I spent a week or more at my Grandparents during the summer. They had all the Bobbsey Twin books and many Nancy Drew books. So I would lay in my Grandmother's garden and read. I remember enjoy all of the adventure of the Bobbsey Twins.

Another fun Bobbsey adventure that ends well and everyone is blissfully happy. I enjoy stories that include family reunification.

Originally published in 1917 under the title The Bobbsey Twins in a Great City, The Bobbsey Twins' Search in the Great City is the first book I've read of this series. When I started reading mysteries, I plunged straight in with the teenagers--Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, a few Dana Girls, and Trixie Belden. I always thought the Bobbsey twins would be a bit young for my tastes. So, you might ask, why did I pick this one up now? Well, my mom had mentioned that she had read some of them when she was young and I needed a book published in 1917 for a challenge (it almost always boils down to a challenge for me when it's something off the usual).

Just before setting off on a trip to New York City, the Bobbsey twins meet Jack Whipple, a man who works on an estate turned public park and zoo outside their hometown. When "Uncle Jack" as they decide to call him discovers that they are headed to the big city, he mentions wistfully that he wonders if his long-lost brother and sister (who also happen to be twins) are there. The last he'd heard of them they were supposedly bound for NYC. The twins promise to keep their eyes open for any Whipples they might meet. In the end they help the old man to find his long-lost brother and sister, as well as to catch the man who had robbed the estate and then tried to frame Whipple.

Like so many of these books, there are a great many coincidences involved here. But they are good, simple mysteries and reflect a much simpler time. Could you imagine if the twins got themselves lost in NYC today? The parents would lose their children to Child Services and probably be thrown in jail for neglect. Instead, everyone who comes in contact with the Bobbsey family are friendly and helpful and only want to see the kids safely back where they belong.

It does stretch the imagination a bit that the kids would repeatedly go astray. If my dad had told me not to wander off once, that would have been enough. Pretty posters or music wouldn't have made me disobey repeatedly. And Dad wouldn't have been so good-natured about it if I had. A little bit of discipline would be a good thing. Other than the "can't stay put where they ought to be" syndrome, the kids are good kids--kind-hearted and respectful of the people around them and wanting to help anyone they can. The mystery isn't much, but I didn't really expect 6-12 year olds to be dealing with hardened criminals and murder. ★★★ for a pleasant read.

First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.

This should have been titled "The Bobbsey Twins get lost and run away every 2 pages and never get in trouble or in any danger even though they get lost/run away in the middle of New York City even when their parents tell them to stay still in fact instead of getting in trouble they are often rewarded for getting lost/running away and it happens so often you'll want to scream and/or throw the book across the room" but I suppose that would be too long a title and not the greatest endorsement for actually reading the book.

The twins have never gotten in more trouble than they have in the big city... New York City. They got lost a couple times, once in Grand Central Station. Freddie got rescued by a fireman... and since he wants to be one when he grows up he thought it was grand fun!!! His mother was not as pleased about it as he was. :-) The smaller set of twins got in more trouble than the older set, of course. And the smaller set of twins even got their older siblings in trouble once because they didn't obey. I won't tell you all their adventures because that would spoil the fun.

One thing I did notice was that the kids never really got punished at all. If those were my kids they would have had more done to them than just saying, “Don't do that ever again,” over and over and over. I won't say what I would have done... but I would have done more than THAT!! and that is for sure!!

I am now taking a little break from the Bobbsey Twins and am reading some other things. I will be back to read more of their books... soon!! :-)