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The first three Nancy Drew books were published on April 28, 1930, and there are lots of folks reminiscing about Nancy Drew and the role she played in their lives.
I was thinking that my love of cars (I'm a fanatic) just might have started here –- remember Nancy’s blue convertible? I was thinking that my longing and respect for girls with gumption also started here.
Funny, I was thinking that Nancy Drew might be responsible for my bookshelves being sorted by color.
I had a pretty small personal library when I was a child, significantly smaller than the library my children own. Any time I had a bit of money, often scrounged from under the couch cushions, I'd beg my parents to take me to The Book Bag or Sam Solomon's so I could buy a new book for my collection.
Certainly, I loved reading (and re-reading) the stories, but I also loved seeing all of those beautiful yellow books lined up neatly on my shelf. All of that orderly yellow drew the eye in ways that the other books could never compete with.
I would have loved a Nancy Drew Birthday party -- one that was so awesome that it is blogged in two parts.
What is purple and black and has fingerprints all over it?
This party of course! In this first installment of all things mysterious, lets talk decorations. It was tough to pick out a color scheme for this one, because Nancy Drew doesn't necessarily radiate any particular hue. So, I put on my thinking cap and chose purple and black.
I'm old school, so I must point out that the color scheme for a Nancy Drew party would have to be yellow and black. That old schoolness is what made me squee out loud when I learned that Grosset & Dunlap is releasing a special 80th anniversary edition of the 1959 version of The Secret of the Old Clock.
The Christian Science Monitor brilliantly suggests this would make a great Mother's Day Gift. (Hint to my family: Yes, it would.)
For those of us who loved the old blue roadster (as opposed to the blue hybrid she drives in Simon & Schuster's updated series), it should be a treat. In fact, if you're looking for a Mother's Day gift for a woman anywhere between the ages of 18 and 80, you would be well advised to grab a copy.
I've read Nancy Drew parodies like Confessions of a Teen Sleuth, and Nancy Clue and I love them. I read Girl Sleuth: And the Women Who Created Her and loved it, too. I've been thinking a lot about the new Nancy Drew graphic novels, and I think I need them. Or maybe Liz needs them. She and I enjoy reading graphic novels together, and she's the only one of our children who has ever shown any interest in Nancy Drew. (Yes, the rest are a real disappointment to me.)
Nancy Drew: She's Just Turned 80 nailed it.
For me, the best stories involved ghosts, spooky mansions and the occasional racketeer. That's probably why my favorite Nancy Drew book was The Ghost of Blackwood Hall, chockful of séances, organ-playing phantoms, creepy crooks and a frightening trip to New Orleans that almost took our girl out for good. This made for a riveting read for an eight-year-old, and if I had my trusty copy with me, I’d crack it open right here and now as a tribute to Nancy.
Luckily, I do have my old Nancy Drews and I've been opening them up and reading them all year long, as part of the Nancy Drew Challenge. I joined before I knew it was Nancy's birthday, and I'm so glad that I did.
I'm a sucker for nostalgia.
My collection:
I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who still has her collection of Nancy Drews. Here's Average Jane's Nancy Drew collection:
Were you a Nancy Drew fan as a child? Are you still a fan? Do you have a favorite mystery solved by the titian-haired heroine? Share your memories and photos of your books if you have them.
If Nancy Drew, or another book from your childhood, made a difference in your life, be sure to leave a comment on Books Make a Difference. BookRenter and BlogHer have teamed up to give
