The Beloved Dozen - Book Two
I'm still reading Book Girl by Sarah Clarkson, and started a post series back in November with the top twelve books that have been life-shaping for me, #2 is:
The book in itself isn't much to talk about, but when I saw that row of yellow spines lined up on a shelf in the bookmobile that had parked at our corner, I was immediately hooked.
Books written just for gangly, awkward pre-teen girls like me. Of course Nancy was a lot more suave than I was, or hoped to be at that age, but she was a star to shoot for. Clever, educated, lots of gumption, and always smartly dressed, she was a life-model that popped out from the pages of the book and showed me girls could amount to something. Girls could grow up to be anything they wanted to be.
The Secret of the Old Clock wasn't my very favorite Nancy Drew mystery, and yes, I read every single one of them. The Hidden Staircase and the Broken Locket were higher up on my list, but The Old Clock was the one that started it all. That initial love affair with those yellow-spined books would send me to the Terrell Park Library, where I'd get my own little blue cardboard library card. Every single week I could check out three books, take them home and bring them back to take three more.
And that little blue cardboard library card opened up an entire world. But it came to life with my first Nancy Drew book.
About five years ago I bought an old copy of The Secret of the Old Clock, and read it again. It was SUCH fun to read the pages, and re-remember what my 12 year old self felt as I read them for the first time. The musty smell brought back memories of days sprawled across my white chenille bedspread, watching the Texas rain run down the windowpane in rivulets while I lived my life vicariously through a smart and oh so clever girl, solving crimes all by herself. I'll always be thankful to Carolyn Keene - all of them - for writing such endearing books for junior high girls who needed a star to hook their ladder to. Timeless books that I'd still recommend to my four granddaughters when they're 12 or so.
The book in itself isn't much to talk about, but when I saw that row of yellow spines lined up on a shelf in the bookmobile that had parked at our corner, I was immediately hooked.
Books written just for gangly, awkward pre-teen girls like me. Of course Nancy was a lot more suave than I was, or hoped to be at that age, but she was a star to shoot for. Clever, educated, lots of gumption, and always smartly dressed, she was a life-model that popped out from the pages of the book and showed me girls could amount to something. Girls could grow up to be anything they wanted to be.
The Secret of the Old Clock wasn't my very favorite Nancy Drew mystery, and yes, I read every single one of them. The Hidden Staircase and the Broken Locket were higher up on my list, but The Old Clock was the one that started it all. That initial love affair with those yellow-spined books would send me to the Terrell Park Library, where I'd get my own little blue cardboard library card. Every single week I could check out three books, take them home and bring them back to take three more.
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| Mr and Mrs. Turner's card looks just like mine did. :-) |
And that little blue cardboard library card opened up an entire world. But it came to life with my first Nancy Drew book.
About five years ago I bought an old copy of The Secret of the Old Clock, and read it again. It was SUCH fun to read the pages, and re-remember what my 12 year old self felt as I read them for the first time. The musty smell brought back memories of days sprawled across my white chenille bedspread, watching the Texas rain run down the windowpane in rivulets while I lived my life vicariously through a smart and oh so clever girl, solving crimes all by herself. I'll always be thankful to Carolyn Keene - all of them - for writing such endearing books for junior high girls who needed a star to hook their ladder to. Timeless books that I'd still recommend to my four granddaughters when they're 12 or so.
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