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360th out of 2,174 books
—
6,622 voters
The Happy Hollisters (Happy Hollisters #1)
Hooray, The Happy Hollisters are back! First published in 1953, these charming mystery-adventure stories, faithfully reproduced, are now available again! Written for boys and girls between the ages of seven and eleven, The Happy Hollisters are wholesome books, with an accent on humor and good, clean fun. Integrity always pays off and right wins over wrong. Parents, grandpa...more
Hardcover, 184 pages
Published
August 1st 1979
by Grosset & Dunlap
(first published 1953)
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Sep 02, 2011
Melissa
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Age appropriate for kids who love mysteries in the 8 to 12 age group.
I'm so glad this series is back! As a kid I read the entire series through the Happy Hollister's book club, and regularly lost myself in the mystery of the day. I once asked my Mom if she saw the end of this movie I was watching (I weirdly couldn't remember the movie title, when I saw it, or who played the characters). Turns out the plot I was describing was a Happy Hollisters plot, and I was enjoying the book so much and it was so vividly playing out in my tiny kiddie brain, I mistook the actio...more
Enter a simpler and happier time with Jerry West’s classic book “The Happy Hollisters,”the first installation in the eponymous series. First published in 1953, the quaint story features the charming Hollisters, a traditional family comprised of five children—Pete, Pam, Holly, Rick, and Sue—their parents, and their faithful collie, Zip. The premise of the narrative is a simple, rather mundane mystery. The Hollisters move to Shoreham, and somewhere en route the moving van goes missing, along with...more
Oh how I loved the Happy Hollisters. I read them all. I was around 7 or 8 when I started reading them, and I had quite a crush on Ricky. I guess the fact that I had a crush on a character from a book instead of, say, Ricky Schroder, makes me a gigantic dork. Oh well. What are you going to do?
I have seen these books in antique stores for years, but really knew nothing about them. Until my blog entry on the Statemeyer Syndicate and an e-mail from one of the descendents of the author.
If I had first discovered these books as a kid, they would have been 4 or 5 stars. They're funny, with just enough page-turning adventure. The kids are smart and given the freedom and opportunity to do a few things on their own. The charactesr are all genuinely likable, except for Joey Brill. What is up wi...more
If I had first discovered these books as a kid, they would have been 4 or 5 stars. They're funny, with just enough page-turning adventure. The kids are smart and given the freedom and opportunity to do a few things on their own. The charactesr are all genuinely likable, except for Joey Brill. What is up wi...more
Jan 18, 2010
Terri
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Terri by:
Allan Barger
I first read these books when I was a little girl. They are aimed at a slightly younger age than Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, and they were the series that began my lifetime love of mystery novels. I believe that they are currently out of my print, but my husband found me a copy of the books for Christmas 2009. I can't give an honest review separate from the nostalgia factor, but I can say that they are a bit dated. The family is fun-loving and joyful, and the books make me feel good when I re...more
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My eight year old was enthralled with this book. She could not wait for the next chapter to be read and begged for "just a little more" each night. The chapters end with cliff-hangers and I would have to read just a page or two more to satisfy here. The mild suspense was
delightful to her. The picture of a happy family is ver encouraging and we learned a lot about how to treat our siblings from this book.
We're searching the library for the next in the series!
delightful to her. The picture of a happy family is ver encouraging and we learned a lot about how to treat our siblings from this book.
We're searching the library for the next in the series!
Surprisingly, really good! This was recommended through our writing curriculum, and it wasn't available as an audio book through our library; it wasn't available through Salt Lake County Library system at all! We had to use Interlibrary Loan, and read it aloud. My kids LOVED it! It was a great kid mystery, just spooky enough. . . They are all asking for the next book and we've requested our library system purchase the series. 2 thumbs up.
I LOVED The Happy Hollisters when I was a kid and have read them all! I sold a bunch on eBay for quite a bit of money a few years back, so they're kind of collectible. I tried to get my nieces to read these when they were younger, but they have so much reading in school these days, which I think is good, but it doesn't give them much time for pleasure reading. They even have reading lists for over the summer now.
This series gets checked out a lot from the Logos Library, so I was curious. It's written in the 1950's when kids could still roam all over small town America. It's a fun little mystery - along the lines of Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys for younger kids 2-4th grades. It did remind me a bit of my own childhood when our little town was our playground, and all the people one's neighbors and friends.
I read the entire series in grade school. This series is my favorite from childhood. they are hard to find these days, but I searched and found a couple at the amazing Portland, OR bookstore - Powell's. siblings solving mysteries got my entire life on track for becoming a lifelong reader. These kids have a special place in my heart. Makes me want to shout "Crickets!"
The Happy Hollisters were some of my favorite books when I was growing up. I recently found some copies and read one for the first time in a long time. I hadn't remembered anything about them! They are action packed with tons of adventure that never stops. My little boys liked them although they have some scary moments for little boys. Still I like them.
I read all of these and received an award from the school librarian for my commitment to reading even though they were cheesy and formulaic which was just what a grade school reader looks for in a book. The same man chastised my sister for not expanding her reading because she was reading too many of the Little House books.
This is probably one of the best books I've ever read.
Honestly. What other books contain characters that are NEVER down or weirded out by their inability to escape unfortunate events (i.e. having ALL their toys stolen, falling in quicksand, having their house broken into every night, etc)? And what other book contains such realistic storylines that involve children single-handedly capturing a criminal and throwing an animal parade all in the same weekend?
Lovely. C:
Honestly. What other books contain characters that are NEVER down or weirded out by their inability to escape unfortunate events (i.e. having ALL their toys stolen, falling in quicksand, having their house broken into every night, etc)? And what other book contains such realistic storylines that involve children single-handedly capturing a criminal and throwing an animal parade all in the same weekend?
Lovely. C:
A friend recommended The Happy Hollisters to me when my children were very young so I gradually accumulated the entire series. My dear husband read them faithfully each night to the girls and everyone (young and old) thoroughly enjoyed them! Good, clean, family read-aloud material. Highly recommend!!
I love the life-style of the 50s portrayed in these books! It made we long for an old simpler time when sons admired their fathers, children helped their mother willingly with chores, and small towns were safe enough for kids to roam freely....
Perhaps that's too idyllic and the past was not like that...but I like to think it was
Perhaps that's too idyllic and the past was not like that...but I like to think it was
I received my first Happy Hollister book many, many Christmases ago. I think I was around eight years old. I distinctly remember falling in love with this series and kept reading them well into my early teens. It is about a large family living during the 1950's that solve mysteries together.
Every one of the Happy Hollister books was an adventure and joy to behold! Of course, I read them back when I was 6-8 years of age, so the fact that I can remember them after forty plus years should encourage all the oldsters to recommend these books to their young reading aficionados! :)
The book sounds cheesy but the story was great. It is full of adventure, mystery, and good values. The story is well written and uses great words that helped my children expand their vocab. Both my 8 & 10 year old want to read more in this series.
This is a series of books about a family with five children who solve mysteries. You can see the appeal. I'm just going to add a few more or less at random, since I don't recall the particulars of any individual books. They were great for a 7-year-old.
I loved the Happy Hollisters and read all of them as a kid. I only have a few of the series in my possession but recommend them for young children today. Lots of family oriented activities, love and respect along with a good mystery to follow.
I have VERY fond memories of these books from when I read them as a child. I haven't read them again in decades, so I don't know how I'd feel now (I suspect they would read as very simple and dated) but I'd love to get my hands on a few to re-read.
I read this series (thanks Mom!) when I was only 6 years old. It is dated, yes, but I still remember eagerly awaiting the next book in the series. I recommend this for all new readers in the 4 - 8 year old age group.
I read this series in late Middle school and loved it. The adventures of 5 siblings - great family reading. I loved it so much, I bought the first 19-20 books off eBay to share with my kids.
Very good book if you are a beginning reader or don't really like to read (long books at least) Very easy and not that scary. Mystery plot was a little slow and not thrilling but still good.
Really fun childen's series, great family to enjoy and spend time with. Named My Ricky after their middle child, red haired & with freckles. Perfect fit!
I read this whole series when I was kid. My parents even bought the series from the library when they sold them. Maybe this is where I first learned to love mysteries.
This book kept my kids on the edge of their seats. Every time we came to the end of a chapter they would all scream "KEEP READING!!!!!!!!!!!"
I've read actually all of these, but I just put one on the list. These are wonderful children's books that were a mainstay in my life.
My dad had a bunch of these books from when he was growing up, and were a good fun read when I was younger.
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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| The Happy Hollisters are back! | 6 | 10 | Feb 19, 2013 09:47am |
The Happy Hollisters by Jerry West was actually written by Andrew E. Svenson, a prolific yet somewhat anonymous, writer of books for children. Jerry West was the pen name assigned to Svenson when he started writing The Happy Hollisters for the Stratemeyer Syndicate. The Stratemeyer Syndicate was a book packager, well-known for its development of children’s book series including Tom Swift, The Bobb...more
More about Jerry West...
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