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The Morgan Bay Mysteries #3
Mystery of the Midnight Visitor
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April 14, 2013"I'm reading Rimbaud," I would tell people in January -- or that's what they THOUGHT I said. Actually, I was saying: "I'm reading Rambeau," referring to Nancy and John, the able writers of The Mystery of the Midnight Visitor, copyright 1962, by Harr Wagner Publishing Company. I was attracted by the astonishing cover, showing four of the major characters -- Gabby, Vinny, Miss Wellington and Bill -- with their backs to us, looking down a hallway towards a curtained window. The illustration, all in one color (mauve), was executed by ingenious Joseph Maniscalco.
This is a mystery novel for very young children -- so young that the book contains "EXERCISES" on the final pages, on the level of:
1. Gabby seemed to have ______ ways of getting to work.
(midnight) (mysterious) (sleepy) (shaggy)
You're supposed to "FIND THE RIGHT WORD." (Hint: I think one can immediately eliminate "midnight.")
Not too much happens in this book, but a singular character appears: Admiral Lavendar. Let's listen:
Then in the morning Bill saw a strange thing. Side by side, at the door of Sweeney's doghouse, were two ragged tennis shoes. And, as Bill watched, a hand came through the doghouse door, reached for the shoes and pulled them inside!
You guessed it! Admiral Lavendar, a man in his 60s who actually wears a captain's cap, LIVES IN A DOGHOUSE! Not only that, he eats dog food. The fellow is homeless, in a children's book-kind of way. And as for his military title:
"Dear me, I never said I was an admiral," put in the old man. "I just said my name was Admiral -- Admiral George Lavendar."
(Notice the radical spelling of his last name.) Admiral Lavendar is one of the most astonishing characters in literature, and I may be the only living person aware of him. (I can locate no biographical data on John and Nancy Rambeau within the sometimes-evasive Internet.)
This is a mystery novel for very young children -- so young that the book contains "EXERCISES" on the final pages, on the level of:
1. Gabby seemed to have ______ ways of getting to work.
(midnight) (mysterious) (sleepy) (shaggy)
You're supposed to "FIND THE RIGHT WORD." (Hint: I think one can immediately eliminate "midnight.")
Not too much happens in this book, but a singular character appears: Admiral Lavendar. Let's listen:
Then in the morning Bill saw a strange thing. Side by side, at the door of Sweeney's doghouse, were two ragged tennis shoes. And, as Bill watched, a hand came through the doghouse door, reached for the shoes and pulled them inside!
You guessed it! Admiral Lavendar, a man in his 60s who actually wears a captain's cap, LIVES IN A DOGHOUSE! Not only that, he eats dog food. The fellow is homeless, in a children's book-kind of way. And as for his military title:
"Dear me, I never said I was an admiral," put in the old man. "I just said my name was Admiral -- Admiral George Lavendar."
(Notice the radical spelling of his last name.) Admiral Lavendar is one of the most astonishing characters in literature, and I may be the only living person aware of him. (I can locate no biographical data on John and Nancy Rambeau within the sometimes-evasive Internet.)
February 19, 2017
I first read The Morgan Bay Mystery elementary book series written by John and Nancy Rambeau when I was in 3rd or 4th grade. Over the years I've found and purchased a few of the titles from this eight book series. I decided to pick them up and read them again.
Opening this book brought back memories of reading these books in bed at night, when I should have been sleeping, with a flashlight and the covers over my head. I loved the mauve colored covers along with the mauve colored illustrations (by Joseph Maniscalco) throughout the books. There are illustrations of each character highlighted at the beginning of each book. Each book in the series also included chapter questions at the end to help with comprehension and a word list that included all the words used in the book.
These books aren't complicated, they aren't deep and profound. These books do, however, treat the reader as a reader, not as a child reader. Some of the vocabulary used in these books was, I'm sure, vocabulary that as a 3rd/4th grader I hadn't read before. The books are diverse in their characters; young, old, male, female, Caucasian, Black, Asian; without identifying the characters as such; interesting considering the books were written in the 1960's. The plots, from jewel theft to pirates to even Nazis, aren't what you would probably see in early readers today. I remember reading through and answering the comprehension questions at the back of the books and also looking up definitions of words used that I didn't understand. (Yes, I was and still am one of those people).
Overall, the books are well done. I did, however, give them all a three star rating due to my feeling that they all end rather abruptly; a "wrap-up" chapter added to each would have tightened up the endings. Yes, they are dated. Yes, they are unsophisticated. But, they sure do bring back memories of childhood reading from the 1960's.
I'm sure that my love of Nancy Drew and Hardy Boy mysteries started here.
Short synopsis of this title, The Mystery of the Midnight Visitor. Gabby, Bill and Vinny along with a new visitor Admiral Lavendar help Miss Wellington (and her dog Sweeney) save Morgan Manor. Along the way they find a hidden emerald necklace and help catch a thief.
Opening this book brought back memories of reading these books in bed at night, when I should have been sleeping, with a flashlight and the covers over my head. I loved the mauve colored covers along with the mauve colored illustrations (by Joseph Maniscalco) throughout the books. There are illustrations of each character highlighted at the beginning of each book. Each book in the series also included chapter questions at the end to help with comprehension and a word list that included all the words used in the book.
These books aren't complicated, they aren't deep and profound. These books do, however, treat the reader as a reader, not as a child reader. Some of the vocabulary used in these books was, I'm sure, vocabulary that as a 3rd/4th grader I hadn't read before. The books are diverse in their characters; young, old, male, female, Caucasian, Black, Asian; without identifying the characters as such; interesting considering the books were written in the 1960's. The plots, from jewel theft to pirates to even Nazis, aren't what you would probably see in early readers today. I remember reading through and answering the comprehension questions at the back of the books and also looking up definitions of words used that I didn't understand. (Yes, I was and still am one of those people).
Overall, the books are well done. I did, however, give them all a three star rating due to my feeling that they all end rather abruptly; a "wrap-up" chapter added to each would have tightened up the endings. Yes, they are dated. Yes, they are unsophisticated. But, they sure do bring back memories of childhood reading from the 1960's.
I'm sure that my love of Nancy Drew and Hardy Boy mysteries started here.
Short synopsis of this title, The Mystery of the Midnight Visitor. Gabby, Bill and Vinny along with a new visitor Admiral Lavendar help Miss Wellington (and her dog Sweeney) save Morgan Manor. Along the way they find a hidden emerald necklace and help catch a thief.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews