Reading books in series is a time-honored ritual of childhood. Every era has its favorites. While kids today are zipping through Goosebumps or The Babysitters Club, one hundred years ago there were other series delighting the kids, even while occasionally reinforcing stereotypes. For every book series, no matter how obscure, there is a fan base and website, often more than one site.
The library in my hometown was disdainful of Nancy Drew and other such series, but my friends and I had our own good trading system. The books were inexpensive and we all usually made a good haul of them at our birthday parties. Nancy was a decent role model for independent womanhood even if she was a bit wooden. She certainly had her adventures.
One friend had all her mother's Nancy Drew and Judy Bolton books, in the original bindings and most with dust jackets. I read a lot of those and actually preferred the early editions where the language was quaint and a bit dated and Nancy Drew's boyfriend Ned Nickerson drove a roadster.
I liked Judy Bolton--she was more real than Nancy Drew--and I liked the thirties-era illustrations by Pelagie Doane. It was only as an adult that I discovered the Bolton books were actually set in a locale near to where I grew up, and I've been buying up all I can find. Thanks to Ebay, it's relatively easy to indulge oneself this way and fill out a collection.
Trixie Belden has her fans and new editions of these books are on our library shelves today. Prices for books in the Cherry Ames series have rocketed into the stratosphere in recent years. And The Bobbsey Twins? They also have their fan base.
So who's your favorite? Beverly Gray? Penny Parker? The Dana Girls? The Hardy Boys?
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