Trixie Belden | Favorite Authors

Okay, so next in my Favorite Authors series, I’m going in a slightly different direction. Instead of sharing a favorite actual author, I’m sharing my all-time favorite teen mystery series: Trixie Belden. Sure, I read the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Nurse Cherry Ames and numerous other series as a tween and teen. But none of these can hold a candle to my beloved Trixie, and I’m here to introduce you to her.

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My Book-Loving Childhood

On any given summer afternoon in my childhood, the place you would be most likely to find me was in my room. In the corner of my room I had four wall-mounted rectangles built by my Daddy. These shelves were full of books, a few stuffed animals, and my cherished Raggedy Ann doll. Underneath these shelves I would be curled up in the bright orange bean bag chair my Grandma and Grandpa Turner had given me for Christmas.

This room had been specifically designed to accommodate my reading obsession.

Because every single day, I would spend a chunk of time reading.

Voraciously reading.

I devoured entire series of books like a miniature librarian, but there was one series I re-read over and over, and that was Trixie Belden.

Who is Trixie Belden?

Trixie lives in a farmhouse outside the town of Sleepy Hollow in the Catskill Mountains of New York. She has two older brothers, Brian and Mart, and a younger brother named Bobby. Trixie’s “Moms” is a homemaker who keeps busy with her family, her large garden, and her community interests while Dad is a banker.

At the beginning of the series Trixie discovers that someone is moving into the mansion across the street. Imagine her delight when she meets Honey, a teen her age. Honey is a sad and lonely only child of parents who are constantly traveling.

Oh, the fun and excitement they have! They eventually begin a club called the Bobwhites, and have numerous adventures. They ride Honey’s horses, swim in the pool, fix up an abandoned cottage for a clubhouse, and seem to invite mystery wherever they go.

What Makes Trixie So Special?

Trixie seems so real! She’s lovable and talented, enthusiastic, brave, adventurous, and oh-so-flawed! She can be thoughtless, say words that hurt others’ feelings, lose her temper. Sometimes she grumbles about her chores and grumps when her tag-along brother…well…tags along. And she whizzes through English assignments but just can’t get math!

She’s always humble and apologetic and so sorry when she messes up.

I totally identified with Trixie’s numerous flaws, and aspired to her strengths.

I am Trixie.

How many hours did I dream of actually being a Bobwhite? I tell you, I had this whole entire dream world. I mean, who wouldn’t want to be part of this amazingly close group of friends? Ride horses on trails? Have cookouts with friends? Help on a sheep farm? Go on a trip to an Arizona Guest Ranch? Pick berries and go for canoe rides and go to New York City and ohhhhhh….I could just go on and on!

Don’t you want to be a Bob-White?

Who’s the Author of Trixie Belden?

Okay, it becomes a bit tricky here. The first six books were written between 1948 and 1958 by Julie Campbell. Between 1961 and 1986 thirty-three more books were written by various authors under the pseudonym Kathryn Kenny.

Those six original books are the cream of the crop, and the next ten are excellent. After that–the books written after 1970–there are some plot line inconsistencies that probably wouldn’t bother anyone other than a true fan. (Read: ME!) But I still have read each one multiple times.

Mostly, I love the innocence of these books. The teens serve, do community projects, volunteer at school, participate in chores at home, go to church, and earn their own spending money. Activities are done as a group with almost no mention of dating or teen romance. The main characters seem very real, multi-layered and individual.

I’m excited to begin sharing these books with my older grands.

Sign Me Up! Where Can I Purchase Trixie Belden?

Ummmm…I have good news and bad news.

These treasures are now out of print and really hard to find. I sold my collection at a yard sale (despite my Momma’s warning that I would regret it. Moral of story: listen to your Momma!). I am NOT EVEN going to tell you how much I spent re-purchasing book-by-book and lot-by-lot on E-Bay, but it wasn’t pretty.

That’s the bad news. Here’s the good:

A few are available on Amazon at reasonable prices. Yay!

Many are available at extremely unreasonable prices: $683.38 for a used book, anyone?

And a number are available as e-books for quite reasonable prices!

I’m going to give you some affiliate links after this post. If you frequent yard sales or library book sales, keep your eyes open! I have found some copies in that manner.