Mysteries for the 8 to 12 set: Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew and Encyclopedia Brown

I decided to have a blast from the past this week and revisit the characters that began my addiction to reading - The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew. I haven't visited my "old friends" in a long time and decided to get one of their new adventures to see how they held up. Well, I am sorry to say that I was VERY disappointed. I enjoyed reading these stories so much and looked forward to the day that Matt could read them too. After reading "Terror on Tour", he'll only be reading the original series - at least until I can check others out.

"Terror on Tour" is a mystery featuring both The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew written by Franklin W. Dixon and Carolyn Keene. This book was published in 2007 and SAYS that it is for readers 8 to 12. In my opinion that is too young for some of the content in this book. After only 30 pages in, I was already shaking my head. The story takes place at a Lollapalooza-type concert event. A girl (thankfully NOT Nancy Drew or her friends) is described as wearing a grass skirt and a bikini top that "left little to the imagination". Do we really want 8 to 12 year old boys TRYING to imagine what WASN'T left to the imagination? One of the bands playing at this concert simulates a suicide or murder at every concert, and Joe Hardy and George (Nancy's friend) think this is awesome. A girl is tied up and has electric wires attached to her arms and head so that she can be electrocuted if the villains don't get their way. Joe is said to utter a "string of curse words" - thankfully they don't give us the actual words. Is this what we want our kids thinking is cool? Why can't they find a way to make the characters relevant and "cool" while still making them good examples?

I also visited with Encyclopedia Brown (by Donald Sobol) in his very first book. I was pleased to see that I still enjoyed him. Kids today might find it a little old fashioned, but I think that the chance to solve the mysteries will still be enjoyable. Reading the story, trying to think of the solution and turning to the back of the book to see if you are right is still fun - even for a grown woman. I'm happy to report that I did solve most, but not all, of his stories - so I think it would provide a pleasant challenge to most kids to try and solve them too. In some of the stories Encyclopedia deals with bullies which some kids would relate to also.

I'll be checking out a more recent Encyclopedia Brown book in the future and am hoping that I won't find him as drastically changed as Frank, Joe and Nancy. I'll let you know.

Miss Stacey

Joining the Ultimate Blog Party 2009!

I am so happy to be joining with other Mom bloggers around the world during the Ultimate Blog Party! Welcome party friends! Want to join the party? Click the banner above.

Just a thought......

"Mooooom! Somebody might see!!" The first time Matt said that when I tried to give him a little kiss in a public place, I realized that he WAS growing up. I was also worried that the cuddle stage was almost over - and no one cuddles like Matt! He always enjoyed giving hugs and sitting on laps, was it over? The answer is that sometimes, it is. However, whenever I just need a Matt cuddle, I just have to say "Want to read a book?" and he grabs a book and jumps into my lap.

Need another reason to read to them even though you may be absolutely exhausted? They don't want cuddles forever. Try to set that precedent when they're small. Mike and I always had Matt sit on our laps or cuddled up close beside us when we read to him. I am so thankful we did that every day (and sometimes several times during a day).

Well, I better go. I think I want to read a book and get a cuddle!!

Miss Stacey

Matthew's Pick of the Month: The Adventures of Sinbad

This is a great chapter book. It is a little above Matthew's reading level right now, but an excellent book to read aloud to him. Each of the 7 chapters is one of Sinbad's voyages. We read a chapter a day (although it is short enough we could have read it in one day if we really wanted to). Matt couldn't wait to read the next adventure. He found it exciting and, to quote him, "Sinbad is cool! He rocks!" The best part of this book is that he'll enjoy hearing it again and again, and, when he is able, read it himself again and again.

I realized that I had never read anything of Sinbad's adventures and hadn't realized that they were part of 1001 Arabian Nights. For those who don't know, the Arabian Nights is a legend about a woman who told her husband - The Sultan - stories to entertain him because he wanted to have her killed. She continued to tell him these tales for 1001 nights. I actually had a question answered by a note on the back of the book. Did the wife save her life or not? Do you want to know? If so, look further...if not, stop right now.

He spared her life.

Hop on board and sail off to adventure with your child!

Matt & Miss Stacey

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