a 12-year-old named Margaret. After “prefer[ing] not to” do most issues at summer season camp inside the first week, one in all her great-uncles picks her up and takes her again to his home whereas her professor mother and father are in Peru. Her great-uncles Alex and Morris have constructed fabulous sculpture towers of their yard which have stood there for greater than 40 years — however as their city has been slowly gentrified, now folks wish to tear the towers down as a result of they don’t match into the city’s “history.” There is a lot on this e-book to debate, however Konigsburg doesn’t chunk off greater than she will be able to chew: themes of bullying, overarching authority, friendship, and who will get to determine what are all expertly woven collectively. (I’ll say, although, that there are some fairly cringey, ableist assumptions of Jake, the handyman at camp, by Margaret and different campers, and I’d have thought a e-book printed in 2004 can be completely different, however upon additional reflection, I spotted maybe not).

Konigsburg is a basic youngsters’s creator, however there’s extra to her than an evening on the museum — which e-book will you select first?

If you’re searching for much more youngsters’s books, try this publish on essentially the most influential youngsters’s books of all time, or this publish about the most effective youngsters’s books of 2022.