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| I recently reread both of these. |
I had not really thought about things that way before. I wondered if this would be true about my favorite mystery series as a girl, Trixie Belden. Even though I read and enjoyed plenty of Nancy Drew books, I liked Trixie better.
Trixie was 13 and lived in a cozy farm house with her two older brothers and her mischievous younger brother, Bobby. Trixie had regular chores of watching Bobby and helping with other things around the house. However, she was often preoccupied trying to solve a mystery, and she forgot her responsibilities. These lapses were usually forgiven with a smile and warning by her mother, who always seemed to be cooking up some delicious, hearty meal.
Next door, lived Trixie's rich, best friend, Honey, and her adopted older brother, Jim. They lived on a large estate with servants. However, their parents were often away. Honey and her brother, and Trixie and her older brothers had a secret club, BWG or Bobwhites of the Glen. When the BWG's weren't busy riding Honey's horses or ice skating, they were often raising money for some worthy cause. However, Trixie's curiosity always seemed to lead the club into one adventure or another.
What I remember that I really liked about Trixie and the others was that had to do chores just like I did. Also, they had the best of both worlds with Trixie's cozy house and family and Honey's big estate, not to mention a secret club. I wanted to live in Trixie's world.
So recently, I decided to take a chance and reread a Trixie Belden book to see what I would think of it now. Would I feel the same warm, relatable feeling with Trixie? Or would I be sorry that I had burst my nostalgia bubble?
The results? Sue was on the right track. Trixie Belden was not great literature. Not even close. But am I sorry that I reread it? Was the magic gone? No. While I had a different perspective reading the book as an adult, it took me right back to being a 10 year old girl curled up on her bed lost in the world of Trixie and her friends. And that was a good thing.
Have you ever reread a book and been disappointed?
But wait, there's more.
--I also reread a Nancy Drew book. Once again, not great literature, but I was able to get involved with glamorous, sophisticated Nancy and her mysterious, dangerous life.
--However, there is great children's literature out there and I recently reread one of the those books, The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Wonderful. I think I will always be enthralled by the awakening of Colin and the garden.
I loved both of those as a girl. The only "childhood" series I have found that I enjoy reading again and again are the Laura Ingalls Wilder books.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I didn't know about LIW those books as a kid. I'm not sure why because we went to the library all of the time. I have not read all of them as an adult. Maybe it's time.
DeleteIronically enough I could relate well to some of her books. I grew up in a rural Southern community that time seemed to skip in some ways. I literally watched (and worked with) older ladies in the gardens with their bonnets and aprons on. I never saw my grandmamma in pants until she was in her 70's and then she tucked her slip into them...so in some ways I think my world was out of sync with the rest of the nation.
DeleteWhen I became a dad, one of the first books I wanted to get for my kids was a book I had loved as a young boy, "Paddle to the Sea," by Holling C. Holling. I had not looked at a copy in a lifetime, but when I opened it up again, it struck me as being just as good as I remembered it. Sure, it was "of its time" and probably of greater interest to young boys than my daughters. Regardless, it was fun to read all over again, and it brought back good memories of my dad reading it to me.
ReplyDeleteGirls generally will read "boy" and "girl" books while boys are more selective and only read books targeted to boys. Did your girls like "Paddle to the Sea"? Another book I've seen as an adult, but not as a kid. Time to read it also.
DeleteI liked Nancy Drew better than Trixie Belden, but I enjoyed both of them. So far my daughter hasn't shown much interest in Nancy Drew (we have a few on the bookshelves). I should try re-reading them. Sometimes it's fun to walk down memory lane.
ReplyDeleteLike Shara, I love the Laura Ingalls books. I think a truly well-written book is enjoyable for both kids and adults, and I can think of several that fall into that category. Including The Secret Garden. :)
I tried to get my boys interested in The Hardy Boys (Nancy's evquilent) but they only read a few much like your daughter and Nancy Drew. They were much more interested in Animorphs and Redwall.
DeleteMy son loves Redwall. My daughter also likes it, although not as well as he does.
DeleteThe Trixie Belden book I remember was one that took place in Hannibal, MO, based on the Mark Twain stories. I had the book as a child but don't remember the title (I think my mom got rid of it). Funny thing is, my in-laws live about a 1/2 hour from Hannibal and I have toured it as an adult. Time to take our kids there--I think we'll encourage them (at least my son) to read Tom Sawyer.
I don't know if I read, "Mystery on the Mississippi" or not. But it would be fun to read the Mark Twain books as well as the Trixie Belden book and then take your kids to Hannibal.
DeleteI loved Nancy Drew - I had the complete set of
ReplyDeleteher books (up to the late 1960's anyway)
courtesy of my cousins who had outgrown
them. The only Trixie Belden I can remember
reading was The Red Trailer Mystery (or
was it Blue Trailer? I can't remember).
I often think about books I read as a child
(especially horse books) and wonder if
I could find them again.
It's the Red Trailer Mystery and I remember it well. It was the book where Di Lynch was added to the BWG. Sometime it might be interesting to do a search for books you read on Amazon and Ebay. You can find a lot of stuff these days that way.
DeleteThe problem is I can't remember the titles! I
Deletefind a few on Booksleuth (Abe Books - but
they don't seem to have it on their site any
longer) and bought second hand copies
online. I should look again for the titles I
do remember.
Good luck. You never know where they may turn up.
DeleteThough I read Trixie Belden, I was a Nancy Drew Freak. My parents played cards often with friends who had a daughter several years older than me. She had the entire Nancy Drew collection and I would sit cross legged on the floor in front of her bookshelf and read while the other kids played. I think I learned to read really fast there, because I wanted to be able to start reading a book and be through by the time the card game was over. Thank you Deloris for letting me sit on your floor and fill my head with adventures! Also thanks Mom and Dad for having frequent card nights!
ReplyDeleteAs an aside, the same girl who had the Nancy Drew books was also our babysitter. When I was in the 4th grade she brought her 9th grad literature book to our house when she babysat. I fell in love with Homer after reading an excerpt from The Odyssey, and Shakespeare after reading Romeo and Juillet. I had a hard time convincing the librarian that I really wanted to read the Illiad and The Odyssey and The Complete Works of Shakespeare. Turns out Shakespeare was more than I could handle so I wound up checking it out many times to read one play at a time.
DeleteWho would have thought that as an older adult I would mix up young adult lit to my regular reading
Anne, I think you would have become a reader no matter what, but it sounds like Deloris had a big influence on you. I would have questioned you too if I had been the librarian. I was not so precocious as you because I didn't read the Odyssey until 9th grade in English class. But I did find it an exciting tale.
DeleteI never heard of the Trixie books but I don't think I would have taken from them the same feelings you did.I liked books that were suspenseful or had a puzzle to work out as it occupied my brain in more than one way while I read. I did read the Nancy Drew books and the Hardy boys (which I enjoyed better) but no I have not gone back and re-read any of them. There are too many books I want to read for the first time that I never considered going back to read childhood books.
ReplyDeleteI always felt like I had to do more chores that most of my friends, so I really liked a book where the kids had to work. But I will agree that Nancy had a lot more excitement in her life than Trixie and the gang although they had their fair share. I think you're right. Trixie may not have been your cup of tea.
Delete