# Hardy Boys books



## Croghanite

Are these books appropriate for Christian children?
My 8 year old just recieved a whole set of them from the grandparents.


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## jaybird0827

Joe,

I've never read them. Maybe you could read one or two of them, kind of a parent preview, possibly bring up something via PM or the Family Forum as to what you've found - like comfortable/uncomfortable about, etc. Make sense? Maybe I can get Beth to check one out of the library. I'll bet it's a lot easier reading than the Puritans.


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## VirginiaHuguenot

I love 'em. I'm collecting them for my sons.


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## Croghanite

I did a search on the PB and I have not seen anything negative said about them.
I just really dislike having to read over every book my son recieves from others. I figured I would check with the board in hopes that someone already has expierience.
No need to waste yours or your wifes time researching, but thanks anyway.


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## MrMerlin777

Casting my vote I'll say yes. Read all of them that there were at the time when I was a kid. Now these were the classic old ones not sure about what's being placed on the shelves under the name Hardy Boys nowadays. But as far as the older series goes I recomend them heartilly.

They got me into Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie later on and strangely enough from all of this fiction I began to see the benifits of thinking through a problem logically.


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## Ivan

I read them as a boy. I don't remember anything bad about them. I think I read about the first 15 of the series.


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## py3ak

There are, I think, three different series. The "Casefiles" series is more directed to teenagers and brings them up to date --terrorism, international poaching, etc. The hardback versions do not, I believe, contain anything positively objectionable. These have them back in the 50s or so, I think, and the family goes to church and what not.
Then there is a sort of intermediate level of paperbacks that I never had a lot of exposure to. I didn't object to anything in those, either.


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## polemic_turtle

I read all of these along with Nancy Drew when I was younger. Nothing more offensive than there being boyfriend/girlfriend stuff, which I cannot remember as anything but fine. Now, I remember reading one of the modern ones and they had submachine guns, boobie traps, survival knifes, and Joe's girlfriend dying from a bomb exploding her car. Now, that's a bit more racy than any of the older things, I'll tell you!


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## gwine

It's not totally true but the stories seemed to me rather predictable. I used to joke that you could turn to page 100 in every book and find the same plot line going on, just different characters and different scenery. But The Shadow stories were the same way to me after I read about 50 of them, so take my comments for what they are worth (not even .)

And my boys loved them, along with Nancy Drew. They are both avid readers and they were both honor students. Reading, along with not having a TV for 12 years, was good for them.


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## Semper Fidelis

Ahem! Problem with the Hardy Boys?







Need I say more?!

Da do run, run, run. Da do run, run.


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## VirginiaHuguenot

"Met her on a Monday and my heart stood still..."


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## gwine

Over my head. Enlighten us, the unenlightened, please. (both Rich and Andrew, since my post got caught in a time warp)


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## Semper Fidelis

gwine said:


> Over my head. Enlighten us, the unenlightened, please. (both Rich and Andrew, since my post got caught in a time warp)





http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075513/

The Hardy Boys was a TV series in the late 70's that starred Shaun Cassidy. Shaun also had a hit song - a remake of "Da do run run".


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## gwine

Boy, as a 54 year old I should know my history. TV had a pretty low priority for me then, as it does now.


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## Semper Fidelis

gwine said:


> Boy, as a 54 year old I should know my history. TV had a pretty low priority for me then, as it does now.



I'm only 38 and that was a pretty big deal in 1977 when it came out. My older brother, Sean, was a big fan of the the Hardy Boys books and we enjoyed watching the show.

Andrew is a spy on the PB from Hollywood so he knows about everything they've ever produced.


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## VirginiaHuguenot




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## Bondman

MrMerlin777 said:


> Casting my vote I'll say yes. Read all of them that there were at the time when I was a kid. Now these were the classic old ones not sure about what's being placed on the shelves under the name Hardy Boys nowadays. But as far as the older series goes I recomend them heartilly.
> 
> They got me into Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie later on and strangely enough from all of this fiction I began to see the benifits of thinking through a problem logically.



Right, there are Hardy Boys detective stories that were not written by Franklin Dixon, the actual creator/author, which were produced after his death. The old ones are classics. Not sure about the new ones. Packages


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## VirginiaHuguenot

[video=youtube;IvB3DCY8K1I]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvB3DCY8K1I[/video]


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## Augusta

VirginiaHuguenot said:


> Shaun Cassidy - Da Doo Ron Ron



I have a teen memory of watching him perform that song in an episode of Hardy Boys and being totally dazzled.


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## Ambrose

Bondman said:


> Right, there are Hardy Boys detective stories that were not written by Franklin Dixon, the actual creator/author, which were produced after his death. The old ones are classics. Not sure about the new ones. Packages



None of the books were written by Franklin Dixon. They were mostly written by ghost writers for the Stratemeyer syndicate. Stratemeyer wrote very brief (as in a sentence, or possibly a paragraph) plots for most of the early ones and staff writers fleshed out the stories according to the formula for  or so per book. One of the ghost writers, Leslie McFarlane, who wrote 19 of the first 24 Hardy Boys books, wrote a book called "Ghost of the Hardy Boys" which has a lot of interesting information. 

I used to collect them as a kid, and actually have 3 different hardback versions of #19 "The Disappearing Floor" with three completely different stories. 

They are pretty decent, at least the original series (up to #57 or #58 if I remember right.) They did have old-fashioned values. I let my children read them, and I'm pretty picky about reading material. However, there are better series type books that you could purchase for children than Hardy Boys. But its almost a rite of passage for boys I guess, to read at least a couple. 

The "Redwall" series is good (though it has very descriptive battle scenes which might be too intense for younger boys and girls). The "Crown and Covenant" trilogy is good. 

For formula books, you really can't do much better than G.A. Henty books, though they are much more meaty than the Hardy Boys books. He wrote a hundred or so historical novels with very good chivalrous role models in each one. Boys learn a little hostory and also good manners in these books.


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## CDM

Chad Degenhart said:


> For formula books, you really can't do much better than *G.A. Henty books*, though they are much more meaty than the Hardy Boys books. He wrote a hundred or so historical novels with very good chivalrous role models in each one. Boys learn a little hostory and also good manners in these books.





See this link for a list of all of his books.

See this link to buy the hardbacks.

See this link to buy all 99 books on CD’s for $99.


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## VirginiaHuguenot

G.A. Henty

Great Books for Boys

Best Historical Fiction

Books for Young People


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## bookslover

gwine said:


> Boy, as a 54 year old I should know my history. TV had a pretty low priority for me then, as it does now.



As long as you know what _I Love Lucy_ was, you'll be OK.


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## ZackF

LAYMAN JOE said:


> Are these books appropriate for Christian children?
> My 8 year old just recieved a whole set of them from the grandparents.




These books are delightful. Fluffy but delightful. I read them into my teens.  A bit of violence here and there but easy reading good fun. I wouldn't hesitate to give them to my kids if I ever have any.


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## obclhorn

I think they should be fine for most children.

You might warn them about how particular words have multiple meanings, though. I had a very embarrassing experience as a child using certain words from those books which now connote something else.


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## AV1611

LAYMAN JOE said:


> Are these books appropriate for Christian children?
> My 8 year old just recieved a whole set of them from the grandparents.



 

Plot of every single one:

1. Stumble accross a mystery...quite often the father has been kidnaped.
2. They get captured after being followed..."do you see that car behind us...?"
3. They escape.
4. Bad guys captured and locked up.

I loved them when I was at high school  (5-7 years ago)


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