Reviews (5)

The Plot Knock
The great knock against this book was the plot itself. This review concerns the original 1944 story where a gang of criminals steals valueable coins and melts them down for sale. The metal is worth more if they are still coins and are not melted. Isn't this like "shooting one's self in the foot"? I suppose it could be argued that the purpose for melting the coins was to avoid detection. Well...."Big Sigh" In any event, I really liked this book for many reasons. The criminal Black Beard was perhaps the most memorable of any Hardy Boys villain. And in the end - he was not that bad. The scene in the tattoo parlor was a classic. The book moved along well and had a beautiful cover art for its 1944 edition. This was the second last edition to be completey revised chronology wise. The Short Wave Mystery was the highest volume to be drastically altered. The original Melted Coins is a great book. RATED A-

PS: The revised 1970 text was completely different and cannot hold a candle to the original.

Too Many Characters Spoil the Story
I just recently started reading Hardy Boys books to my son because I enjoyed them when I was young. This is the third one we read together (going out of order obviously) and probably the least enjoyable of the three. Had we read the book over a course of 2 days, it may have been easier to remember who was who. For the most part, the plot really lacked in surprise. We both had a good idea of who was guilty from the start. In addition, the two subplots were way too coincidental when the author tied them together. The best part about it was the involvement of Chet and the Hardy's other friends. This one is for serious fans only.

A Rather Good Book
This review concerns the revised 1970 edition. Frank and Joe are called upon by a member of the Seneca Indians to find a gold tribal relic that was stolen from them. Also they believe that their friend Chet was scammed by a summer school called Zoar College. I enjoyed this book; I thought that the mystery was quite interesting and not as predictable as some of the other books. There was a fair amount of action and the book moved along at a good pace. I liked this book and think that other fans of the series would as well.

Another Good Hardy Boys Mystery
This review concerns the original 1944 edition. A man with amnesia, a crazy pirate, a treasure buried on the Morton farm and a case of counterfeit coins all occupy Frank and Joe's time in this story. This book was fairly good. The mystery was interesting and there was a moderate amount of action. One thing that I liked about the book was that Chet Morton played a prominent role in the mystery after being just barely mentioned in many of the volumes immediately preceeding this one. This book isn't one of the best volumes, but it is still enjoyable reading.

Mystery of The Melted Coins
This book is great with lots of trouble and adventures. The Hardy's try to solve who stole from the Seneca's. They face kidnapping, little poison darts, hostile indians, and more. Recomended reading for kids form 3rd-6th grade. ... Read more

Book Description

Sammy Keyes is perusing the neighborhood through binoculars when she spots

something fishy at the Heavenly Hotel. She's sure she's just seen a robbery,

now she just has to prove it. Now in Knopf Paperback, is the first book in the

exciting new series of middle-grade mysteries starring the smart and spunky

seventh-grade ace detective. "This girl sleuth is no well-mannered Nancy Drew.

She's hot-tempered, nosy and not always obedient. In short, she's someone I

want to read about again. A winning debut!" (Margaret Maron, author of The

Bootlegger's Daughter and One Coffee With).




... Read more

Reviews (44)

A GREAT book---has something for everyone!!!
Sammy Keyes is shut up in her apartment one afternoon. Bored, she starts peeking out the window with her gram's binoculars. And what does she witness? A theft in the Heavenly Hotel across the street! The mysterious thief catches sight of Sammy, and she's launched into a mystery that's suspenseful but fun all the way.

This is a fantastic book that pretty much anyone can read and love, regardless of their taste in books, age, gender, or intelligence. I would definitely tell a friend to read it or buy it. The book has a relatively easy, to-the-point writing style that isn't tough to understand but is still good. The author clearly has a deep, terrific understanding of kids, is very talented, and NEVER gets sappy or condescending. It's action-packed fun with a detective girl who has an attitude---what could go wrong? I love mysteries because of all the connections and surprises, and this book is a perfect example. If you're very, very sharp and pay attention to details, hints, and clues (like Sammy Keyes herself!), then you can figure out the mystery, too.
(...)

Funny and Suspenseful
While living with her grandmother in a nursing home, as in The Mixed up Files, Sammy is not allowed to live in the facility (museum) and must sneak in and out. The rest home is across the street from a "seedy" hotel, where Sammy Keyes discovers a secret while spying on the questionable characters coming and going from the hotel. Sammy is a very likable and funny character and she often finds herself in trouble. This book has a surprising ending, which makes Sammy an intriguing character and prompts young readers to continue reading the Sammy Keyes series. This book also won the 1999 Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Children's Mystery Book. Other books suitable for the same age range are Holes, and Abby and the Bicycle Caper.

Very good
Read this book. I don't think you'll be disappointed. A good read for any age.

The Mystery
Danielle Vrshek 12-1-03

Sammy Keyes and The hotel thief By:Wendelin Van Draanen

"Sammy is daring, brash, and cool headed as they come." She is a very mysterious and nosy person, but when it comes to solving mysteries she can tell you when it happened, why it happened, and who was involved. Sammy Keyes is living with her grandma while her parents are away on business. Well she gets bored and starts checking out the neighboors from in her apartment building with her binoculars. Well it just so happens that she sees a man that she recognizes stealing money from a ladies purse, in a hotel. It was during the day and who would rob someone in the middle of broad daylight. It just so happens that Sammy starts finding clues from this robbery. The police are now involved and its a lot of caous. This book is realistic fiction because it could happen, but it wasn't a true story when the author was telling it.

This book kept me hooked and it WAS a page turner. This mystery makes you wonder about things and so you want to keep reading to find out. I would recommend this book to the 6th-8th grade level just because it is easy reading, but its a good mystery and it makes you think about the book and get more into it; instead of just reading on and on. I recommend this book to almost anyone because I (personally) never liked mysteries, but I kept hearing a lot of good things about this series and I knew I had to read it. Well sure enough my non-liking mystery self is definetly now a Sammy Keyes book worm. I enjoyed this style of writing because it seems like your actually the one in the situations that Sammy is in. To me that is a good book! I connected with the character in a way because of her sense of noticing things. I usually am very observant to what is around me.

This book rules
What would you do if your mom left you with your grandma and just so she can go to Hollywood and become famous and not bring you? That's what happened to Sammy Keys. Her mom left to become famous and never came back to get Sammy. Sammy grew up hating her mom instead of calling her mom she calls her Lady Lana. She does that because she doesn't consider her mom a mom. She grew up living with her grandma and were Sammy grandma lived Sammy wasn't aloud to be. So she had to sneak in the whole time with out getting caught. So one day she got cought by a person that was living 2 doors away form grams. So Grams had to get everything strained out so she told Sammy to go outside with boicnulars and look around but grams said, "don't go by the Heavenly Hotel." Well what does Sammy do she goes and she checks out the hotel? Well while she is looking though the window with her bonoculars she found a man going threw a women's purce though the window. Sammy realized it was a robber. So she studied the man but he had a mask on. Sammy wasn't thinking though because she decided that she would wave to the man instead of run and go get help. The man didn't notice who she was though so she got lucky. Later that day she found her friend Marisa. She stopped and talked to her. Well after they were done talking she went back to walk home but she went by the Heavenly Hotel and saw a lot of cops and people surrounding it. She went in to see what was wrong and so when she went in she got involved on saying that she says who did it and (etc.). So the officer asked for her address but she didn't have one because she stayed with her grams and the people aren't supposed to no that she lives there so she gives Marisa's house address. Well the cops one-day went to talk to Sammy but she wasn't at the house so Marisa called her over to tell her that cops were over. Well Sammy rushed over there and Marisa said that Sammy was in the shower would be out in the minute. She told the cops everything she new. Would the cops believe her and take her word on what she saw and knows?

I recremond this book to anyone that is in 6th grade into 8th grade. I say this because it is a good book and it isn't just for girls. IT can also be for boys because Sammy does some real guy things. She punches a girl in the nose, Goes were she isn't supposed to be, and lies to the cops. This was kind of a page turner because the ice cream man that goes around everywhere and not no mention he is death and has bad hearing he was the person that stole the money. When I was reading this book it wasn't hard to concentrate on because the more and more I read the more I wanted to get into the book. I kind of concentrated with Sammy because when she punched that girl in the nose it was for a good reason I would have done the same thing if she always talks about my best friend and me. I enjoyed the genre of the book. It was non-fiction because it wasn't real. I don't really like real books because they seem to be boring but this non-fiction book was good because the author just made up stuff to put in the book. The style of writing was great because at some of the chapters the author just left you in mystery on what was going to happen so you had to just read the next chapter to find out what happens. There were a few surprises that where in the book. One of them was when Sammy's grandma didn't care that she punched that girl in the nose. All Sammy's grandma did was talk to her a little bit and didn't say anything else. Yes almost every chapter ended with a cliffhanger. When I came up to one of those I just wanted to keep reading and not stop. If one chapter didn't end with a cliffhanger I would want to stop and not read for the rest of the day. This book was not boring at all. It always left me in suspense and wanted to keep reading. Plus I don't like reading that much but I did relate to that book a lot. My mind only wondered when I was thinking what was going to happen next otherwise it didn't wonder at all. The plot was pretty good because it was in a small place were stuff happens it wasn't in the best place in the world. It was good because it matches with the kind of place we live in today. The people that would enjoy reading it would be people from 6th grade to 8th grade and guys would like it to because it has violence and guys like to read about violence and girls like to read about romance. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Good Book
I read a book called the Twisted Claw. It's a fery good book. Frank and Joe Hardy help their dad track down a gang of smugglers,and discover a secret island kingdom.This book was great,lots of mystery.

Similar To The Original
This review concerns the revised 1969 edition. Frank and Joe help their father with his case concerning the thefts of pieces from a pirate treasure that had been on display in various museums. The investigation leads Frank and Joe to a mysterious ship called The Black Parrot. This is a very good book; although, I preferred the original edition. I thought that the best part of both books was when Frank and Joe disguise themselves and sail aboard The Black Parrot. Unfortunately, in the revised edition it lasts for only about 25 pages, while in the original version, that part lasted for a number of chapters. The revised edition is an exciting book and I think that most fans of the series would enjoy it.

A Really Good Book
This review concerns the original 1939 edition. Frank and Joe help their father track down a gang of smugglers and discover a secret island kingdom. This book was great; lots of mystery, lots of action, lots of suspence. The first 15 chapters are good, but the final 10 are excellent. At that point, Frank and Joe are hired on as crew members aboard the smuggler's ship. This book was very exciting; a must-read for all Hardy Boys fans.

It stumped me
The Hardy Boys are back in another big mystery. The twisted claw museum artifacts have been stolen and the Hardy Boys have to get them back. They have to risk their lives to find it. If you want to find out if they get it back you will have to read it. This is not a book to pass up.

A surefire suspense mystery
The Hardy Boys yet again get caught in a super thriller that almost cost them their lives. The Empire of the Twisted Claw tries to smuggle out all of the twisted claw treasure in musuems in the U.S. The treasure was owned by the famous pirate Cortal, the founder of The Empire of the Twisted Claw. Can the Hardy Boys stop the gang from taking all of the treasure, and what is the link with the Black and Yellow Parrot? Nobody can pass up a book like this one!!! ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Where are the clues?
In this Nancy Drew book Nancy is the detective along with her friends George and Bess. A mystery develops as the team is researching a class project on ice cream. While the girls are doing the research they discover that someone is trying to sabotage the towns new ice cream shop, the Double Dip. The story is told from Nancy's point of view, she does not tell the reader about the clues that she discovers during the mystery. This book did not give the reader the feeling of suspense, there were no cliffhangers or motivation to continue reading. Each chapter ends with a dull ordeal that is solved in the first few sentences of the following chapter. There are better choices for a mystery available.

Wonderful book for young kids, extremly action packed
In this episode, the young Nancy Drew has to do a report on ice cream. After asking around, she ends up taking "lessons" from two ice cream parlors. One of the parlors is an old fashion one, and the bright, new popular one is threatening to put it out of business. But then strange things start happening to this new parlor. Can Nancy catch the criminal and set them in the honest direction? ... Read more

Book Description

Read by Laura Linney
approx. 3 hours
2 cassettes

Nancy finds herself in danger when she tries to solve the mystery of the old inn, believed to be jinxed. ... Read more

Reviews (28)

Mystery at Lilac Inn Book Review
I chose to read this book because it looked like an interesting and fascinating book to read. I thought it was going to be about a haunted house filled with ghosts. The book wasn't really what I expected it to be. Now that I have read this book I think that it was a lot more exciting than what I thought it would have been. The main characters are Nancy, Helen, Emily, and John. The story is about Emily getting ready for her wedding in a couple of days. She invites Nancy and Helen to be the bridesmaids and asks them to come to Lilac Inn, which she owns. When they got there strange things began to happen at the inn. They believed that it is haunted. Nancy discovers there is an impersonator using her identification. All these mysterious things are happening and Nancy is trying to get to the bottom of it. As she tries to solve this case she gathers more clues and with the help of her friends she solves the mystery. This Nancy Drew book is the fourth book Carolyn Keene has written. Carolyn Keene is a great author and makes her stories fun and exciting to read. She is a great writer and makes this story easy to follow and understand. I like this book very much because it was thrilling and very exciting. It grabbed my attention right away. I couldn't wait to find out what would happen next. I didn't want to ever put the book down. It made me eager to read more. I personally like mysteries and this book was one of the best mysteries I have read in a long time. I think you should read this book because it is well written and it will keep you guessing about what will happen next. I think this book is appropriate for ages ten and up. I give this book a rating of five, five being the greatest. This book is about Nancy Drew trying to solve the haunting mystery case at Lilac Inn.

Nancy Drew's Great adventure at Lilac Inn
I chose to read this book because it looked like an interesting and fascinating book to read. I thought it was going to be about a haunted house filled with ghosts. The book wasn't really what I expected it to be. Now that I have read this book I think that it was a lot more exciting than what I thought it would have been. The main characters are Nancy, Helen, Emily, and John. The story is about Emily getting ready for her wedding in a couple of days. She invites Nancy and Helen to be the bridesmaids and asks them to come to Lilac Inn, which she owns. When they got there strange things began to happen at the inn. They believed that it is haunted. Nancy discovers there is an impersonator using her identification. All these mysterious things are happening and Nancy is trying to get to the bottom of it. As she tries to solve this case she gathers more clues and with the help of her friends she solves the mystery. This Nancy Drew book is the fourth book Carolyn Keene has written. Carolyn Keene is a great author and makes her stories fun and exciting to read. She is a great writer and makes this story easy to follow and understand. I like this book very much because it was thrilling and very exciting. It grabbed my attention right away. I couldn't wait to find out what would happen next. I didn't want to ever put the book down. It made me eager to read more. I personally like mysteries and this book was one of the best mysteries I have read in a long time. I think you should read this book because it is well written and it will keep you guessing about what will happen next. I think this book is appropriate for ages ten and up. I give this book a rating of five, five being the greatest. This book is about Nancy Drew trying to solve the haunting mystery case at Lilac Inn.

I found it a bit boring...
I read the 1930 version. The book was well written, but never managed to hold my intrest for some reason. I just found it boring.

A Suspencful Mystery
I like the book The Mystery at Lilac Inn because it not only holds adventure but it holds drama and suspense. When you start reading this book you will never be able to put it down. For anybody who likes a mystery and adventure stories I highly recommend this book it will have you jumping out of your chair and your hairs sticking straight up. Nancy and her friend Helen go to help out a dear friend but along the way stuff begains to happen so Nancy goes to try to figure out what was going on! Will Nancy ever find out this mystery? What's going to happen next? You read the book and tell me what you think!

Both Editions Are Great
This review concerns both the original 1930 edition and the revised 1961 edition, which is the one commonly found in new book stores. Both editions involve the theft of valuable jewels which belong to Nancy's friend Emily from a place called Lilac Inn; however, that is pretty much where similarity between the two books ends. In the original edition, Lilac Inn is a restaurant where Emily's guardian, Mrs. Willoughby, goes to have lunch while in possession of Emily's jewels. After the jewels are stolen from Mrs. Willoughby, the police begin to suspect that she was involved in the theft. Nancy and Emily believe in Mrs. Willoughby's innocence and Nancy sets out to find the real thief. With the revised edition, Lilac Inn is an inn owned by Emily and her fiance. The jewels are stolen during a dinner party where Mrs. Willoughby (who is Emily's aunt in this edition) was going to present Emily with the jewels. Also Nancy has a look-a-like who is going around town causing all sorts of trouble. Both editions are excellent books and because they are both distinct stories, you could read them both and not feel like you know exactly how the second one will turn out. Both books had plenty of action and had good endings. Personally, I prefered the original, but they are both interesting books. Read them both if you can, you won't be disappointed with either one. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

True Boxcar Children Style...
I felt that this book was written in the true Boxcar Children style. This is one of the original books in the series and has the same wonderful story line. I love the Boxcar children stories and recommend this one along with all the others. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Change of Heart
Published in 1954 - As a child - I rather liked this volume. I read it once as an adult and was very very bored. The Hardys seemed to professional to my liking in this one. First book to contain interior artwork - so it is a hallmatk of the series. The Hardys are given a Peregrine Falcon to aid them in solving this case. Not much to say about it other than it was sub par. RATED C-

The best book in the world.
I recommend this book because it has a lot of suspense and mystery.it is also has a lot of weird happenings.This book is wriiten by Franklin W. Dixon.Another good thing about is its got stuff to do with wildlife.

Average
This review concerns the original 1954 edition as well as the revised 1971 edition, which is a shortened version of the original. A friend of Mr. Hardy gives Frank and Joe a falcon so that they can help their father with his case concerning the smuggling of Indians into the U.S., also Frank and Joe search for a kidnapped Indian prince. This book was alright, the first half of it has some slow moments; however, the last 7 chapters were rather good. The book has a moderate amount of action and while the plot isn't totally original, it isn't bad and alot of kids would probably find the parts concerning the falcon interesting. One thing that I did like about the book was that many of the other characters of the series (Mr. Hardy, Chet, Tony, Sam Radley) were used often. It's not one of the best books, but it is worth reading.

Review of The Hooded Hawk Mystery
"The Hooded Hawk Mystery" is a normal Hardy Boys book. In the beginning the Hardys recieve a hawk to hunt pigeons. Then they get a new case to catch kidnappers and some smugglers smuggling aliens into the U.S.. Do the hawk,kidnappers,and smugglers tie together somehow?

The hooded Hawk Mystery
This book was interesting because it was exciting about the pigeons, the way the criminals were catched, the bombing of the Hardy home, and the falcon. I'd like to have one of those. This book may be four stars, but it can still be considered one of the top ten, and is definitely one that all fans can not miss. ... Read more

Book Description

Arthur and D.W. take Baby Kate and Pal to the neighborhood street fair. But suddenly Baby Kate starts crying. Arthur sends D.W. to buy Kate an ice cream cone, and she carefully ties Pal's leash to a bench outside the store. But when she comes out, Pal has squirmed out of his collar! Includes two pages of word stickers. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Simple But Sweet
This simple but sweet 'Arthur' work is probably aimed at a younger audience than the main targets of the T.V. show- 3rd graders, however, like all 'Arthur' works, it can appeal to all ages. The plot is something of a simple mystery that should work the brains of youngsters, and at least amuse the older readers. The illustrations are probably the best part of the book, each page is vividly illustrated in full color with plenty of ambient background details as well. My only complaint is that Marc gets some of the details wrong. For example, D.W. gets her face painted as a cat, and on the very next page, it is gone. Also, the number of pink stripes on outfit seems to keep changing. (Okay, okay, one gets bored.) Overall, excellent work though. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A Great Adventure
Published in 1949 - Crooked Arrow is a great adventure story by "Hardy standards". What drags this book down is the first 6 or so chapters. However, by page 85 this volume picks up in a hurry and from this point forward is an excellent adventure story set in the west. It mirrors Wildcat Swamp in some respects. The book chronicles the brothers adeventures on a western ranch. Tandy's artwork is exceptional as always. Great book certainly worth reading. RATED A-

An Enjoyable Book
This review concerns the original 1949 edition, as well as the revised 1970 edition which is merely a shorter version of the original. The Hardys investigate a group of criminals who are boldly robbing pedestrians in Bayport and other towns. Also, Frank, Joe and Chet go to New Mexico to help Mr. Hardy's cousin Ruth when cowboys start mysteriously disappearing from her ranch. Are the two mysterys connected, well of course they are, but you have to read the book to find out how. The book was pretty good; it was well-written and the setting of New Mexico was used effectively without the book sounding like it was a tour guide. There were a number of interesting characters and a good amount of action. There probably would not be too many Hardy Boys fans that would be disappointed after reading this book.

The Sign of the Crooked Arrow
This book is one of the better written ones in the series as the Hardy boys find the true meaning of the crooked arrow and uses New Mexico well as the backdrop for this mystery. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (6)

Out Of The Golden Age
This book continues the feel of the series that had been present since The Mark On The Door of 1934. After this volume however, the writing style would change. McFarlane wrote the original version of the book during his second stint with the Syndicate. I think the Syndicate had other ideas and let him finish The Melted Coins and World War II end before letting the hammer fall. In 1945 when the war ended this book was published then the heat was put on the author to bring the Hardy's into the scientific age. Like any of us at work, when change is implemented, we react with negativity. McFarlane at this point I feel became uninterested in the series and wrote his worst book to date only to be surpassed in 1947 by The Phantom Freighter. The book was medicore by Hardy Boys standards but subpar by McFarlane standards. Taxidermy becomes the sub plot and fingerprinting is performed for the first time in the series with this volume. The child like innocence held in the earlier volumes is now gone. I find this book somewhat difficult to rate. To me it is a 2.4 - Still it is worth reading and not among the worst of the series by any means. RATED C

An Average Read
This review concerns the revised 1966 edition. Frank and Joe investigate the theft of a number of stuffed animals from a country auction and aid their father with his case concerning an industrial spy ring that is using short-wave radio to send coded messages containing the names of various wild animals. This book was average; the mystery was alright and it had a moderate amount of action. Most fans would probably not be bored with this book, but I don't think that many would be very excited by it either.

Average
This review concerns the original 1945 edition. Frank and Joe help their father capture a group of thieves that steal valuable radio equipment and communicate in code using short-wave radio. Also, an old friend of Mr. Hardys asks for the detective's help in locating some missing friends. This was the first book in which Chet had a hobby (in this case, taxidermy) that played a part in the mystery. Not much to say about this book, actually, it's neither good nor bad, just average. The mystery is not spectacular and it's not boring either. Most Hardy Boys fans would probably not be very excited by this book, but it probably won't put them to sleep either.

McFarlane in decline
McFarlane wrote the original version of the book during his second stint with the Syndicate. I think the Syndacate had other ideas and let McFarlane finish The Melted Coins and World War II end before letting the hammer fall. In 1945 when the war ended this book was published then the heat was put on the author to bring the Hardy's into the scientific age. Like any of us at work, when change is implemented, we react with negativity. McFarlane at this point I feel became uninterested in the series and wrote his worst book to date only to be surpassed in 1947 by The Phantom Freighter. The book was average by the sets standards but sub par by McFarlane's standards. The revision was not much worse. Taxidermy become the sub plot and fingerprinting is performed for the first time in the series in this volume. The child like innocence held in the earlier volumes is now gone.

ORIGINAL Rated C+ Revision: Rated C

Exciting
A tremendous action packed book. One of the best in the series. Brings back memories of my childhood days when I was crazy about the Hardy boys. ... Read more

Book Description

The Scooby-Doo Readers are a level above the Picture Clue Books. The text is easy-to-read and the art is bold and full-bleed, making these an appealing Level 2 Reader. When Scooby finds an old map, the mystery begins. Ghosts, pizza pies and buried treasure? Scooby is sniffing out clues! ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Complete And Utter Garbage
Nancy helps Mr. Drew with his case concerning a rare bird farm that is scheduled to be torn down to make way for a high-rise apartment building. The owners of the farm are being frightened with jinx signs and other symbols of bad luck. Ooooooh! That's so scary. Yawwwwwwn. This book is absolutely horrible. The writing is terrible, the action is missing and there really isn't any mystery. It's not like Nancy is trying to find something or even capture a gang of unknown criminals. When you start the book you know that the people building the high-rise are the bad people. Lots of suspense there. This book features Nancy at her worst as she stoops so low as to use little children to get what she wants. This is an awful book that doesn't even deserve a 1 star rating.

Wonderful, action packed book!
In this exciting episode, Nancy and Ned try to solve a haunting mystery. But first Ned, then Nancy, come down with a mysterious disease. Can they get well in time to solve this mystery? ... Read more

Book Description

D.W., Arthur's fun and sassy little sister, is here to help every new preschooler get through the first day. From naps to snacks to playtime, D.W. covers it all in this helpful and hilarious guidebook to a very important rite of passage. Young readers everywhere will love the funny details and smart commentary from their favorite four-year-old aardvark. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Nate the Great and the sticky case
It was an incredible easyreading book.Nate the Great is called by his friend to find a missing stamp from his stamp collection.Onthe way he finds some wet clues and finds the stamp in a wacky spot.What I liked about the chapter was that Nate's dog gives him the last clue to solve the mystery.What I didn't like about the story was that the mystery was absolutly dreadful.

Sticky Clues
Claude asks Nate to help him to find the missing stamp from his collection. He used some sticky clues along the way. This was an exciting story because Nate found the stamp in a very surprising place!

Fun to Read! Easy to Start With!
Nate the Great is a Great Detective! This book kept us interested! We liked when the dog had the shoe with the stamp on it! The Dog's name is Fang. We liked that the dogs were characters in the book. We recommend this book to other people! ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Amir Vetry Critique Of Nate The Great
I read the book Nate The Great Goes Down In The Dumps. This book is a Realistic Fiction book. When I read this book I thought that it was an exelent book, because it had the things that would really happen to a ten year old child like me! It also had alot of details so it was facile to recount to the book,and understand it. This is a Book that I enjoyed and recommend it to anybody within second grade through fith grade.

Nate the Great Finds More Than a Lost List for His Readers
Nate the Great and The Lost List embodies the ingredients young readers will enjoy...mystery, humor and comic-book like illustrations. In this book, Nate the Great, has his vacation interupted by his friend, Claude, who has lost the grocery list given to him by his father. Nate and his ready companion,Sludge, scour the neighborhood in search of clues. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Mystery
Arthur gets called down the principal's office one day and the principal gives him a large envelope to give to his mother when he gets home. However, because Arthur does not want to get in trouble he does not give his mom the letter until much later that night. All day long Arthur and his friends try to come up with creative ways for Arthur to loss the envelope. I like this book because it teaches the child a lesson, by using ordinary everyday occurrences. I also enjoyed the creative ways the characters made up of how Arthur could loss the envelope. In the end Arthur learns that even if he might be in trouble, his parents can't help him if they do not know what is wrong.

A teriffic book to the beginning of the series
This book has a teriffic, funny storyline. If kids read the books in numerical order, this one is sure to get them inspired into reading Arthur. I highly recommend it to everyone.

Good mystery
I really liked this book because I didn't know what was going to happen until the end. I really thought that Arthur was in trouble. It's a good mystery and you have to read it to find out what it's about. I'm not going to tell you.

An Excellent children's book.
This is an excellent children's book. Especially for children making the transition to chapter books. It is well written and easy to read. It deals with problems in which children can easily idenitfy. Marc Brown gives great detail to Authur's anxiety of the unknown contents of the envelope. His writing certainly brings back my own childhood experiences. The pictures in this book allow children to identify with the charcaters and help them draw a mental picture of the story. The mystery has a wonderful happy ending and may help children understand that the unknown is not nesscessarily a bad thing. These are just some of the reasons I would recommend this book.

A very good, but short mystery
I like this book because it does have a style of it's own, and I don't like it because the chapters are so short. I think all the chapters should be a page longer, but that may because I am not a beginner reader. I did like the way the book was written, and how the author made you feel scared, if Arthur is scared. That is one good thing about the book. There are many other reasons why it is a good book, like the fact it is almost impossible to figure out. You would never guess what is in the envelope. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Nancy Joins The Circus
This review concerns the original 1953 edition as well as the revised 1974 edition. Both books tell a similar story. Nancy is given a horse charm bracelet as a gift; however, one of the charms is missing. There is also a story connected with the bracelet that says that it was presented to a circus performer by a queen who loved horses. The circus performer later had to reluctantly sell the bracelet, but refused to give her true identity and she is in desperate need of help. Later, Nancy goes to the circus and meets a young girl, Lolita, who has a horse charm similar to the ones on Nancy's bracelet. The girl's parents were trapeze artists, but died many years before and she is now being raised by the cruel ringmaster of the circus and his wife. Many people in the circus believe that Lolita's mother may actually still be alive. Nancy is determined to find the truth and hopefully free Lolita from her cruel guardians. Most of this book is pretty good, the mystery is rather interesting and there is quite a bit of action. However, the ending of the book is not good. Everything happens much to quickly, there is little action and it takes all of one sentence for the criminals to be captured. For the most part this is a good book, it just has a bad ending.

Ringmaster's Secret
I started reading the Nancy Drew Series when I was 5. The book Ringmasters Secret was one of my faves because I liked how Nancy's aunt bought Nancy a replica of the horse charm bracelet, that belonged to Lola (, Lolita's mother,) and was supposed to be handed down to Lolita; but Kroon took away the original 100% gold bracelet, and sold it to a jewelry store.

A Mysterious Wonder
This book is a very interesting story. It is a combination of realty and fantasy. Some people can really relate to this book.
I enjoyed this book very much because it was so different from all the other books I have read. I also read this book because it was a real eye catching mystery.
My favoriate character was Nancy Drew because she was the main detective. She had solved many mysteries and was kind and extremly modest.
The best part of the book was when Nancy joined the circus. The reason why it was my the best part was because she had only been stunt riding for a little time and she was doing a wonderful job in the circus.
The ending was ironic because you would never thought that the two characters would ever meet again.

The Ringmaster's Secret
Kidnapping, burgalars, injuries and puzzels. If you like mystery stories, you'll love Nancy Drew The Ringmaster's Secret. It's about three friends trying to help out a trappez girl named Lolita. Lolita was kidnapped and raised by a grumpy man named Kroon. When she found out she was kidnapped, Kroon would not let her escape. Everyone was afraid of him because of his violence. Finally Nancy and her freinds agreed to help her. She did not know at the time that she was not only putting her self in danger, but her friends too. One incident was when Nancy and George were tied up and put on a train headed toward Canada. Another one was when Nancy was stanggeled with a black rope. Kroon knew they were on to him. So he kept planning plots to get them off his track. No matter how bad it was. But Nancy drew out smarted him by contacting Lolita's real parents. Her father was dead, but her mother was still alive. Her name was Lola Flanders. Nancy also contacted the police and told them to meet her there the same time Lola Flanders would. When everyone arrived, Kroon made a run for it. Into the woods he went. Nancy ran after him on a horse named star. She would do trick riding bare back on him. That's when one of Kroon's friends threw a rock, hit her in the head and Knocked her unconscious. Anyways, as Nancy dashed through the forest, the police made a road block on the other side. To find out what happens, read the book The Ringmaster's Secret. Trust me, the ending is really well fitted. I really liked the book because mystery stories are my thing. Also, I love it when I am kept on the egde of my seat. You never know whats going to happen next. And when you get to a really suspensful part, you can't stop reading. I think the Author did a great job of writting the book. She must have really been into mystery stories too, or she wouldn't of written it. If I were to grow up and be a writer, these would be the exact kind of books I would write. Mystery stories. I don't like those other books. lLike the mushy love stuff. Or an every day life. I could'nt handle it.

One of the better ones in the series
This book is a definite standout when I think of the Nancy Drew books as a whole. It has an intricate, delicately handled plot and the indispensable element of suspense.

It tells the story of a girl, searching for her relations against the will of an evil man, who is also the ringmaster of a circus. It is very, very good among its more ordinary siblings . . . as I said before, a definite standout. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

In Limbo with a Ghost Pirate.
In this Scooby-Doo Adventure, Scoob and the gang find themselves at Sandy Cove, an ocean resort where Daphne's Aunt Maggie and Uncle Murray live. The gang has come to help Daphne's family with Frye Fest, a local celebration in honor of the pirate Captain Horace P. Frye, to help raise money for the town. A big city developer is in the area and is buying up all sorts of land. Then the Ghost of Captain Frye raises from the sea and threatens to wreck Frye Fest. Something smells fishy, but if Scoob and the gang want to save Sandy Cove, they have to work fast and unmask the ghost. Good story.

The book is great !!!!
The book is a great book to read. It is about a moster that wants the hotel and tries to scare the people off the island... ... Read more