One of the things I brought up during my A to Z blogging in April was mystery books for children. Some time earlier, I had remembered about reading The Bobbsey Twins as a child. During the time, I came across other series produced by the Stratemeyer Syndicate, a publishing company that of different authors (many using the same pseudonyms) that put out series like The Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, The Bobbsey Twins, Tom Swift, and The Dana Girls, among others. I also discovered series not produced by the Syndicate, such as Judy Bolton, Trixie Belden, Cherry Ames, Vicki Barr, and Connie Blair. I came across even more such series on this website.
The first place I looked was on Project Gutenberg, where I found some of the Vicki Barr and Judy Bolton books, but none of the others mentioned above. I have read of the Judy Bolton books on PG.
If only I had known about these books before the used bookstore nearby had closed down last year! But since I don't have that option now, I chose to go on Amazon. After a lot of searching, and deciding what titles to get, here is what I ordered:
This is the first book in the Dana Girls series, written by the Stratemeyer Syndicate under the same pseudonym used for the Nancy Drew series. I was never big on Nancy Drew or The Hardy Boys, BTW. Those can still be found at the library, because they have proven more popular than this series, which I was not aware of until recently.
The first book in the Trixie Belden series. Another series I was never aware of until recently. One of those not from the Syndicate. This series doesn't seem to have endured much either.
Again, the first book of the series. Another series that escaped me as a child. It. too must not have been that popular.
I also picked the first book in this series. Yet another I missed in childhood that must not have been very popular.
And just the other day at a local thrift store, I came across this book:
Still another series I did not know about as a child. One not shown on this site. It sounds like one that would have been included. This is the second book of the series.
I have yet to read any of these books, as they have only recently arrived. Has anyone ever read any of these series? If so, what do you think? Any other similar series you would recommend?
I read a lot of the Bobbsey Twins and Hardy Boys books when I was young. I was never a fan of Nancy Drew, although I read a couple. I remember Cherry Ames and Trixie Belden and may have read a couple of those too. Donna Parker rings a vague bell. I never heard of the other ones.
ReplyDeleteHey, if you want a Bobbsey Twins book, I will gladly give you the one that I won in Grade 2 (1964-65) for getting a gold star in spelling. It's my time of life now to let old stuff like that go. Anyway, if you want it, just leave me your mailing address in a comment on my blog (which I will not publish of course) and I'll send it to you.
I read many of the Nancy Drew books, and a historical fiction set called "We were There..." and the rest of the title would be an important event. Now I'm wondering if I should start buying books that are being banned, for fear that any future grandkids won't be able to check them out of a library! Linda in Kansas
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your reads.
ReplyDelete