blast from the past books

I was at the New York Public Library this weekend for a children's writing panel and picked up From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg. It's one of my all-time favorites and since I haven't read it in about five years, I'm having a lot of fun. It's an amazingly sensitive book, written with care and grace and humor.

"But it never makes any difference. Going home without knowing about Angel for sure will be the same as going home from camp. It won't be any different. After one day, maybe two, we'll be back to the same old thing. And I didn't run away to come home the same."

I can remember feeling this way as a child, wanting so badly to be different, for something to, finally, be the catalyst to set my adult life in motion. I suppose, if I'm fair, I still often feel that way.

What are you favorite blast from the past books? Do they still hold up when you read them today?

-R