Vanishing Shadow

I went to a Catholic elementary school which didn't have the advantage of the money public schools got. One of the things people thought was backward was the small school library, but I didn't think so at all. The library was jammed full of original editions of books like the Nancy Drew series; Judy Bolton books were among the delicious finds. Now I can't say for sure that devouring 1930s editions of Judy Bolton and Nancy Drew books had me reading at a college level when I was in fifth grade, but it sure didn't hurt! Just remember that the language in these books was what kids were reading 70 years ago, and then compare it to the dumbed down and politically cleaned-up titles in these series, and then you can weep for today's kids. How much they miss, not being able to put themselves in a different day and time by reading the original literature of the era! These books were ancient when I discovered them in the Catholic school library, but I loved them! I loved the language, the descriptions of times gone by, and yet the stories still held my interest (a mystery is a mystery, and I flew through them.) My daughter loves these books, but since I collect the original titles, she was reading them when she was 8 years old (yes, your kid can, too!) I love rereading them myself, particularly when I'm home sick. There's something about snuggling under the covers, sipping lemon tea, and curling up with an old fashioned, fun book like this. For those who can't collect the originals, Applewood Books is doing you a great service. Buy these books for yourself, and definitely invest in them for your kids. No better way to get them to see the world through a different light, and their vocabulary and spelling skills will skyrocket - guaranteed!

IMHO better ( & more believable) than Nancy Drew! The setting is around the time cars and horse buggies were both on the road. Judy and her brother Horace are spending the summer with their grandparents, as her doctor father and mother are away. Judy is bored in general, but has a fantasy about being an investigator/mystery solver one day. There is a dam being built in town, which seems kind of ho-hum, but then she overhears a conversation about the dam, not understanding what she really overheard. Next thing she knows, someone wants her to keep quiet about the conversation, and is willing to buy her silence, and even kidnap her to scare her into silence, but what is this "secret", and why would anyone go so far to keep it? The descriptions of life in those days are wonderful! Berry picking, feeling like her brother is more loved than her, the sibling rivalry between the two, but also the sharing and love between them as well, like any real brother and sister. I found the characters much more believable and more alive than the old Nancy Drew characters I loved as a child. This is a series I'm sure my grandkids will love! I wish I had know about this series when I was young, but am enjoying them now as light reading.

Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, move over! How many teenagers today have even heard of the Judy Bolton classic mystery series, much less read them? Parent and relatives looking for meaningful gifts for early teens might consider providing this kind of reading experience. A collection of Judy Bolton books may become a treasure your young daughter or niece will save to read to her own children one day. The series begins with this fast-paced adventure involving a race against time and a struggle against hidden evil. Young Judy and her friends are thrust into very challenging and perilous situations, and must call upon their best traits of character to save the day. In addition to resolving a very great crisis, Judy and her friends learn valuable life lessons they readily share with their young readers. As the story ends, we cannot help but ask when the next one begins. A "modern" teen may wonder how a person could struggle with issues such as honoring a promise - especially one made under duress, but in our cynical times there is great value in pondering the very idea of honoring one's word. A "modern" teen may wonder how a person could find new resolve from a Sunday morning sermon, but how many teens are even listening to voices that would teach them traditional values? And to kids who play while sitting in front of a screen and ride in cars everywhere they go, how refreshing to find a time when many people chose to walk or, if in a hurry, to ride a spirited colt! Remember, to a generation born during the Clinton years, the life during the Great Depression is ancient history!

Judy Bolton is an attractive 15 year-old girl with a lot of spunk and the moral conscience of a saint. In this, her initial 1932 appearance, she is faced with a monumental dilemma much larger than most teens will ever have to confront: will she break her solemn word of promise in order to save lives? The answer might just surprise you! Judy's parents, Dr. and Mrs. Bolton, are away on vacation and she's staying near her home of Roulsville with her maternal grandparents for a few weeks, as is her brother, Horace. Judy is very close to her sibling but she worries that he's frail and a bit of a sissy so she often lays challenges before him in an effort to force his courage. Roulsville has only one industry, a paper mill, and the chief resource which supports the factory is the newly-built dam. When Judy is abruptly kidnapped by a couple of the dam construction workers, she is made to promise that she'll not repeat what she inadvertently overheard them saying before they'll agree to release her. Judy isn't absolutely certain of all the implications of the men's' conversation but she thinks it may have to do with poor construction materials which might cause the dam to break, a danger which threatens both the paper mill as well as many lives in the nearby town. Judy hesitatingly promises to keep quiet, hoping that she can figure out a possible way to warn the townsfolk without breaking her word to her evil captors. Over the next few days she investigates the mystery mostly on her own, sometimes with her brother, and also with friends both old and new. Her subsequent encounters bring her into contact with several nefarious villains, not the least of which is a skeletal-looking character who slinks around in a black cape! Judy's ultimate solution is quite risky and it all hinges upon the dubious bravery of her terrified brother. Now, if all this sounds a bit absurd, just remember that it was written in the early '30s for young boys and girls and this edition of the book is an unabridged, un-redacted reprint of that early volume. And if you can mentally revisit the period in your own life when you were 12 or so, you might recall that anything was possible and nothing was absurd! In regard to the kidnapping episode, keep in mind that such crimes had greatly escalated during this depression-era period and that the Lindbergh baby kidnapping also transpired early in 1932 (March 1st). In fact, today this is great reading for adolescents of around 11-13 years old. Even though the heroine in this entry is a young lady, there's a lot here for adventuresome masters too which mostly amounts to a ton of cool stuff that boys love reading about: blackberry picking, a cave, trains, a castle-like home with turrets, horses, lakes with water lilies, roadsters, woodland streams, revolvers, swamps, and even a Maypole (albeit, the latter is not all that Hoyle these days)! I'll have to concede that some of the episodes may seem just a little strange to today's youths su

Judy Bolton was my heroine in the 1960s. Unlike Nancy Drew, she comes from a believable background, and grows up with each story. The Vanishing Shadow combines personal values of honesty, trust and integrity with a gripping story line which has action and mystery, but no gory scenes or gratuitous violence.Although this story was written over 30 years ago, it has aged well. Suitable for pre-teens.