The Lemonade Raid

Nancy Drew: Notebooks #19

by Carolyn Keene, Anthony Accardo (Illustrator)

What do people want most on a hot summer day? A cold drink. Nancy has a great idea: a lemonade stand in the park. It’s a perfect plan, except for one thing. No lemons! Somebody took them. But who would want a big box of lemons? Finding out could be fun, though. Because Nancy’s looking for clues in a very surprising place.

Genres: Childrens, Mystery

80 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1997

About the author

Carolyn Keene is a writer pen name that was used by many different people- both men and women- over the years. The company that was the creator of the Nancy Drew series, the Stratemeyer Syndicate, hired a variety of writers. For Nancy Drew, the writers used the pseudonym Carolyn Keene to assure anonymity of the creator.

Edna and Harriet Stratemeyer inherited the company from their father Edward Stratemeyer. Edna contributed 10 plot outlines before passing the reins to her sister Harriet. It was Mildred Benson (aka: Mildred A. Wirt), who breathed such a feisty spirit into Nancy's character. Mildred wrote 23 of the original 30 Nancy Drew Mystery Stories®, including the first three. It was her characterization that helped make Nancy an instant hit. The Stratemeyer Syndicate's devotion to the series over the years under the reins of Harriet Stratemeyer Adams helped to keep the series alive and on store shelves for each succeeding generation of girls and boys. In 1959, Harriet, along with several writers, began a 25-year project to revise the earlier Carolyn Keene novels. The Nancy Drew books were condensed, racial stereotypes were removed, and the language was updated. In a few cases, outdated plots were completely rewritten.

Other writers of Nancy Drew volumes include Harriet herself, she wrote most of the series after Mildred quit writing for the Syndicate and in 1959 began a revision of the first 34 texts. The role of the writer of "Carolyn Keene" passed temporarily to Walter Karig who wrote three novels during the Great Depression. Also contributing to Nancy Drew's prolific existence were Leslie McFarlane, James Duncan Lawrence, Nancy Axelrod, Priscilla Doll, Charles Strong, Alma Sasse, Wilhelmina Rankin, George Waller Jr., and Margaret Scherf.

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

When her lemonade stand is threatened by a lemon-stealing bandit, Nancy wonders who could possible want to steal a box of lemons and searches for clues in a surprising place.

[Kamini Ranjane Shinde]

Reading

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute as always.

[Book Concierge · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is part of the Nancy Drew Notebooks series. In these books Nancy is only 8-years-old, and just beginning her "detecting." When a friend of her father's sends a box of lemons from his own tree, Nancy and her friends decide to start a lemonade stand in the park. But when they arrive, they find two other girls have had the same idea, and they have a much better sign (with butterfly stickers!). The two teams decide to compete on who can sell the most lemonade, but Nancy's team is at a distinct disadvantage when their box of lemons is stolen. It's a fun read for the younger crowd, without any violence or scary plot elements.

[James Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nancy and her friends plan to make a little money selling lemonade in the part, but some other girls are there in competition with them. Then, suddenly, the entire box of lemons that Nancy had disappears and this sets her out on a mystery of who stole the lemons. Suspects are plentiful, as they usually are, and there's not much solid evidence to go on. Still, she's able to tie in the missing box of lemons, some dogs, and a worker at a grocery. It's a cute story.

[Miri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nancy, Bess and George are in a competition with other girls, whichever team sells the most lemonade by the end of the weekend gets to make the other team to anything they want but just as they start their competition Nancy realizes their lemons are gone? Who would steal a giant box of lemons and why?

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first of 25 Nancy Drew Notebooks I borrowed from my local library. Eight-year-old Nancy Drew does nothing for me as a detective, as the books I read as a kid featured a 16- (and later 18-) year-old detective with "real" mysteries to solve. Read as a glimpse into what Nancy Drew was like as a younger kid, however, the series is interesting.

[steggie721 · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Kalia Dalat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is cool! I like it and I read alot of Nancy drew books!

[Littlemasher · Rating 3 out of 5]

did somebody say lemonade?!