Happy Valley Mystery

This book is part of a series of 39 books and involves a group of teenagers who not only have great times together, but look for ways to help others and always manage to find a mystery along the way! I especially like the values which the characters display. They are wonderful role models for today's youth! These books are a timeless treasure!

The Bob-Whites get a last-minute invitation to spend spring break at the Iowa sheep ranch of Andrew Belden, Trixie's uncle. (Dan can't come -- he has to study -- setting the pattern for the original Bob-Whites to continue on without him. Since the BWGs travel, they get to ditch little brother Bobby too!) Uncle Andrew doesn't believe his "pretty, feminine, and sort of helpless" niece Trixie can solve the mystery of his missing sheep, so of course she's compelled to try. (Trixie helpless?? Hah!!) She does make some embarrassing mistakes, and the kids deserve the testy scoldings they get from the ranch manager and his wife before they prove their mettle. However, she's occasionally feeling more girly than in previous books; as a guest at a dance at Riverdale High School, she finds herself in the throes of the unfamiliar emotion of jealousy as Jim is wooed by a beautiful senior girl, Dot. This leads Trixie to emulate Di and Honey, flirting with a handsome basketball player, Ned (who I'm guessing will turn out to be gay when he grows up) ... Don't worry, though; Jim prefers the kind of girl who doesn't dress up to impress boys, who is "genuine and so comfortable to be around." (Guess who?) And Trixie's "near-twin" Mart comes through again. I find Mart the underappreciated character of the series; he's mocked and stereotyped for his extensive vocabulary, but often it is his analytical skills and ability to predict what Trixie will do that saves her skin in the most desperate of situations. I didn't remember anything about this book from reading it as a teenager, which rather surprises me, as it is quite exciting, and friendships among the various Bob-Whites are beginning to show signs of potential romance.

I really like this book. For one thing, I was glad to see Jim paying attention to Trixie. Also, This book introduced me to 4-H. After reading it, I got involved in a club near me and am enjoying a 4-H career that has been very successful thus far. The book was well written and is classic Trixie.

This is one of my very favourite Trixie books. i agree with the other people I didn't really like dot. I really wish that they would print these books again. REALLY REALLY.

I have read a lot of the Trixie Belden books. I think they are all great. This one is my 2nd favorite. I liked the book because it was very exciting. Once I picked it up I could not put it down. I could see pictures in my head of what was happining. I think it could happen in real life too!! I loved this book!!