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Summary: So Glad to See My Favorite Childhood Books back in Print!
Review: About eight years ago, I wrote to the publisher of these books and asked them to PLEASE bring them back. I never heard from them, so I bought some old (and often smelly) ones on Ebay. While walking through Barnes and Noble one day, I saw them and was elated. I have bought the first four for my two girls, aged 9 and 11, and they LOVE them. They cannot wait for the rest to be published. March 23rd, for #5, just seems like so long to them, as they just cannot wait to read more Trixie Beldens. Good, clean fun for your girls (even though there are boy characters too). Although, the main character is 13, I think it is still okay for younger girls. In fact, many 13 year olds are quite mature these days, so maybe starting younger is better. When I was a girl, I actually preferred these books to Nancy Drew. I hope to find the time to read them all again myself.
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Summary: The beginning of a wonderful series
Review: Finally, after so many years out of print, Trixie is finally back in bookstores! I first found the series in my elementary school library and have loved it ever since.
Trixie loses her temper, makes mistakes and struggles in school. She's a far cry from Nancy Drew, but her flaws make her realistic. Add in a group of interesting friends and what her older brother Mart calls "mysteryitis" and it's a recipe for a great adventure.
Secret of the Mansion introduces three of the eventual seven main characters and sets the stage for the rest of the series. Make sure you have Red Trailer handy, though, because the two books are closely tied together.
Parents: This series is great for reluctant readers, boys and girls alike. Mart's outsized vocabulary will challenge all but the most advanced readers, but somebody always translates - Trixie can't understand him either. Julie Campbell does a great job of bringing the characters on stage in the early books without overwhelming the reader.
I think my favorite part of the series is the devoted fans. A simple Web search a few years back led me to some of the sites out there devoted to Trixie, and there's even an annual convention. Any character or series that inspires that much loyalty from that many people has to be great.
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Summary: Trixie Belden: My New Nancy Drew
Review: For years now, I have read Nancy Drew, but one day I was browsing through Barnes and Noble and Trixie Belden caught my eye. I read the back cover and thought it looked really good read. After reading the back cover, I wanted to know more, so I read the first couple of pages. The first sentence hit home for me, saying "Oh Moms, I'll just die if I don't have a horse." I thought, "Hey! This book has everything! Horses, (since I'm obsessed with horses) mystery, and Trixie sounds just like me!" I begged my mom to let me buy it, and started reading it that night. I was hooked from the first page. Trixie is just like me- the same age (13), personality, and sense of adventure. Except for the blond hair, we were practically identical! (That definitly helped in the whole intrugue of the book.) Every chapter that I read I was more and more excited about this book. I couldn't stop reading because I wanted to find out what happened in the end so badly! It was addicting. Here's basically happens:
This book is about Trixie Belden, a thirteen year old girl who lives in a small town called Sleepyside, New York on the Hudson River, about thirty miles north of NYC. It's summer, and Trixie is bored to death, having her two older brothers Brian and Mart away at camp working as junior counselors. The only person left to play with now is her five year old brother, Bobby. Then all of that changes when a girl her age moves in to the Manor House up the hill. Seeing horses, Trixie immediatly runs up the hill to meet the new girl in the manor house. Who she meets doesn't exactly meet her expectations. Honey Wheeler is a shy, thin, pale girl who had just gotten over a long illness, leaving her over-cautious and nervous. Trixie's first impressions of her are that she's just another stuck-up, snobby, rich girl. But that changes almost overnight when they go riding, hoping to explore the old mansion up the hill. A strange, old Mr. Frayne had been living in it alone for as long as Trixie could remember, and early that day had been suddenly vacated when he was found unconscious in his driveway by Mr. Belden on his way to work. The doctors had said that he was suffering from pneumonia complicated with malnutrition, and say he won't pull through. That left Trixie and Honey a perfect chance to explore the mansion, said to have been loaded with a treasure of a half million dollars hidden somewhere in it. But a perfect chance goes awry when they find a headstrong, red-headed orphan boy sleeping in the mansion! One thing leads to another, and Trixie and Honey's summer is quickly engulfed with the mystery of the mansion. Read the rest to find out what happens to the mansion, Trixie and Honey's friendship, the fortune, and all the other happenings in the book!
I read this book the first time in December, and I'm still as addicted to them today as I was the first time I read this. I've read all of the ones that are in print countless times, and now I'm agonizing over the month and a week until #9 comes out- "The Happy Valley Mystery".
I hope you all enjoy reading this book- as well as the series- as much as I did. I would recommend buying it all the way, and I know that you will sooo not be dissapointed! If I could, I would give it 100 stars!
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Summary: Literary Comfort Food
Review: I grew up with Trixie and her family and friends. I was an only child and a reader. They were like living beings to me! Trixie books were always under the Christmas tree and I could hardly wait to go to the department store's 6th floor to find the newest one. I think they instill many good values--family, community service, honesty, work ethic, etc. I have the whole set, and I'm buying the new ones as they are released again.
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Summary: Trixie, Honey and the Other Bob-Whites are Back!
Review: Rereading the Trixie volumes is an annual summer celebration for me, and I am in my 50's.I grew up reading about the adventures of Trixie and Honey. Since we did not live near a library, my mom would buy me two novels a week for pleasure reading during the summer. She picked up the SECRET OF THE MANSION after she noticed that in the first paragraph that the main character was "horse crazy," just like me! Actually, Volume #6 MYSTERY IN ARIZONA was my most favorite since it takes place closer to home and on a ranch. That was it! I was hooked! I still have my original volumes and have collected many used ones in the entire collection. Since some of my volumes have increased in value, I would hesitate rereading them every year. So now I am buying the entire new collection (well, the first 15 that they are reprinting) in the library binding. Also, I am hooked on audio books and am purchasing the audio books that they are making available. What a treat! If you are revisiting the adventures as an adult, or introducing your sons and daughters to these wonderful and wholesome stories, happy reading!
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Summary: Love this series
Review: The Julie Campbell "Trixie Belden" books were among my childhood favorites. I read them again and again. I still love them as an adult though my old copies are tattered and worn. I never liked any of those by Kathryn Kenny et al, but the first 6 originals are classics. I hope all 6 eventually get reprinted. I wonder why some are not available? Trixie and her friends are real kids who get into some exciting adventures. I will have to order those available since my current ones are falling apart. I just wish they had been reprinted with the really cool original covers rather than these ugly covers they do have. I hope the other "classics" come out in print too.
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Summary: Where It All Began
Review: Thirteen year old Trixie Belden is convinced that this summer will be long and boring. With her older brothers at camp, she'll only have her parents and younger brother for companionship. But then a family with a girl her age move into the house next door. Even better, Honey's family has horses. When they go over to explore the mansion of Old Man Frayne, they discover his great nephew Jim. Jim has just run away from a cruel step-father. With Mr. Frayne sick in the hospital, they start looking for the treasure rumored to be hidden in the old house somewhere. Can they find it? Will Jim's step father catch up with him? This is the first book in the Trixie Belden series. I discovered the series when I was in jr. high, and 16 years later, I still love it. The characters are real, with strengths and weaknesses. Heck, Trixie even gets mad at her friends and family upon occasion. I was drawn to these books because of the friendships displayed, and I used to dream about being part of the group. This book introduces only three of the series main characters. Trixie and Honey are not themselves at first, but by the end of the book, they are already acting more like themselves. Their characters show the best of what can happen when you pick up on a friend's strengths. Trixie goes from selfish and whiney to thinking about others and being grateful for what she has. Being around tomboyish Trixie helps Honey get over her fears and start to do more things she's always wanted to do but been too afraid to try. While I find the characters a little annoying at first, they are very true to their ages and the changes are believable. The storyline in this book never lets up either, with lots of stuff going on to keep anyone entertained. When I read this book the first time, I knew (or thought I knew) the outcome, but there was so much going on I was entertained the entire way through. The best part is the cliffhanger ending. You'll definitely want to have the second book ready to go. Originally written in 1948, this new edition retains the original text and inside illustrations. While some of the references show their age, I didn't pick up on them as a kid (in the 80's), and I'm sure today's kids will be so entranced by the story that they won't notice some of the out dated words. This series is filled with wonderfully real characters and fun stories. Don't miss this chance to make a new lifelong friend.
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Summary: This book is GREAT!!!!!
Review: Thirteen-year-old Trixie Belden couldn't be more shocked to believe that she's stuck in boring old Sleepyside for the summer, while her two older brothers are away at camp. But then a millionaire moves into the mansion next door, and he has a daughter Trixie's age, named Honey Wheeler. Soon, the two girls have embarked on an adventure to see whether a ghost truly lives in the house nearby which Trixie has christened, the Miser's Mansion. But what they find is really no ghost at all, but rather a teenage boy named Jim, whose runaway from home, and is looking for his great-Uncle, who just happens to be Trixie's miser. Now the two girls and their new friend are searching for a so-called fortune within the walls of the Miser's Mansion, and having a not-so-boring summer after all.
I have been a fan of the NANCY DREW and BOBBSEY TWINS mysteries for years, so when I came across the TRIXIE BELDEN series in the store recently, I just knew that I had to try it out. Luckily, I am pleased to report, the series is as good as everyone said it would be. Trixie is an adorable character who is hardheaded, and brave, while sensitive and kind at the same time. Her vivacious personality brings the story to life, as do the quirky personalities of her friends, and the lovely black and white drawings contained within the book. Fans of NANCY DREW and the BOBBSEY TWINS will find themselves flocking to the new re-printing of the TRIXIE BELDEN books, and begging for more.
Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper
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Summary: Trixie Belden #16: The Mystery of the Missing Heiress
Review: This was one of my favorites. Even though Jim has been adopted by the Wheeler's family, for him to find a true relative seems to bring him a contentment that he has always deserved. The story is pretty simple and straightforward; a newspaper notice searching for ownership of property brings forth a young woman who is Jim's long lost cousin, Juliana. She becomes involved with the Bob-Whites and is accepted into the Wheeler's home and affections. A seemingly unrelated occurance brings in a new character, Janie, who is recovering from injuries that have left her without her memory. Trixie's involvement in Janie's recovery, and her desire to help Janie discover her past revive more than expected and bring back a character almost forgotten by all but the most dedicated Trixie Belden fans. I first started reading Trixie Belden books in the early 1970's, and adored every book I read. Now that my daughter has started reading chapter books I am eager to introduce her to my favorite childhood series. I adored the youthful angst of Trixie, her fallabilities, but mostly her determination, whether it be in finding the solution to the current mystery, or her belief in her own future as a detective. I, too, would love to see the series reprinted although I realize they would be conspicuously out of date with current technology. However, I would not like to see any revamping to them done, as it would probably change the stories and characters beyond recognition. Hopefully, I as well as many of the others here will be able to find and once again read all these cherished classics.
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Summary: A Swell Mystery
Review: Trixie Belden and the other Bob Whites were so much better than Nancy Drew. Nancy only had a coupe. Trixie had horses plus mysteries. In this the first of the series, Trixie, daughter of modest means family, meets her new neighbor Honey, whose father is a millionaire. The two girls discover a runaway boy, Jim, in the ruined mansion of an elderly miser. Excitement abounds with Bobby, Trixie's little brother, being bitten by a copperhead to Jim's brutal stepfather wanting Jim's inheritance. The ending is in serial form and you must read the next in order to find out what happens to Jim.
Trixie Belden is a feisty heroine, who is not afraid of taking a troubling situation in hand and finding a solution. She is a character that young girls will be able to understand and want to emulate. Some might think that the series is for those of us who read them as pre-teens but I did have a 4th grader excitedly tell me about the old books she found in her aunt's basement. Yes, the Trixie Belden books. It is great to see them back in print where another generation of girls will enjoy them.
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