Judy, Judy, Judy!

Welcome to another installment of Vintage Thingies Thursday, a celebration of all things old, retro, funky and loved. This fun party is hosted by Suzanne @ Colorado Lady, where you can find the list of all the participants and check out what bargains they've found, or cool things that have been handed down in their family.

This week I'm introducing you to a girl sleuth I'm sure very few know of, Judy Bolton. I read these books in the 1970s, borrowed from my dad's cousin Ellen, who read them as a child in the early 1940s, so they are pretty old.As a reader, one of the things I liked best about the Judy Bolton books was that Judy actually aged and grew up. She even got married, with her bridesmaids each wearing a different color in The Rainbow Riddle. As a 12 year old I thought that was pretty neat! Another interesting thing is that each book contains actual locations and happenings in the lives of author Margaret Sutton and her friends, or from newspaper stories she had read.Thirty-eight books are in the series, which was published from 1932 until 1967, with total sales over four million copies. Recently Applewood Books has published a set of the first five books in paperback, and I really liked what they had to say about Judy and her cases.
The Judy Bolton books are noted not only for their fine plots and thrilling stories, but also for their realism and their social commentary. Unlike most other series characters, Judy and her friends age and mature in the series and often deal with important social issues of their time. To many, Judy is a feminist in the best light: smart, capable, courageous, nurturing, and always unwavering in her true beliefs; a perfect role model.I have my mother on the case, looking to see what happened to Ellen's books when she passed away a few years ago. Last I knew they were in brown grocery bags in her attic. She has 2 grown daughters who know about the books, but never read and loved them like I, so I hope to possibly get my hands on a few. The one I am showing here I bought on eBay and is the first in the series.
For those of you who are vintage book collectors, I wanted to let you know that I have begun listing some of the ones I've shown for VTT in my etsy shop, Little Somethings.