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Original Bobbsey Twins #10
The Bobbsey Twins on Blueberry Island
The Bobbsey Twins vacation on Blueberry Island.
160 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1917
36 people are currently reading
267 people want to read
About the author
Laura Lee Hope
580 books77 followersLaura Lee Hope is a pseudonym used by the Stratemeyer Syndicate for the Bobbsey Twins and several other series of children's novels. Actual writers taking up the pen of Laura Lee Hope include Edward Stratemeyer, Howard and Lilian Garis, Elizabeth Ward, Harriet (Stratemeyer) Adams, Andrew E. Svenson, June M. Dunn, Grace Grote and Nancy Axelrad.
Laura Lee Hope was first used in 1904 for the debut of the Bobbsey Twins, the principal characters of what was, for many years, the Stratemeyer Syndicate's longest-running series of children's novels. Other series written under this pseudonym include: The Outdoor Girls (23 vols. 1913-1933), The Moving Picture Girls (7 vols. 1914-1916), Bunny Brown (20 vols. 1916-1931), Six Little Bunkers (14 vols. 1918-1930), Make Believe Stories (12 vols. c. 1920-1923), and Blythe Girls (12 vols. 1925-1932).
The first of the 72 books of the Bobbsey Twins series was published in 1904, the last in 1979. The books related the adventures of the children of the middle-class Bobbsey family, which included two sets of mixed-gender fraternal twins: Bert and Nan, who were 12 years old, and Flossie and Freddie, who were six.
Edward Stratemeyer himself is believed to have written the first volume in its original form in 1904. When the original series was brought to its conclusion in 1979, it had reached a total of 72 volumes. At least two abortive attempts to restart the series were launched after this, but in neither effort was the popularity of the original series achieved.
Speculation that Stratemeyer also wrote the second and third volumes of the series is believed to be incorrect; these books are now attributed to Lilian Garis, wife of Howard Garis, who is credited with volumes 4–28 and 41. Elizabeth Ward is credited with volumes 29–35, while Harriet Stratemeyer Adams is credited with 36–38, 39 (with Camilla McClave), 40, 42, 43 (with Andrew Svenson), and 44–48. Volumes 49–52 are attributed to Andrew Svenson, while 53–59, and the 1960s rewrites of 1–4, 7, 11–13, and 17, are attributed to June Dunn. Grace Grote is regarded as the real author of 60–67 and the rewrites of 14 and 18–20, and Nancy Axelrad is credited with 68–72. Of the 1960s rewrites not already mentioned, volumes 5 and 16 are credited to Mary Donahoe, 6 and 25 to Patricia Doll, 8–10 and 15 to Bonnibel Weston, and 24 to Margery Howard.
--from Wikipedia
Laura Lee Hope was first used in 1904 for the debut of the Bobbsey Twins, the principal characters of what was, for many years, the Stratemeyer Syndicate's longest-running series of children's novels. Other series written under this pseudonym include: The Outdoor Girls (23 vols. 1913-1933), The Moving Picture Girls (7 vols. 1914-1916), Bunny Brown (20 vols. 1916-1931), Six Little Bunkers (14 vols. 1918-1930), Make Believe Stories (12 vols. c. 1920-1923), and Blythe Girls (12 vols. 1925-1932).
The first of the 72 books of the Bobbsey Twins series was published in 1904, the last in 1979. The books related the adventures of the children of the middle-class Bobbsey family, which included two sets of mixed-gender fraternal twins: Bert and Nan, who were 12 years old, and Flossie and Freddie, who were six.
Edward Stratemeyer himself is believed to have written the first volume in its original form in 1904. When the original series was brought to its conclusion in 1979, it had reached a total of 72 volumes. At least two abortive attempts to restart the series were launched after this, but in neither effort was the popularity of the original series achieved.
Speculation that Stratemeyer also wrote the second and third volumes of the series is believed to be incorrect; these books are now attributed to Lilian Garis, wife of Howard Garis, who is credited with volumes 4–28 and 41. Elizabeth Ward is credited with volumes 29–35, while Harriet Stratemeyer Adams is credited with 36–38, 39 (with Camilla McClave), 40, 42, 43 (with Andrew Svenson), and 44–48. Volumes 49–52 are attributed to Andrew Svenson, while 53–59, and the 1960s rewrites of 1–4, 7, 11–13, and 17, are attributed to June Dunn. Grace Grote is regarded as the real author of 60–67 and the rewrites of 14 and 18–20, and Nancy Axelrad is credited with 68–72. Of the 1960s rewrites not already mentioned, volumes 5 and 16 are credited to Mary Donahoe, 6 and 25 to Patricia Doll, 8–10 and 15 to Bonnibel Weston, and 24 to Margery Howard.
--from Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
May 9, 2015
I read some of these as a kid and, when downloading free kindle classic books, saw this and thought I'd take a trip down memory lane.
It was an unpleasant trip. The first thing that leaps out here is the astonishing racism, not just with the near-slave black couple (which I was braced for), but the entire plot is about dark-skinned, thieving gypsies.
The author was obsessed with body size, too. Weird how many times she used the word fat.
The most disturbing part to me was the utter uselessness of the mother. The fat black female servant does all the cooking, cleaning, and sewing, and the only thing the mother has to do is watch over the fat younger twins, but she always fails at this. I concluded she either is having a series of affairs, or perhaps is a opiate addict, and possibly both, for nothing else explains her being so useless. I may have been reading more into it than I should, but really, what a lump of nothing Mrs. B is!
Ack.
It was an unpleasant trip. The first thing that leaps out here is the astonishing racism, not just with the near-slave black couple (which I was braced for), but the entire plot is about dark-skinned, thieving gypsies.
The author was obsessed with body size, too. Weird how many times she used the word fat.
The most disturbing part to me was the utter uselessness of the mother. The fat black female servant does all the cooking, cleaning, and sewing, and the only thing the mother has to do is watch over the fat younger twins, but she always fails at this. I concluded she either is having a series of affairs, or perhaps is a opiate addict, and possibly both, for nothing else explains her being so useless. I may have been reading more into it than I should, but really, what a lump of nothing Mrs. B is!
Ack.
October 15, 2016
O gosh -- O wow -- how can I tell you this is the most exciting book I've ever received from Spanx.com, Ohhh wow -- thank you Spanx, again and again. Here's the story of coming of age with people unlike US ! I mean, O gosh -- the gypsies. O wow-- I may lay a turd, I'm so thrilled by the author's insights, and can't write a complete sentence. I dont wanna lay a spoiler for my 4,700 GR friends -- hey, you guys, you are wonderful and dont care if I'm a krazzy hysteric...pls pls love love me..so, where was I ? If you know, don't hesitate to tell me. O WOWWW ! ~~~ See, the gypsies are up to no good, and Flossie & Freddie (I think he's fingering her, but sssh! O Wowwww). I say : read this book ! It grabs you !
February 1, 2022
This review pertains to the original early 1900s edition. YIKES!!! That was a horribly racist book. It’s very eye opening to see how this kind of book was accepted for publication and so incredibly popular! I’m thankful that the 1950s/60s editions were cleaned up a fair amount (though still have some problematic elements). Unfortunately I will be recycling this copy and searching for a later edition.
June 11, 2011
I read every Bobbsey Twins adventures I could get my hands on from the age of 9 through 11. Summers were wonderful and I could borrow from the library and read these books. I could borrow 8 books every 2 weeks. Soon, I needed more than that and had to fight the librarian for more books. Now, I can do 8 books in a day. Sigh.
November 16, 2024
Hope Chests #10
Bobbsey Twins #10
SO this time the Bobbsey Twins face gypsies who are defamed all through the book as evil people, and then of course the younger intellectually challenged twins, who still can't pronounce the word lost, indeed get lost, and apparently grow fatter, because after all that is what you do, you keep calling them fat.
Anyway a throw back to when life in the USA was apparently better, spoiler it wasn't and still people want too drag the USA back there, and yes they get elected.
Bobbsey Twins #10
SO this time the Bobbsey Twins face gypsies who are defamed all through the book as evil people, and then of course the younger intellectually challenged twins, who still can't pronounce the word lost, indeed get lost, and apparently grow fatter, because after all that is what you do, you keep calling them fat.
Anyway a throw back to when life in the USA was apparently better, spoiler it wasn't and still people want too drag the USA back there, and yes they get elected.
July 21, 2020
A fun adventure with the Bobbsey Twins. A lot of action. This is where I first learned the word "labyrinth". I enjoyed Mrs. Bobbsey's part in this book. She acted much better in "On Blueberry Island" than when visiting New York City with the twins. I like how the parents were a bigger part of this adventure. And Freddie and Flossie weren't constantly running off and getting into trouble. All in all, a fun book for kids.
March 7, 2023
Mysteries, smart and well-behaved kids, blueberries, an island in the middle of a lake. All that, combined with a series j loved as a young child, is the recipe for a great novel to read, if not the whole series. I loved this book and consider it a favorite in my bunch!
June 22, 2023
When I was a child, my mom read the Bobbsey Twins books to me. I remember laying on the couch before bedtime listening eagerly. As an adult I wanted to relive those happy memories, thus my selection.
December 8, 2020
I loved it as a child.
October 31, 2024
Antiquated, but still a fun flashback to yesteryear.
January 20, 2015
This book review is in honor of my Mom, Leota M. Henderson. She always loved reading and always talked about how she remembered her first books were "The Bobbsey Twins" series. I hadn't known anything about them and wasn't interested in reading about children's exciting adventures growing up. It wasn't until after she passed (in 2006) that I began to wonder why she was so enthralled with the series and the kids. So, earlier this summer, I found some of the books were free in the Kindle ebook store because they were beyond their copyright. I downloaded about 10 or so of them and started reading one at random.
The author, Laura Lee Hope, was a child in the late 1800′s. That's the 19th century, technically. Two centuries ago. Let that sink in for a second or two. Laura began writing the books in the early 20th century, 1920′s, perhaps. Keep in mind the era at the time was vastly different: horse and buggy was the normative transportation in nice weather, and horse and sleigh were the normative transportation in snow and icy weather.
It was still common to have house servants of color and the Bobbsey's had two servants, Sam the caretaker and Dinah, the cook. Were Sam and Dinah treated like property? No. Were Sam and Dinah talked down to? No. Were Sam and Dinah whipped and thrown in cellars? No. They were loved members of an extended family, included in holidays and birthdays. They were cared for like any other member of the Bobbsey family.
Common to the time, Sam and Dinah were uneducated. That doesn't mean they weren't smart or their opinions weren't taken into consideration. Everyone in the family has his or her job: Mr. Bobbsey owned and worked at a lumber mill; Mrs. Bobbsey cared for the house and children and as mentioned above, Sam and Dinah worked around the property and house. The kids were kids.
The books are short and written in an easy to read fashion, on a child's level of understanding. The main thrust of the stories are `treat others as you would be treated' and `don't mistreat others", as well as `there are bad people in the world but there are also people who care'. I can see why my Mom enjoyed them as a child of the late 1940′s/early 1950′s and throughout her life.
Would these be written and published in today's world? Of course not, for many reasons, least of all the dictation of how Black people are portrayed, child abuse of secondary characters, bullies and so on. For what the stories are, I feel they are a great read about a pasttime in America's history.
The author, Laura Lee Hope, was a child in the late 1800′s. That's the 19th century, technically. Two centuries ago. Let that sink in for a second or two. Laura began writing the books in the early 20th century, 1920′s, perhaps. Keep in mind the era at the time was vastly different: horse and buggy was the normative transportation in nice weather, and horse and sleigh were the normative transportation in snow and icy weather.
It was still common to have house servants of color and the Bobbsey's had two servants, Sam the caretaker and Dinah, the cook. Were Sam and Dinah treated like property? No. Were Sam and Dinah talked down to? No. Were Sam and Dinah whipped and thrown in cellars? No. They were loved members of an extended family, included in holidays and birthdays. They were cared for like any other member of the Bobbsey family.
Common to the time, Sam and Dinah were uneducated. That doesn't mean they weren't smart or their opinions weren't taken into consideration. Everyone in the family has his or her job: Mr. Bobbsey owned and worked at a lumber mill; Mrs. Bobbsey cared for the house and children and as mentioned above, Sam and Dinah worked around the property and house. The kids were kids.
The books are short and written in an easy to read fashion, on a child's level of understanding. The main thrust of the stories are `treat others as you would be treated' and `don't mistreat others", as well as `there are bad people in the world but there are also people who care'. I can see why my Mom enjoyed them as a child of the late 1940′s/early 1950′s and throughout her life.
Would these be written and published in today's world? Of course not, for many reasons, least of all the dictation of how Black people are portrayed, child abuse of secondary characters, bullies and so on. For what the stories are, I feel they are a great read about a pasttime in America's history.
October 8, 2015
Great for family read aloud.
Wonderful book from the Bobbsey Twins Series.
Loved it... again.
Read these when I was a little girl and still have some of the hardback originals that I got as a child.
The younger twins really do get in a lot of trouble, but they really don't mean to...
"'Well, don't do it again,' said Mrs. Bobbsey. She always said that, whenever either set of twins did things they ought not to do, and each time they promised to mind. But the trouble was they hardly ever did the same thing twice. And as there were so many things to do, Mrs. Bobbsey could not think of the all, so she could not tell Nan and Bert, Flossie and Freddie not to do them." (location 632)
"'Oh, you shouldn't have gone in wading!' cried Mrs. Bobbsey.
'You didn't tell me not to - not today you didn't tell me," Freddie defended himself.
'No, because I didn't think you'd do such a thing,' replied his mother. 'I can't tell you every day the different things you mustn't do - there are too many of them.'
'But there are so many things we can do too - oh, just lots of them.'
'Yes, and the things we may do and the things we're not to do are just awful hard to tell apart sometimes, Momsie,' put in Flossie.
'Yes'm, they are,' added Freddie. 'And how is a feller and his sister to know every single time what they're to do and what they're not to do?'
'Suppose you try stopping before you do a thing to ask yourselves whether you ought to do it or not, and not wait until after the thing is done to ask yourselves that question,' suggested Mrs. Bobbsey. That might help some." (location 1633)
A lovely book about a camping trip on an island during summer vacation. Delightful!!
Wonderful book from the Bobbsey Twins Series.
Loved it... again.
Read these when I was a little girl and still have some of the hardback originals that I got as a child.
The younger twins really do get in a lot of trouble, but they really don't mean to...
"'Well, don't do it again,' said Mrs. Bobbsey. She always said that, whenever either set of twins did things they ought not to do, and each time they promised to mind. But the trouble was they hardly ever did the same thing twice. And as there were so many things to do, Mrs. Bobbsey could not think of the all, so she could not tell Nan and Bert, Flossie and Freddie not to do them." (location 632)
"'Oh, you shouldn't have gone in wading!' cried Mrs. Bobbsey.
'You didn't tell me not to - not today you didn't tell me," Freddie defended himself.
'No, because I didn't think you'd do such a thing,' replied his mother. 'I can't tell you every day the different things you mustn't do - there are too many of them.'
'But there are so many things we can do too - oh, just lots of them.'
'Yes, and the things we may do and the things we're not to do are just awful hard to tell apart sometimes, Momsie,' put in Flossie.
'Yes'm, they are,' added Freddie. 'And how is a feller and his sister to know every single time what they're to do and what they're not to do?'
'Suppose you try stopping before you do a thing to ask yourselves whether you ought to do it or not, and not wait until after the thing is done to ask yourselves that question,' suggested Mrs. Bobbsey. That might help some." (location 1633)
A lovely book about a camping trip on an island during summer vacation. Delightful!!
culled-from-tbr
April 9, 2021DNF @17%
4. Apr.2021
1. I had a challenge prompt requiring me to read something featuring an island, so I thought I'd revisit the Bobbsey Twins series. They were never my favorite books, but at that point the library was running out of options and they weren't bad either. I remember them fairly fondly in a "these books are sometimes boring, but not really bad" kinda way. So trying to read this one a couple of decades later is uh- a bit of a shock.
2. When people tell me something is a slur, I try not to use it in order to not be an asshole. That said, I don't always understand the emotional (not the logical) weight behind slurs and what makes something a slur and something a unobjectionable description. Reading this book though- yeah I'm never going to refer to the Romani with any other word ever again in my life. There's just so much visible contempt and dismissal associated with "gypsy" and it's so very clear in the text. It's honestly uncomfortable.
3. This book is actually very academically fascinating- there's a lot in here about how the Roma are viewed and how they are treated, and I feel like I would have finished it if I were in a more academic frame of mind. However, it's a horrifically stereotypical depiction of the Roma as lying, cunning but not particularly bright thieves. I would to let this near anyone without a nuanced understanding of time periods and discriminatory public images. I definitely wouldn't let this come anywhere near an impressionable child. Yikes.
4. Apr.2021
1. I had a challenge prompt requiring me to read something featuring an island, so I thought I'd revisit the Bobbsey Twins series. They were never my favorite books, but at that point the library was running out of options and they weren't bad either. I remember them fairly fondly in a "these books are sometimes boring, but not really bad" kinda way. So trying to read this one a couple of decades later is uh- a bit of a shock.
2. When people tell me something is a slur, I try not to use it in order to not be an asshole. That said, I don't always understand the emotional (not the logical) weight behind slurs and what makes something a slur and something a unobjectionable description. Reading this book though- yeah I'm never going to refer to the Romani with any other word ever again in my life. There's just so much visible contempt and dismissal associated with "gypsy" and it's so very clear in the text. It's honestly uncomfortable.
3. This book is actually very academically fascinating- there's a lot in here about how the Roma are viewed and how they are treated, and I feel like I would have finished it if I were in a more academic frame of mind. However, it's a horrifically stereotypical depiction of the Roma as lying, cunning but not particularly bright thieves. I would to let this near anyone without a nuanced understanding of time periods and discriminatory public images. I definitely wouldn't let this come anywhere near an impressionable child. Yikes.
January 16, 2016
This a fun filled Classic. The kids in this book go to Blueberry Island and find a Mystery. Though before they do they are in a mystery before leaving.
The two sets of twins are independent and though they also follow though with listening to their father and mother. To start this book they see the caravans that they think that are a part of the curious well the little twins do. There father comes home to find out what the problem is in the street near this house.
This book is great for children and quite enjoyable. I would recommend it.
The two sets of twins are independent and though they also follow though with listening to their father and mother. To start this book they see the caravans that they think that are a part of the curious well the little twins do. There father comes home to find out what the problem is in the street near this house.
This book is great for children and quite enjoyable. I would recommend it.
January 9, 2013
So my 11 yr old daughter discovered my old copies of the Bobbsey Twins. A couple of them were my grandmother's editions from like 1917. Then I have some that were republished when I was about her age. She read this book which was the 1917 version and loved it. I have about 8 books total. I also have one editions of Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys that I can't wait for her to discover next.
February 21, 2008
I spent a week or more at my Grandparents during the summer. They had all the Bobbsey Twin books and many Nancy Drew books. So I would lay in my Grandmother's garden and read. I remember enjoy all of the adventure of the Bobbsey Twins.
September 18, 2011
A great book for little girls searching for adventures.
December 14, 2012
Totally mysterious and lovable.
February 11, 2012
Better by far than the last 2 I read.
December 18, 2012
I could not finish this book and I don't even want to talk about it.
June 29, 2013
Read as a child. Think I remember it (and other Bobbsey books) as being very fun.
April 14, 2015
Another sweet book in the series. I do love these books.
June 1, 2013
flesch-kincaid reading ease: 88.2
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews