SERIES: Original Bobbsey Twins, Book #2
PUBLICATION DATE: 1961 (first published 1907)
FORMAT: Hardcover
LENGTH: 179 pages
LENGTH: 179 pages
GENRE: Childrens, Mystery
ISBN: 0448080028Join the Bobbseys as they barely escape a frightening encounter with a ferocious bull in this countryside adventure!
MY REVIEW:
The Bobbsey Twins were one of my favourite series when I was a kid. I actually still have my vintage hardcover set that I saved from my childhood, and I read this one aloud to my daughter.
For those who are not familiar with this series, it features the Bobbsey siblings who are two sets of fraternal twins: Six-year-old blond-haired and blue-eyed twins Freddie and Flossie, and 12-year-old brown-haired and brown-eyed twins Bert and Nan. The books are usually categorized as "mysteries" but, as my daughter pointed out, they aren't really mysteries! They kids mean well, but they often find themselves in a pickle. As a kid, I loved how the older twins looked out for their younger siblings. The Bobbseys are a picture-perfect suburban family.
This is actually the second book in the series. I couldn't find the first one in my boxes, so I grabbed this one instead. The Bobbsey family goes to visit Mr. Bobbsey's sister, Sarah, and her family who live on a farm in Meadowbrook. During their stay, the family's prize bull gets stolen and the Bobbsey twins with their cousin Harry work together to solve the mystery.
It was fun to step back in time and read old school children's literature. I didn't realize that this was first published over 100 years ago, but then was re-written in the 60s so I guess that puts some of the language into perspective. When referencing their housekeeper, it's never just "Dinah" but the "plump colored woman." It also gave us a chuckle when Mr. Bobbsey referred to Flossie as his "fat little fairy" and Freddie as his "fat little fireman." My daughter pointed out that they weren't very nice nicknames to call his kids! I do agree with her, but it is clear that he does it with affection and the children giggle when he says it. There is an incident between Bert and Mark, a neighbour of Harry's who bullies Bert and holds his head under the water. Harry's father, Uncle Daniel, puts a stop to it and tells Mark to knock it off or he'll have to go home. When Mark starts in on Bert again, Uncle Daniel says: "You two boys had better have a wrestling match fair and square, and get this out of your systems!" I think I like the way that bullies were handled back in the day! There is something to be said for standing up to a bully and fighting back. I know that's not condoned nowadays in school, but sometimes a bully just needs to know that the person he is picking on is going to fight back! Overall, it's good clean juvenile fiction and it was like a walk down memory lane for me. This series is dear to me, because I loved it so much as a kid and it made me a bookworm!
It's tough to rate this, because my child-self would give it 5 stars hands-down. However, my adult-self isn't quite as enamored as when I was a child. This was less of a mystery than I remember, so that part of it was a disappointment. Still, I liked it and would probably rate this one 3 stars if I were reading it for the first time. I'm going to settle in the middle, with 4 stars.
MY RATING:
The Bobbsey Twins were one of my favourite series when I was a kid. I actually still have my vintage hardcover set that I saved from my childhood, and I read this one aloud to my daughter.
For those who are not familiar with this series, it features the Bobbsey siblings who are two sets of fraternal twins: Six-year-old blond-haired and blue-eyed twins Freddie and Flossie, and 12-year-old brown-haired and brown-eyed twins Bert and Nan. The books are usually categorized as "mysteries" but, as my daughter pointed out, they aren't really mysteries! They kids mean well, but they often find themselves in a pickle. As a kid, I loved how the older twins looked out for their younger siblings. The Bobbseys are a picture-perfect suburban family.
This is actually the second book in the series. I couldn't find the first one in my boxes, so I grabbed this one instead. The Bobbsey family goes to visit Mr. Bobbsey's sister, Sarah, and her family who live on a farm in Meadowbrook. During their stay, the family's prize bull gets stolen and the Bobbsey twins with their cousin Harry work together to solve the mystery.
It was fun to step back in time and read old school children's literature. I didn't realize that this was first published over 100 years ago, but then was re-written in the 60s so I guess that puts some of the language into perspective. When referencing their housekeeper, it's never just "Dinah" but the "plump colored woman." It also gave us a chuckle when Mr. Bobbsey referred to Flossie as his "fat little fairy" and Freddie as his "fat little fireman." My daughter pointed out that they weren't very nice nicknames to call his kids! I do agree with her, but it is clear that he does it with affection and the children giggle when he says it. There is an incident between Bert and Mark, a neighbour of Harry's who bullies Bert and holds his head under the water. Harry's father, Uncle Daniel, puts a stop to it and tells Mark to knock it off or he'll have to go home. When Mark starts in on Bert again, Uncle Daniel says: "You two boys had better have a wrestling match fair and square, and get this out of your systems!" I think I like the way that bullies were handled back in the day! There is something to be said for standing up to a bully and fighting back. I know that's not condoned nowadays in school, but sometimes a bully just needs to know that the person he is picking on is going to fight back! Overall, it's good clean juvenile fiction and it was like a walk down memory lane for me. This series is dear to me, because I loved it so much as a kid and it made me a bookworm!
It's tough to rate this, because my child-self would give it 5 stars hands-down. However, my adult-self isn't quite as enamored as when I was a child. This was less of a mystery than I remember, so that part of it was a disappointment. Still, I liked it and would probably rate this one 3 stars if I were reading it for the first time. I'm going to settle in the middle, with 4 stars.
MY RATING:
4 stars!! It was really good, and you should put it on your TBR if you enjoy old-school children's literature!
This book qualifies as:
#17 for my Strictly Print Reading Challenge
#31 for my Beat the Backlist 2018 Challenge
#28 for my The Backlist Reader Challenge 2018
#16 for my Blydyn Square Books 2018 Challenge
#4 for my 2018 The Island Reader Reading Challenge
#18 for my Full House Reading Challenge 2018
Task #14 for my 2018 Reading Challenge (Linz The Bookworm)
#8 for my 2018 Middle Grade Reading Challenge
#31A for my Good Rule Reading Challenge
#10 for my Cloak and Dagger Reading Challenge
#2 for my Old School Kidlit Reading Challenge
#14 for my Bookish Bingo Spring 2018
Task #19 for my Goodreads Spring 2018 Scavenger Challenge - Umbrellas
#3 for my Chapter Break Bingo April 2018
#3 for my Spring into Horror Readathon April 2018
#31 for my Beat the Backlist 2018 Challenge
#28 for my The Backlist Reader Challenge 2018
#16 for my Blydyn Square Books 2018 Challenge
#4 for my 2018 The Island Reader Reading Challenge
#18 for my Full House Reading Challenge 2018
Task #14 for my 2018 Reading Challenge (Linz The Bookworm)
#8 for my 2018 Middle Grade Reading Challenge
#31A for my Good Rule Reading Challenge
#10 for my Cloak and Dagger Reading Challenge
#2 for my Old School Kidlit Reading Challenge
#14 for my Bookish Bingo Spring 2018
Task #19 for my Goodreads Spring 2018 Scavenger Challenge - Umbrellas
#3 for my Chapter Break Bingo April 2018
#3 for my Spring into Horror Readathon April 2018
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