I was shocked and horrified yesterday, when little boy came home with this new book from the school’s library. Nothing is sacred anymore, not even the Hardy Boys.
When I was a kid, I read about all the books about the Hardy Boys, at least 60-70 of them. This series was the backbone of my literary childhood. I had to buy the books myself, or borrow from friends. The librarian in my hometown (hardly a town, it was on the country side) refused to take in the books. She thought it was junk literature. What the Hell, the Hardy Boys, that’s the best books ever written … well, at least when you’re 10 years old.
Yesterday little boy came home with a book from the new Hardy Boys series; Undercover Brothers. I hadn’t seen this series before, so I got curious. We read the book loud together. It was “written by” Franklin W. Dixon of course (that guy has an impressing career, starting in the 1920s). The story is told in 1st person with POV alternating between Frank and Joe. They are undercover agents and get their missions from an organisation called American Teens Against Crime (ATAC).
The new series is modernized, in the sense that it's set in our cell-phone-and-computer-game age. It’s probably done to make the kids relate more easily to the setting and the environment. Maybe it’s needed to boost sales.
I’ve always thought that half the fun of reading books is to learn about life in past times and different places. And I definitely prefer the original Hardy Boys before the new. Don't mess with the Hardy Boys.
Maybe I’m a little bit prejudiced, or maybe I'm just getting old >:)
You'll be happy to learn, then, that along with the "new" series, the "classic" books have been relaunched. So now they are available for younger generations to enjoy. Perhaps you just need to lobby a little to get your son to switch to the original versions?
ReplyDeleteThe same has happened to Nancy Drew, by the way. She even got a "mini-Nancy Drew" series now, in order to attract mystery loving girls at an even younger age. So far it seems to be working!
(And I hope I'm not letting you down by revealing that F.W. Dixon lives on the same secret island as Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson and the Russian Czar family...)
I like the old books better as well.
ReplyDeleteI just learned while doing research that Franklyn W. Dixon is not a real person but a group of writers who write the Hardy Boys. They just write it under a pen name.
CD
Cruella: I'm re-reading the classical Hardy Boys series with little boy too. I still have 25-30 of the books from my childhood. And to be honest, now I tend to agree with my hometown librarian regarding the quality of the books. But who cares what the adults think? Most important is that the kids still love the stories. And Franklin W. Dixon lives forever, the publisher always finds a new one >:)
ReplyDeleteClarissa: Yes, I know. I found on Wikipedia that about 15 ghostwriters (or more) have contributed under the Franklin W. Dixon pen name (not counting the new series). Also according to Wikipedia, the plots and outlines were mostly given by the publisher
ReplyDeleteI read the Nancy Drews and my older sisters handed down Bobbsey Twins. For me, they didn't seen "old." My daughter read the books of her time. I think maybe the older we get, the more nostalgic we are. But as kids we want to read about other kids like us.
ReplyDeletePoor, you need to use some anti-ageing cream when you read the new series.
ReplyDeleteMy Darcy Mutates
Helen: I read Nancy and Bobsey too. And Enid Blyton’s books and the Tarzan series by E.R. Burroughs and the Lone Ranger. But nothing compares to the Hardy Boys. I never wanted to read about kids like myself (I knew all about that). Much more fun to read about what’s different.
ReplyDeleteEnid: Damn, you’re right. Any good anti-aging cream that you can recommend? >;)
I guess that's what happens when arts turns into a product.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, as much as I like to rant against this sort of thing, it might appeal to some people. It's just not the thing we fell in love with.
Ben: Remember what Zappa and The Mothers of Invention said on their famous album cover: "We're only in it for the money". The Hardy Boys is definitely a product, not art, both the old and the new series. But seen through the eyes of a 10 yo reader it's cool stuff >:)
ReplyDeleteWell, they were first thought out and written down because someone felt he needed to. It started as art. But when it changes hands it changes status. But yeah I agree, it wasn't like high end stuff, but still. Anyway, it's just my two cents. I'm very anal about art.
ReplyDeleteI also prefer to read about things different from my own experience. I'm not fond of reading South African modern literature, because it's too close to home. When I read I want different. And I'm definitely not in favour of "modernising" texts - leave the original classics alone and publish new books for the new generation. Maybe I'm just showing my age! :/
ReplyDeleteJudy
Judy: I agree about the classics. Unfortunately, my experience with SA literature is not very broad. I've read most of the books by Andre Brink, and that's about it >:)
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