Thoughts on the Narnia Movies

I haven't read the Narnia books in at least 15 years.  Going by what I remember, this is my ranking of the books from favorite to least favorite.

1.  The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
2.  The Horse and His Boy
3.  The Magician's Nephew
4.  Prince Caspian
5.  The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
6.  The Silver Chair
7.  The Last Battle

That is the order in which I think I would place them.  If I were to read them again, the order of a few would likely shift.  Even so, I'm about certain that Dawn Treader would remain in first place.  I've always loved it.

I recently watched the movie adaptations of the first three Narnia books.  It seems that my opinion about the movies is a bit different from the majority opinion.  Why does that not surprise me?

I don't judge the movies by how faithful the adaptations are.  My opinion is solely based on how much I enjoyed watching each movie.

I partially enjoyed The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.  Parts of the movie really interested me, while I forwarded through other parts.

Prince Caspian bored me, as in completely.  The movie is pretty much one huge fight scene.  It is a wonderful movie if you like lengthy fight scenes, but I'm not interested in that sort of thing.  I forwarded through much of the movie.

What I loved about the book is missing from the movie.  Keeping in mind that I haven't read the book in 15 or so years, I do remember what I loved about it.  I loved the parts with Doctor Cornelius and the backstory that he provides.  I love the Pevensies' arrival in Narnia and how they come to be with Trumpkin.  There's some fun stuff where Trumpkin doesn't believe who they are, and this is mostly eliminated in the movie.  The movie bored me.

I knew that The Voyage of the Dawn Treader would certainly fall short of the magic of the book, and I knew that the plot would be changed a lot.  Undaunted, I was eager to watch the movie.  I strongly suspected that I would like it much better than the other two movies.

I was not disappointed.

I watched every second of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and never felt like forwarding through anything.  Nothing drags, and everything is interesting.

The movie does change a lot from the book, but we still see Caspian and his crew traveling to multiple islands to discover the fate of the seven missing Lords of Narnia.  

I always have found the ending of Dawn Treader with Reepicheep to be moving.  The same happened when I watched the movie.  Tears came to my eyes.  Oh, such a valiant talking mouse!

After I finished watching Dawn Treader, I searched online to see what other people think.  Most people like the first movie the best, while others like the second movie the best.  Many people hate the third movie.  It just goes to show that you can't go by other people's opinions.  

On Reddit, I found this comment about the third movie:

I liked it, I found it fun. I guess I just don't view things as seriously as other people. I can actually enjoy things.

Ha.  Of course, this person was downvoted.  How dare anyone like the third movie!  At least someone agrees with me.  Yes, events were left out and the order of the islands was changed, but I greatly enjoyed this adaptation of my favorite Narnia book.

Girl Scouts in the Ozarks by Nancy Nance

I have owned Girl Scouts in the Ozarks for three years.  I wanted to try it before selling it, but I had not been motivated enough to follow through.  Since I have had trouble enjoying most books in recent months, I decided to give the book a try. 

I first ran an online search, where I saw that Kirkus Reviews declares the book to be "a much better girl scout book than the average run."  I know better than to trust Kirkus Reviews, since the reviews tend to offer the opposite opinion of what I think about most books, but I was nevertheless swayed into trying the book.

The characters are not described at all except for one girl who is more timid and another who is adventurous.  The reader learns nothing about the girls' lives, hair color, personalities, or anything else.  Having eight girls rapidly introduced without any description makes a book hard to start reading.

Depending upon what one wants in a book, the book could be considered good to very good.  I am not the target audience, which is girls who are interested in scouting.  I found some stretches of text to be interesting while others bored me.

The reader gets a heavy dose of Ozark lore, fishing, frog-hunting, squirrel-hunting, bird-watching, folk song lyrics, cooking, dialect, and identification of flowers and trees.  This is excellent content for those who want a book about scouting and all that it entails.  I did find some of it to be interesting; however, I would rather just read about a great adventure.  The two protagonists do experience an adventure towards the end of the story when they are held captive by moonshiners.  

I dislike the illustrations.  Interestingly, I found a review shown on a page about scouting books where the illustrations are said to be "striking in their woodcut simplicity."  

While the illustrations are striking, I still don't care for them.  Like with anything, it's a matter of personal taste.  I mentally compared these illustrations to the ones from the Nancy Drew books of the 1970s.  Those are considered awful by most collectors, but I would rather see illustrations like those in a book.

The same review says that the dialect is handled skillfully.  While that may be true, I hate reading dialect in books.  I don't enjoy having to sound out the dialect to figure out what is being said.  In this book, "b'ile" means "boil."  I kept pausing each time it came up.  By halfway through the book, I was used to it and knew immediately what it meant.

I skimmed some of the dialect, and I skipped the song lyrics and some of the information about bird species and tree identification.

I found some parts of the book to be very good and other parts not very interesting.  The book contains some really good information about life in the Ozarks during the early 20th century.  I do have a generally positive opinion of this book.  The book might be very good, but for me personally, it is overall just good.

Books by Helen Girvan

This is a list of books written by Helen Girvan.

Blue Treasure, 1937
Phantom On Skis, 1939
The House at 231, 1940
Felicity Way, 1942
The White Tulip, 1944
The Light in the Mill, 1946
The Seventh Step, 1949
Hidden Pond, 1951
End of a Golden String, 1952
Patty and the Spoonbill, 1953
Down Bayberry Lane, 1955
The Clue in the Antique Clock, 1957
Disappearance At Lake House, 1959
Mystery of the Unwelcome Visitor, 1959
The Frightened Whisper, 1963
The Missing Masterpiece, 1965
The Hidden Treasure, 1968
Shadow in the Greenhouse, 1970

I read some of these books a year ago.  I read or tried to read through most of the rest of them recently.  I was not able to finish all of them.

Helen Girvan's books tend to be slow-paced.  I would say that all of her books are good or better, but the pace of many of them is too slow for my taste.  I struggled to read a number of them.

Here are brief thoughts on some of the books.

Phantom on Skis - I liked the book at first.  I then didn't read for four days.  I couldn't get back into the story and skimmed to the end.

The House at 231 - As I read this book, I had to wonder if someone from the Stratemeyer Syndicate read it and got story ideas for the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books.  This book features a jewel box, a woman named Mrs. Egan, and a Chinese junk.  I found it very strange.  As with most books by Girvan, the story is a bit slow, but it is very good.

Felicity Way  - This story depicts a simple lifestyle in which herbs are homegrown and are very important.  Sachets of herbs are made to place in clothing drawers.  Pomander balls are created to use as Christmas presents.  The writing style is confusing at times.  Still, this is a very good book and a very good period story.

The Light in the Mill - I found this story intriguing.  The protagonist and her cousin look very similar, so they switch places for the summer, each pretending to be the other.  The book has a mystery and is a coming of age story.  I like what the protagonist figured out about herself.  This is a very good book.

Hidden Pond - This book has too many characters.  The story is good, but I found it hard to read due to constant confusion.  I couldn't keep the characters straight, and some sets of names begin with the same letter (Claire, Clem, Jarret, Jeanpierre, Joulin), which added to my confusion.  I feel like the story reads in a disjointed fashion due to information overload.

Down Bayberry Lane - I enjoyed this book at first, but I lost interest halfway through.

The Clue of the Antique Clock - I enjoyed this book but not as much as Mystery of the Unwelcome Visitor, which I read right before it.

Mystery of the Unwelcome Visitor - This book is very good to excellent.  The story is engaging all the way through, and the ending does not drag.

The Missing Masterpiece - This book has a lot of interesting plot points including an art heist, Communist sympathizers, a bratty kid, an annoying woman, and a play that isn't going well.  I found this book to be really interesting.  The story moves somewhat slowly, but the plot elements are interesting, so I greatly enjoyed it.  This book is very good to excellent.

The Hidden Treasure - I enjoyed this book, for the most part.  I feel that the story moves a bit slow at times, and I skimmed a little bit.

Vintage Picture Books Featuring Cats and Kittens

I have always been attracted to books about cats and kittens, although I never actively collected them.  In early June 2016, I saw an eBay listing for White Princess by Elva Dittman.  The book was showing in one of my saved searches, which was for "Cupples and Leon."  Cupples and Leon published the book in 1945.  I thought the book was adorable, so I found a copy with a nicer dust jacket on AbeBooks and purchased it.

Remember that you can click on any photo to see a larger version.

I wanted to find more books like it, but I was at a loss as to how to proceed.  I tried some searches using "cat" and "kitten" but did not find anything.  Rather, I did not find anything that appealed to me; I did not want books with cartoonish pictures.  I forgot about trying to find more of these books for quite some time.

In late 2017, I decided to try again.  I found The Antique Cat by Bianca Bradbury.  It was published in 1945 and is about a scruffy alley cat who finds a home in an antique shop.

This next book is one that I purchased eight years ago in a thrift store.  One Kitten Too Many by Bianca Bradbury and Marie C. Nichols was published in 1952.

Cats and More Cats by Diana Thorne and Connie Moran was published in 1945.

I then stumbled upon the books of Clare Turlay Newberry.  Newberry specialized in drawing cats, and her books are currently available in reprints.  I decided that I wanted vintage copies with dust jackets, which is not an easy task.  Most old picture books lost their jackets soon after falling into the hands of young children.

In Drawing a Cat from 1940, Clare Turlay Newberry explains her technique.

Percy, Polly, and Pete was published in 1952.

Babette was published in 1937.

Mittens was published in 1936.

Smudge was published in 1948.

Ice Cream for Two was published in 1953.

April's Kittens was published in 1940.  I opted for an FLB library edition, which has an illustration that appeals to me more than the dust jacket art of the original edition.  I love library editions, so this book is perfect for me.

Pandora was published in 1944.  The second photo seen below shows one of my favorite passages from the book.  Cat owners are used to that kind of behavior.

The Kittens' ABC was published in 1946.

All of these books are delightful, and I love them.  

The Books of Ruby Lorraine Radford

Last year, I became interested in the books of Ruby Lorraine Radford.  I purchased the following books to read.

The Mystery of the White Knight, 1927
The Mystery of Adventure Island, 1928
The Mystery of the Bradley Pearls, 1930
The Mystery of the Nancy Lee, 1932
The Mystery of Myrtle Grove, 1933
The Mystery of Pelican Cove, 1934
The Mystery of Magnolia Beach, 1942
Secret of Ocean House, 1961
The Secret of Peach Orchard Plantation, 1963

These books are not Radford's only books.  Some of Radford's books are nearly impossible to find, and others, like biographies, are outside of my area of interest.  Partial lists of Radford's books can be found on sites like Goodreads.  I don't know of any site that actually lists all of her books in the same place.

Ruby Radford was born in 1891 and died in Augusta, Georgia, in 1971.  More information can be found here.

Radford's books are set in the south, usually in South Carolina, Georgia, or Florida.  Radford's early books make heavy use of the n-word.  Her books from the 1960s do not use that word, as best I can recall.  Radford's books are a window into southern life of the first part of the 20th century.

The first Radford book that I read was The Mystery of Pelican Cove.  In this book, the children have to go away from home because their sister has scarlet fever.  Since the children are not permitted to go home, they go to their deceased uncle's isolated home where rumors abound that something valuable is hidden there. The young people bring a negro cook.  Meanwhile, a Chinese man who was a former servant to their uncle forces his company on them. Another Chinese man skulks about near the house.  The young people worry that someone else will find the hidden treasure.

This book uses the n-word, and the Chinese are referred to by a racial slur.

The story is excellent, just like series books of the 1930s, and is my very favorite Radford book of the ones I read.  The book classifies as a girls' series book, since the story is told from the girls' point of view primarily.

I did not make any notes about most of the other Radford books when I read them, so I can only write about my general feelings, as best I can remember them.

The Mystery of Myrtle Grove is about a family that is down on their luck.  I can't remember anything specific, but I recall the story as overall good.  I think it has some weak spots, but not so many as some of Radford's other books.

I struggled with The Mystery of Adventure Island.  The story takes place on an island that is said to be owned by a certain family, but then apparently others live on the island, so it isn't really all theirs.  The island is connected to the mainland somehow.  Many details that are important are not included, so I was confused the entire time I was reading the book.  For that reason, I don't have a good impression of the story, even though it is overall good.

In The Mystery of Magnolia Beach, Madge's family has acquired a sea island plantation.  Madge's mother is with her father, who is receiving treatment at the hospital.  Madge and her brothers run the plantation as they keep an eye on strange activities.

As I recall, this book also confused me at times, but I enjoyed the book more than The Mystery of Adventure Island.  I found this book to be overall very good.

The Mystery of the Nancy Lee bored me.  I could never get into it.

Secret of Ocean House and The Secret of Peach Orchard Plantation are later books by Radford.  These books are good, but Radford's earlier books are more interesting to me.

I read The Mystery of the White Knight recently, so I can remember details.  The young people stay at a family member's plantation.  The negroes have fled the plantation, because they believe it is haunted.  The young people look for clues that will prove that the ghostly figure is actually a real person.

This book is full of negative racial stereotypes and uses the n-word heavily.

I had trouble getting into this book, because the author rapidly throws out names on the very first page of the story.  I was sorely tempted to put it away based on the first page.  I persevered and read the story.  I did struggle with visualizing the plantation and surrounding area, which is often a problem in Radford's books.  Aside from that struggle, this is an enjoyable book.

I thought that I was done with my Radford books, then I found another that I forgot I had purchased.

In The Mystery of the Bradley Pearls, Ann learns that she has inherited the old Bradley home.  Ann, two friends, and her stepbrothers travel to the home to see if it can be sold.  The house is rumored to have a hex on it, so nobody will purchase it.  Ann would love to have her family live in the house, but the taxes will be due soon, and she cannot pay them.  The Bradley pearls are missing and were supposedly hidden on the property.  The young people try to find the pearls so that they can save the property.

I was bewildered about the young people considering certain names used by the negroes to be funny.  A negro boy is named Nick, so the young people laugh at his name, thinking he was named after "Old Nick," the devil.  I looked up the popularity of the name, and plenty of people were named Nick in the 1920s and 1930s.  I see nothing amusing about the name.

A young negro girl is named Angeline, which is a very nice name in my opinion.  The protagonists think it absolutely hilarious that the girl is named Angeline.  The name was not very popular in the 1920s and 1930s but is much more popular today.  Even so, I don't see what is so funny about the name. 

Angeline has her hair braided around her head, and sometimes the braids come loose, so the children refer to the braids as "pigtails."  Partway through the story, the children begin calling the girl "Piggle" instead of Angeline and call her that for the rest of the story.  The girl has a nice name, but they poke fun at it and give her an ugly name.  How racist and demeaning.

The Mystery of the Bradley Pearls is a bit slow at times, but it is a very good to excellent story, despite the strong racism.  I consider it about equal to The Mystery of Pelican Cove as one of the two best Radford books.

In conclusion, Ruby Lorraine Radford wrote some very good stories.  However, her books do have weaknesses.

Dorothy Dale: A Girl of To-Day and the Tom Stetson Series

This post consists of some brief thoughts on four books that I read this summer.

I read the first Dorothy Dale book, Dorothy Dale:  A Girl of To-Day.  The book was published in 1908 and was written by Lilian Garis under the pseudonym of Margaret Penrose.

Dorothy cries three times and passes out three times.  She goes into hysterics over practically nothing.  This story qualifies as one of the "namby-pamby" old girls' series books.

Language changes over the span of 100 years.  On page 163, Dorothy and Tavia leave on a trip.  The girls feel homesick and miss their friends and family.  Tavia remarks that "it's creepy to leave them all."  "Creepy" doesn't seem right to me in this context, at least not by how most people use it now.  I had to look up the meaning of the word to figure out how I should interpret the passage.  In this context, Tavia means that she feels uneasy about leaving her friends and family.  That makes sense.

The text contains much unnecessary use of quotation marks, a practice that is representative of several authors of old series books.  It's extremely obnoxious and takes me out of the story.  I hate it.

I found this story rather uninteresting.  I own the complete set of Dorothy Dale books.  I might read them someday, but the series is not a priority.

I read the three Tom Stetson books.  The series was published by Whitman and was written by John Henry Cutler.

1.  Tom Stetson and the Giant Jungle Ants, 1948
2.  Tom Stetson on the Trail of the Lost Tribe, 1948
3.  Tom Stetson and the Blue Devil, 1951

The books are set in the jungles of South America near the Amazon river.  Tom, his uncle, and a native boy, Manolo, are the primary characters.

The first book is a little slow at times and has too much detail.  The ending is a cliffhanger, since Manolo has been abducted by a native tribe.

The second book is paced much better.  I enjoyed it a lot more, but I kept confusing the two tribes.  Interestingly, in the third book, the author confuses the two tribes, mentioning one when he means the other.

On page 35 in the third book, the text states that they do not know which tribe was Manolo's.  How strange.  That was figured out in the first book.  Apparently, the author forgot.

I enjoyed most of the descriptive information from early in the third book, but by page 120, it becomes too much.  Finally, the plot gets started, and the book is pretty interesting.  The story ends rather abruptly, and this is the end of the series.

Whitman books can be rather uneven in quality, and I have always been wary of them ever since I read the female movie star authorized editions of the 1940s.  The Trixie Belden series is the shining star of Whitman since it is an outstanding series.  Whitman also published some other books that are rather good, like Brains Benton.  Many other Whitman books are quite mediocre.

The Tom Stetson series is slightly above average as far as Whitman books go.  They are much better than the Whitman authorized editions but are nowhere near as good as Trixie Belden.

For detailed Tom Stetson reviews, please visit this blog.

The Dan Perry Series by Kent Sagendorph

The Dan Perry Series consists of three books written by Kent Sagendorph and published by Cupples and Leon.

1.  Radium Island, 1938
2.  Beyond the Amazon, 1938
3.  Sin-Kiang Castle, 1938

In Radium Island, Dan Perry's father is abducted by a Russian, Varkofsky.  Dan and his friend, Shorty, follow Varkofsky in their plane and manage to rescue Anson Perry. The boys learn that Varkofsky has jumped Mr. Perry's claim on the pitchblende mine on Radium Island in Great Bear Lake, Canada. Dan and Shorty fly to the lake to capture Varkofsky, but instead, the boys are captured! They are forced to labor in the mine for months.  Can they ever escape?

Anson Perry becomes paralyzed at the beginning of the first book.  Unlike in most series books, Mr. Perry does not recover.  He is still paralyzed at the end of the third book. Since Mr. Perry is paralyzed, Dan takes over running Mr. Perry's affairs for him.

In Beyond the Amazon, another of Anson Perry's claims has been jumped, this time in Brazil in the middle of the rain forest.  The claim is a diamond mine, and Dan and his companions fight to get it back.

This book is poorly edited.  For instance, on page 56, the sun is shining, and on page 60, it is said to be pitch black outside.  I was rather confused, especially since little time had passed.

The entire book is full of lots of fighting, which often doesn't make sense.  In one scene, I couldn't figure out which direction some of the natives were going.

I had to skim a lot of the book.

In Sin-Kiang Castle, Shorty's father is missing in China.  Dan and Shorty travel to China to search for him.

This book is also confusing at times, especially when the information presented is obviously false.  We learn that in China it is noon of the day before.  No, China is ahead of United States time, not behind.

I did not care much for this book and skimmed a lot of it.

The first book is the strongest of the three. The second and third books would have been better if they had been edited better.  In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the second and third books were not edited at all.  They read like rough drafts.

For a more detailed review, read "Dan Perry: An Unusual Series."

Pirate Oak, Apple Orchard, and Lost Letter by Helen Fuller Orton

I tried three books written by Helen Fuller Orton.

Mystery in the Apple Orchard is too young for me.  It reads like a book for very young children. It's cute and would be fun to read to a child.  It's not so good when read by an adult.

Mystery in the Pirate Oak is better.  The story is still pretty simple, but the book is interesting.

The Mystery of the Lost Letter is the best of these three books.  The story includes a search through a library full of books and a secret passage that leads to a nearby hillside.  The story is quite interesting.

This book was published in 1946, right after World War II.  Miss Wayne has the library full of books.  Everyone considers Miss Wayne selfish for not loaning out her books.  I can see that viewpoint, especially for the time period in which the book is set. However, no matter what a person possesses, it is their decision whether to loan out the items. They shouldn't be considered selfish for keeping their belongings for their own use.

The Ghost of Follensbee's Folly by Florence Hightower

The Ghost of Follonsbee's Folly by Florence Hightower was first published in 1958 and is 218 pages long.  My copy is a Weekly Reader edition.  I have owned this book for many years.  I picked it up either at a garage sale or thrift store.  I can't remember, but I am so glad that I finally read it.

In The Ghost of Follonsbee's Folly, the Stackpole family moves into an old house that dates from before the Civil War.  The house is in disrepair, and Mr. Stackpole soon discovers that repairing the house is using up all of his money.

The family hears strange noises at night, but they attribute the sounds to the furnace or water pipes needing repair.  Tom befriends a boy named Joe who spends his days near the river.  Joe won't tell Tom where he lives or much of anything about himself, but Joe and Tom quickly become best friends.

Angela the cook is the best character.  On page 28, Angela declares, "Watching the river I knew it wasn't my place to judge others even though I'm nearly always right and they're mostly wrong."

As Mr. Stackpole's plans go awry on page 34, Angela points out, "Man proposeth.  God disposeth."  Angela is wonderful.

On page 74, Elsie and Tom have to feed the twin infants.  Unfortunately, the twins are prone to fits of rage.  Elsie and Tom hit upon the perfect solution:  Make the boys race. The children shove food in the babies' mouths as fast as they can.  "There was no time for displays of temper.  Either they ate their fastest or they strangled."  I couldn't believe it.

The characters are described quite well and have memorable personalities.  The book has lots of humor.  Without giving specific spoilers, the story has the typical series book elements that we love so much.  Parts of the story remind me a little bit of the Nancy Drew books The Hidden Staircase, The Clue of the Tapping Heels, and The Hidden Window Mystery.

This is an excellent book.

The Highview Mystery by Lawrence A. Keating

The Highview Mystery by Lawrence A. Keating was published in 1944.  I saw this book advertised on one of the dust jackets from the Roger Baxter books.  It looked interesting.  I was fortunate to find an inexpensive copy up for sale.  This was two years ago.

As of a few weeks ago when I read this book, there were just two copies for sale online, neither inexpensive.  I believe both were available two years ago when I instead found the cheap copy.  Interestingly, those two books have now both sold.  I mentioned this book on Facebook a few weeks ago with a brief review, and I suspect that I may have helped those books sell.  Regardless, this is an extremely scarce book.

In The Highview Mystery, various items have been stolen from the hospital, including money that will ruin a fundraiser.  Foxy, Tom, and Rick work on solving the case.

The boys are sophomores in high school, although the jacket makes them look like grown men.

I was struck by some slight similarities to the Three Investigators and Brains Benton series.  The three boys have a club that they call the "Three D's," and their motto is "Daring, Dependable Doers!"  The leader is Foxy, who is overweight and intelligent. The clubhouse is in a garage near one boy's house. A sensor placed outside rings a bell when someone approaches the clubhouse.

Nowadays, the illicit use of drugs to get high is such a big problem that the subject is common knowledge.  On page 80, naive Tom asks, "Why would anybody want to steal narcotics?"  Tom is told about addicts and "dope peddlers."  Tom then asks, "Yes, but why would a person become an addict?"  Tom is then told that some do it out of "foolish curiosity" and that others use it "to keep on with their jobs," presumably because they would be more energetic.  Tom is also told that some people become addicted because of chronic pain.  This passage was probably quite enlightening to many young readers in 1944.

This is a very good book.

Ghost Hollow Mystery and Mystery at Ding-Dong Gulch by Page Carter

The Ghost Hollow Mystery was published in 1951, and Mystery at Ding-Dong Gulch was published in 1956.  The books were written by Page Carter.

In The Ghost Hollow Mystery, cousins Bucky, Christopher, Melinda, and Jane stay at their grandmother's house.  When Melinda learns that the town school has no books, she organizes a book drive.  The books that are donated will be sold at the general store, and the money raised will purchase books for the school.  Meanwhile, the children learn of a series of thefts in the surrounding area. When items are stolen from their grandmother's home, Bucky and Christopher begin investigating the deserted cabin in Ghost Hollow.

This book has too many characters that are introduced too quickly.  Even worse, each character's dog is introduced by name at the same time that the character is introduced.  I could hardly keep anyone straight.  Authors come very close to losing me completely when they do that.  I am always very tempted to shut the book and not read it.

Just imagine what kind of books would have been donated to the children, since the book was published in 1951.  They would have gotten lots of very old books that are no longer seen nowadays.

This is a very good book.

In Mystery at Ding-Dong Gulch, Bucky and Christopher go to visit Melinda in her new home.  The children investigate several mysteries.  One man keeps his house barred with the doors nailed shut, yet he somehow comes and goes from the house.  Meanwhile, a new rancher is disliked and might be up to something.  Ding-Dong Gulch is another mysterious place that might have a mystery. And then there's the nearby ghost town.

This book is not that interesting because none of the multiple mysteries amount to much.  It's like the author had a number of half-formed ideas and tossed them together in one book.  The story would have been much more interesting if the author had concentrated on one mystery and made it interesting.

I did not like this book.

Food, Fun, and Camping

What better way to spend a holiday than to enjoy a cookout? Here is an excerpt from pages 78-80 of The Secret of Camp Pioneer, from the Girl Scouts Mystery Series by Virginia Fairfax:

When all of the girls had arrived at this spot, Captain Mac gave the signal for silence. 

"We're going to have a meal that you can prepare very quickly," she began. "The chief dish is galloping guinea pigs. That's right, girls, laugh! That's a funny name for a dish, but it tastes as good as it sounds. The Cardinals are to be the wood-gatherers, the Whippoorwills the fire-builders; the Owls are to make the galloping guinea pigs, while the Bluebirds are to get long, green, sweet-gum sticks for the guinea pigs to ride on. Let's see how quickly and well we can prepare our first meal." 

With much chattering and laughter, the girls set to work at their different tasks. As there were several piles of dry branches at the foot of the hill, the girls soon had their wood gathered and the fire built. While they were waiting for the fire to make a bed of hot coals suitable for cooking, several of them roamed about, exploring the knoll. 

In the meantime, the Owls were being initiated into the mysteries of the galloping guinea pigs. Bubbling over with curiosity, they circled around the food, peering at the boxes of bacon, the yellow triangles of cheese, and the lettuce and rolls, which Lu had brought out. All-interest, they watched Captain Mac deftly demonstrate the method of making this dish. Having cut a piece of cheese into cubes, she took a cube, wrapped a piece of bacon around it and fastened it securely with a small sliver of green wood. "This wood is sweet gum," she explained, "because it will not spoil the flavor of the food as pine and some other kinds of wood will. As soon as the Bluebirds bring the long sticks, I'll push the sharpened end of a stick into this cheese and bacon—or pig—and then it will be ready to cook. When the bacon is done, open up a roll, slip in a piece of lettuce and the pig—and you know what to do next." 

"I'll say we do!" exclaimed Hilda. "Let's hurry and do it."

Junior Miss by Sally Benson

A seller recently included this book in the package along with a book that I purchased on eBay. Normally, this is not the type of children's book that I read or even care about since my focus is on the juvenile series books, but since I had it, I read it. I liked it. The overall feel of the book and the personality of the main character, Judy Graves, remind me a lot of Amy in Amy Moves In by Marilyn Sachs. This is the description from the front flap of the dust jacket:

Junior Miss is the story of a typical New York family—Mr. Graves, a genial and successful business man in his early forties; Mrs. Graves, his charming and understanding wife; Lois, the very superior young daughter of sixteen; and in particular, Judy, just under fourteen, a little too eager, a little too fat, stepped on at every turn by her older sister, but for all that, as appealing a little job as can be found between book covers. Whether Judy Graves will grow up to be a Florence Nightingale, a Dorothy Thompson, or a Lizzie Bordon, only Sally Benson knows. Meanwhile, however, her adventures have been delighting the readers of the New Yorker, and in book form will undoubtedly prove to be the greatest success of Miss Benson's career. Hollywood is preparing to glamourize Judy Graves in its own inimitable fashion. We beg you, however, to meet the real Judy here—the vivid, alarming, and sometimes startling original—straight from the workshop of Sally Benson herself.

The book is copyright 1939, 1940, and 1941 and was originally serialized in the New Yorker. The film that the book mentions was released in 1946, and it sounds like the plot was changed significantly for the film, as is what happens with most books that become films. The book provides an interesting snapshot of life in the city for an average American family in around 1940. The book mentions fashions and various things that interest the girls of that time period. For example, Judy keeps a picture of Tyrone Power in her locket. Unlike the typical series book, this story includes pop culture references that date the story. On pages 114 and 115, Judy's Christmas presents for her family are described:

She had bought her father a gadget called a Scotch Bartender, which measured an exact jigger of whiskey, and a practical and charming present for her mother. It was an ashtray, and attached to it was a frog's head. You inserted a cigarette in a place in the mouth, and the ashes fell in the tray. A silk-covered rubber tube extended from the inside of the frog's head and ended in a dainty amber cigarette holder. The idea of the whole thing was to be able to smoke in bed without fear of dropping ashes on the blankets and perhaps going up in flames.

This entire passage sounds like a joke, and it is even more funny to me since I do not believe it was intended to be quite as funny as I'm taking it. Apparently her mother smokes, so buying her an ashtray is a thoughtful gift. I have seen old cigarette ads from the 1930s and 1940s, and smoking was considered very chic in those days. It is interesting how times have changed. Smoking in bed? This is not a good idea. The book suggests that the ashtray is a clever way to avoid "going up in flames," but the smoker could fall asleep and still go up in flames. It is still dangerous. I'd love to see that ashtray, however. On page 119, Judy and her best friend give each other a pocketbook.

They had given one another pocketbooks of colored imitation leather, handsomely outfitted with lipstick, powder and rouge compact, comb, and cigarette case.

I do have a vague recollection of cigarette cases being included as an accessory with purses. Smoking was the accepted norm decades ago. All in all, I found Junior Miss to be an interesting read.

The Whitman Authorized Editions

Here is one last post from the Vintage Series Books group, from August 1, 2005:

I started the Whitman Authorized Editions recently. I first read Betty Grable and the House with the Iron Shutters by Kathryn Heisenfelt. Everything about it is overdramatic. The characters are fearful about everything, even hearing a cat's meow is fear-inspiring! It rather reads like a parody of series books. As I suspected the entire time I was reading it, the "mystery" turns out not to be much of a mystery at all. I found that I didn't really care by that point. If everyone were more open with each other and less afraid of everything, there wouldn't have been a story to tell at all. That said, I did enjoy reading it but I would not give it a high rating.

I next read Ann Sheridan and the Sign of the Sphinx by Kathryn Heisenfelt. It is also a bit overdramatic, but not nearly so as the previously-mentioned book. Fortunately, this book does have a decent mystery. Well, it more involves saving a woman from a group that uses the Sign of the Sphinx in their communications and of course they ask their victims for money. Apparently, they plan to kill their victims, so Ann and her companion Crunch do have a dangerous mission in this book. This book was also enjoyable.

Yesterday and today, I read Jane Withers and the Phantom Violin by Roy J. Snell. Rather, I skimmed much of it. I could tell by the second page that it was not going to be pleasant reading. Snell's writing style leaves a lot to be desired, and he jumps around too much and doesn't explain certain things when he should. For instance, on page 2, one of the girls mentions "Old Dizzy," and it is not until much later that the author states that Old Dizzy is the girls' pet loon. Also, one of the girls visits gypsies who have a dancing bear. Jane catches a wolf with a fishing rod and line. A raging moose is calmed by music and then frightened by a scream. Lots of unrelated events occur, and not everything is explained. I'm glad I'm through with it and can move on to the next book. I do not recommend reading it.

The Lost City of the Aztecs by J. A. Lath

I just finished reading The Lost City of the Aztecs by J. A. Lath. I purchased this book solely because I thought that the dust jacket was pretty. I really didn't know if I would like the book.

I do not tend to like boys' series books as much as girls' series books, because many of the ones that I have read tend to have too many fistfights and other things that don't interest me much. This book turned out to be a very pleasant surprise. Within the first few pages, I knew I was in for a treat. This is the best book that I have read in quite some time. It is highly suspenseful, and I could hardly put the book down until I finished it.

In this book, a boy named Ralph finds a cipher and a message hidden in the binding of a book about the Aztecs of Mexico. Ralph's friend, Dick, decodes the cipher, which gives directions to a lost Aztec city that is located in the crater of a dormant volcano somewhere near the Arizona border with Mexico. The boys decide to try to find the lost city and are accompanied by two friends. I would love to mention something about what happens when the boys reach their destination, which is only halfway through the book, but I feel like this would spoil too much. All that I will say is that what they find is fantastic, and the second half of the book is extremely suspenseful reading.

I highly recommend this book. It is a scarce book, but copies of it can be found reasonably at
www.abebooks.com.

I am now going to read the one other book that J. A. Lath wrote, The Cortez Emerald Mystery. It features the same characters, and I am eagerly anticipating what it might contain.