Rediscovering Nancy Drew

13. Series Books and Competing Mandates in the School Library

Series Books and Competing Mandates in the School Library Joel Shoemaker IE'ver since 1 received the invitation to participate in the Nancy ~ Drew Conference every piece of paper and every journal that crossed my desk seemed to relate in some way to this topic. One article that came my way talked about the library as passport to the universe. This quote particularly struck me: "I read voraciously and indiscriminately: Nancy Drew, biographies from everyone from Amelia Earhart to Herbert Hoover, histories and junk. 1 also read over and over fairy tales. 'The Ugly Duckling' was comfort that someday 1 too might be graceful as a swan. 'The Emperor's New Clothes' confirmed my hunch that adults were not all-knowing and all powerful despite what some of them said" (O'Toole, 78). Just a mention of Nancy Drew, in passing; but in what company ? With fairy tales that carried subversive messages, and "histories and junk"! The reader acknowledges, in retrospect, that the quality of the books she read varied tremendously, but recognizes that the process of reading voraciously empowered her to find her own place in the world. How critically important (and commonly experienced ) this developmental stage remains today. Peter Dickinson, a well-known author, suggests that while kids shouldn't be encouraged to read rubbish it's better to read something than nothing. He quotes Dr. Samuel Johnson: "I'd like a child to read first any book that happens to engage his attention. Because you have done him a great deal when you have brought him enter124 SERIES BOOKS AND COMPETING MANDATES 125 tainment from a book. He'll get to better things afterwards" (Dickinson , 7). In a book called Genreflecting, Dr. Johnson is again quoted to Boswell: "Sir, I would put a child into a library and let him read at his choice" (Rosenberg and Herald, xv). In an article entitled "Secret in the Trash Bin: On the Perennial Popularity of Juvenile Series Books" Anne Scott MacLeod analyzes the appeal of books such as Nancy Drew: "These books offer reassurance. They are predictable and familiar, they present relationships that are very stable" (127). And Nancy was so capable and accomplished: There is literally nothing that Nancy cannot do. She solves mysteries , of course, that's her forte. But in the course of each mystery adventure she demonstrates competence in dozens of other things as well. She drives "speedily down the road" and maneuvers her car expertly into parking spaces. She arranges and plans, advises lawyers and bankers, takes part in plays and emergency operations at a moment's notice (always credibly); repairs a damaged painting so that an expert can barely detect it. She rides, plays golf and tennis and swims well enough to be an Olympic champion. She is equal to any situation, keeping her head when all about her are losing theirs, and, in contrast to her chums who have more typical feminine reactions: "George and Bess were doing the best they could but were frightened and unable to work calmly," Nancy is always able to work calmly. And when she has succeeded-as she always does-no one is jealous. Nancy is simply admired and respected more for her accomplishment . (MacLeod, 137) MacLeod goes on to state that the real secret of Nancy's success, in her opinion, is that she shows a model ofequality, respect, and power. Those three things taken together, and in particular, she suggests, for young female readers, add up to their real appeal. I like the fact that there is something subversive about Nancy Drew. She does things that the adults around her can't do and that empowers kids to go beyond expectations, too. There are critics on the other side of this issue who, when read with a certain voice, seem positively snooty. Mary Louise Lake is a 126 READING NANCY DREW, READING STEREOTYPES librarian from Florida who entered the fray in 1970 with an article called "What's Wrong with Series Books?": "It's unrealistic to expect people who have not had a wide experience with good literature to be able to recognize a superior style out of hand. One can learn the signatures ofliterature as listed in a book but only wide reading and comparison will enable one to evaluate merit" (1109). Indeed, well-respected authors have taken a similar stance. Here's James Thurber to E. B. White: "The United States...