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bargainsleuth's review against another edition
4.0
For my complete review, and to see all my other Nancy Drew reviews, visit www.bargain-sleuth.com
What is the Story of Nancy Drew? is the latest in the popular children’s series books that started with Who Was or Who is. Now they’ve moved on to What is and the series is as popular as ever; my girls’ former k-8 school had a ton of these books. I’ve read a few and found them to be accurate and interesting, allowing children to read about people and events. Now they’ve tackled my beloved Nancy Drew. How accurate and compelling would they make her story?
This book is a great introduction to my favorite teen sleuth. It starts with her origin, created by Edward Stratemeyer in 1930, a publisher of popular book series’ like The Rover Boys, The Bobbsey Twins, and starting in 1927, The Hardy Boys. With the smashing success of the Hardy Boys, Stratemeyer decided to create a girls’ detective series book. He wrote 3-3 page outlines and sent them to a 24-year old writer named Mildred Augustine Wirt. Wirt was paid the princely sum of $125 per book and based on those rough outlines, wrote the first three books. She made Nancy smart and resourceful and fearless, curious and pretty and independent.
While the bibliography lists a few sources that are outdated or information in them has proved to be wrong, overall it’s a solid start for the young Nancy Drew fan.
What is the Story of Nancy Drew? is the latest in the popular children’s series books that started with Who Was or Who is. Now they’ve moved on to What is and the series is as popular as ever; my girls’ former k-8 school had a ton of these books. I’ve read a few and found them to be accurate and interesting, allowing children to read about people and events. Now they’ve tackled my beloved Nancy Drew. How accurate and compelling would they make her story?
This book is a great introduction to my favorite teen sleuth. It starts with her origin, created by Edward Stratemeyer in 1930, a publisher of popular book series’ like The Rover Boys, The Bobbsey Twins, and starting in 1927, The Hardy Boys. With the smashing success of the Hardy Boys, Stratemeyer decided to create a girls’ detective series book. He wrote 3-3 page outlines and sent them to a 24-year old writer named Mildred Augustine Wirt. Wirt was paid the princely sum of $125 per book and based on those rough outlines, wrote the first three books. She made Nancy smart and resourceful and fearless, curious and pretty and independent.
While the bibliography lists a few sources that are outdated or information in them has proved to be wrong, overall it’s a solid start for the young Nancy Drew fan.
johnnysbookrev's review
adventurous
informative
fast-paced
5.0
A book all about Nancy Drew. Contains bite sized information about the classic novel that started in 1930. I grew up reading these books, and they're amazing!
msgabbythelibrarian's review
3.0
So many of my library patrons love the "Who Was" books. Or, now that it has expanded to What Is and Where Is, the "Big Head" books. While they are decidedly not for me at my age, I do think they are a great starting point for any reader who wants to learn about something.
When I heard that they had done of Nancy Drew, I had to try it. Not gonna lie, the fact that Carolyn Keen is a ghostwriter has always ticked me off. The fact that it started out as a guy telling a woman what to do and her only getting $150 for it....yeah no. It's also interesting to see how the series have evolved over time.
I do not think the classic ones, the originals from the 1930s, have aged that well. (I'd be curious if the last one from 2003 does). But they are still a clean mystery and part of my childhood. So I will always recommend them to my readers. Contrary to librarians of years ago, I think mysteries AND series are of great interest and have mass appeal ;)
When I heard that they had done of Nancy Drew, I had to try it. Not gonna lie, the fact that Carolyn Keen is a ghostwriter has always ticked me off. The fact that it started out as a guy telling a woman what to do and her only getting $150 for it....yeah no. It's also interesting to see how the series have evolved over time.
I do not think the classic ones, the originals from the 1930s, have aged that well. (I'd be curious if the last one from 2003 does). But they are still a clean mystery and part of my childhood. So I will always recommend them to my readers. Contrary to librarians of years ago, I think mysteries AND series are of great interest and have mass appeal ;)
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