More eBay Prices

Dana Girls:

#27 Silver Dolphin $15.50
#28 Wax Queen $51.22, $38.58
#29 Minstrel's Guitar $51.02
#30 Phantom Surfer $100.99, $89.88

Trailer Stories for Girls by Mildred A. Wirt:

The Runaway Caravan w/DJ $162.50
The Crimson Cruiser w/DJ $128.05
The Phantom Trailer w/DJ $288.57

House of Happy Endings by Leslie Garis

House of Happy Endings is Leslie Garis's shattering account of coming of age in a wildly imaginative, loving, but fatally wounded home.

In a large, romantic house in Amherst, Massachusetts, Leslie Garis, her brothers, and their parents and grandparents aimed to live an idyllic life—one that mirrored the charmed world that Howard Garis, author of the famed Uncle Wiggily books, and his wife, Lilian, created in the phenomenally popular children's series The Bobbsey Twins, Tom Swift, and Judy Jordan. But inside The Dell—where Robert Frost often sat in conversation over sherry and stories appeared to spring from the very air—all was not as it seemed.

At the center of the unfolding drama was Roger Garis, Leslie's father, a writer who struggled in vain for recognition. His mysterious mental disintegration, which seemed as much a result of his dark bond with his parents as it was biologically determined, led eventually to terrifying mood swings and drug addiction and threatened to destroy everyone around him. Refracted through the all-seeing eyes of a child, House of Happy Endings is a story of the struggle between art and life, innocence and experience, as it took place in one extraordinary, unforgettable family.

—from the front flap of the dust jacket

House of Happy Endings is Leslie Garis's memoir of her childhood growing up in a family of writers. Leslie's father was Roger Garis, who wrote several books for the Stratemeyer Syndicate. Roger's parents, Howard and Lilian Garis, were prolific writers for the Stratemeyer Syndicate.

House of Happy Endings tells the story of Roger Garis, his lifelong struggle with mental illness, and the devastating impact his illness had on his family. It also tells the story of the senior years of Howard and Lilian Garis.

The memoir is well-written, full of rich language, and is engaging from start to finish. It is an intriguing read for anyone who has enjoyed the writings of Howard, Lilian, Roger, and Cleo Garis. In the September/October 2007 issue of The Sleuth, Jennifer Fisher interviews Leslie Garis about her book. Leslie Garis comments, "My happy ending has come from taking hold of my one real inheritance—my family story—and turning it into a book that has touched many readers and will live on after I am gone. For me that is a tangible and satisfying happy ending." Despite all of the pain and suffering, it is indeed a House of Happy Endings.