What Is the Story of Nancy Drew?

What Is the Story Of?

by Dana M. Rau, Who H.Q., Dede Putra (Illustrator)

Uncover the mystery of Nancy Drew and how the beloved teenage detective came to be in this new addition to the What Is the Story Of? series which follows the same format as the #1 New York Times Best-Selling Who Was? series.

When the very modern character of Nancy Drew first appeared in 1930, no one had a clue that she would remain a star for the next century! To this day, Nancy is still the main character in new TV shows, movies, and books. What makes her so interesting to so many generations of readers? Nancy can do it all! She's a daring teenage girl who solves mysteries, expertly drives her famous blue car, cooks like a gourmet chef, swims like a pro, and more! Since her first appearance, the prodigy detective has inspired young readers to believe that they can do it all, too.

Genres: Nonfiction, Middle Grade, Childrens, History, Mystery, Juvenile, Pop Culture

112 pages, Paperback

Published January 10, 2023

Reviews

[Amy Hesterman · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Nancy Drew is not a real person.” (p. 2) Umm…for those of us who grew up reading the series, flying through book after book, she was very, very real. 🙂 Just as much as I enjoyed the many covers of Nancy Drew books I read as a young girl, the cover of this book hits the Nancy Drew sweet spot. I appreciated the opportunity to learn about the origin of the series and the many hearts and minds who have lent their gift of writing to it over the years as well. Throughout the book, readers are given more details on ghost writers, illustrators of the famous covers, and the history of the mystery genre.

[Robyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

WHAT IS THE STORY OF NANCY DREW?
Dana M. Rau

I have to question whether or not Ms. Rau did any research about Nancy Drew before she wrote this little book. :P

Did you know she says that Nancy isn't a REAL PERSON? In other words, that she didn't exist?

Clear this woman is WRONG.. I know she did, I read all about her when I was a kid. I am pretty sure that every girl born from the 1920s to the 1980s was totally involved with Nancy. If they didn't read about her, surely they watched her on TV. She was a beacon of hope for girls everywhere.

UHMUP!

Really?

It was great, quite interesting, everything after she said that Nancy wasn't real.

5 stars

Happy Reading!

[dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

incredible!!! had the time of my life. i learned so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

dave’s review: “fast moving, accurate, and fair”

[Connie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading Nancy Drew books growing up! A friend recently told me she thought I was born with a book in my hand. I probably was. Mentions of The Bobbsey Twins, Hardy Boys & Nancy Drew brought back fond memories of childhood reading. This was a ver interesting book of the history of Nancy Drew. Like the Librarian was quoted in the book - “series books were a good way to keep kids excited about reading”.

[Bargain Sleuth Book Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

For my complete review, and to see all my other Nancy Drew reviews, visit www.bargain-sleuth.com

What is the Story of Nancy Drew? is the latest in the popular children’s series books that started with Who Was or Who is. Now they’ve moved on to What is and the series is as popular as ever; my girls’ former k-8 school had a ton of these books. I’ve read a few and found them to be accurate and interesting, allowing children to read about people and events. Now they’ve tackled my beloved Nancy Drew. How accurate and compelling would they make her story?

This book is a great introduction to my favorite teen sleuth. It starts with her origin, created by Edward Stratemeyer in 1930, a publisher of popular book series’ like The Rover Boys, The Bobbsey Twins, and starting in 1927, The Hardy Boys. With the smashing success of the Hardy Boys, Stratemeyer decided to create a girls’ detective series book. He wrote 3-3 page outlines and sent them to a 24-year old writer named Mildred Augustine Wirt. Wirt was paid the princely sum of $125 per book and based on those rough outlines, wrote the first three books. She made Nancy smart and resourceful and fearless, curious and pretty and independent.

While the bibliography lists a few sources that are outdated or information in them has proved to be wrong, overall it’s a solid start for the young Nancy Drew fan.

[Alan Gerard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating summary of how Nancy Drew became a global phenomenon. From the start of the syndicate that published the stories to the most recent TV show, the author tells the story in an interesting way with lots of trivia tidbits.

[Goddess of Chaos · Rating 4 out of 5]

"She never seems to need rescuing—she’s the one who comes to the rescue!"

Nancy Drew -- the teenage detective who has been solving cases for over 90 years.

This book charts her journey, from before she was a concept, to how she came to be, her original creators and writers, to how she was published, and remarkably survived the great depression.

Tracking the evolution of Nancy Drew through to the CW TV show the book also highlights the key character traits, and notes which ones have received more emphasis at various points.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is short. About an hour on audiobook which added to it's attraction. The prose is entertaining and does not fall into the problem of saying the same thing over and over. I love the Nancy Drew character and the books that were written by Mildred Wirt and not the books written by Walter Karig. Karig once put a play by play football game in the middle of a Nancy Drew book. It sucked. I love Wirt's Nancy who is smart, kind and willing to break the law.

[Karol · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic account of the creation and progression of Nancy Drew spanning 90 years.
I loved reading the yellow cover Nancy Drew series. I was a big fan and original watcher of the 1970’s TV Nancy Drew Mysteries series. I borrowed the DVD Nancy Drew Mystery Collection starring Bonita Granville from the library. They were filmed in 1938-1939 in black and white with a comedic touch.
It’s very interesting to note the history of Nancy Drew’s legacy. I learned a few things.

[Evie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nancy Drew has long been a special interest of mine, and so I was excited to see that she was being added to the “Who was/etc” pantheon. I learned a lot of new facts about the character’s development in this book, and so I think older fans will be just as delighted as newer ones. Breezy read and made me happy.

[Lacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

While very simple and to the point, which I think is the actual point of the Who Was, where Is, and What is the Story Of books, it's kind of cool to see how far the journey of Nancy Drew has come. Kennedy McMann will forever be my favorite Nancy Drew. ❤️🔎

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I chose this on a whim as I was learning how to use the Axis 360 app. I’m glad I did. It was written for elementary school age readers, but I loved learning how Nancy Drew came to be. I have a renewed appreciation for the series.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great overview of the history of Nancy Drew. Very entertaining. A couple of spoiler alerts would not go amiss in that one story is told pretty completely. It did make me want to go and find Nancy Drew and read some of the great mysteries that were mentioned.

[Karthika · Rating 5 out of 5]

My childhood nostalgia... Nancy Drew. I used to read one Nancy Drew book a day. So much background info is given in this short WhoHq book. I memorized the authors name, Carolyn Keene. Now I know there are many ghost writers behind it. It was a fun read.

[Brian Centrone · Rating 5 out of 5]

And fun and informative book on the History of Nancy Drew! Great bibliography at the end as well!

[Jj]

Thanks to Penguin Young Readers for the review copy!

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am still a huge Nancy Drew fan, so this was really interesting to me!

[Anna Beth]

I'm a Nancy Drew fan through and through!

[Barbara Mittelstadt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting!

[Gabrielle Stoller · Rating 3 out of 5]

So many of my library patrons love the "Who Was" books. Or, now that it has expanded to What Is and Where Is, the "Big Head" books. While they are decidedly not for me at my age, I do think they are a great starting point for any reader who wants to learn about something.

When I heard that they had done of Nancy Drew, I had to try it. Not gonna lie, the fact that Carolyn Keen is a ghostwriter has always ticked me off. The fact that it started out as a guy telling a woman what to do and her only getting $150 for it....yeah no. It's also interesting to see how the series have evolved over time.

I do not think the classic ones, the originals from the 1930s, have aged that well. (I'd be curious if the last one from 2003 does). But they are still a clean mystery and part of my childhood. So I will always recommend them to my readers. Contrary to librarians of years ago, I think mysteries AND series are of great interest and have mass appeal ;)

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good overview of the character and series, Nancy Drew. For anyone who knows me Nancy Drew is my favorite book series. I love her spunk and tenacity, she is an important figure in the history of women for many generations now. In 2030 she'll be a century old! That's nothing to sneeze at. It takes a lot to last that long in literature.

I enjoyed the way this book delved into the history of Nancy Drew books, how Carolyn Keene doesn't exist and never did, and how the series has progressed and has been revamped for each generation to keep it current, but always remaining true to the heart of the series and character. I only wish there was a little more about how many books are in each series, etc. Great introduction to an iconic character in literature. My rating - 4/5

[Gail DiVico · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an interesting short book about how Nancy Drew came into being and how generations of readers of all ages loved the books. It turns out that Carolyn Keene was a ghost writer for the series of books and several other authors were ghost writers as well throughout the years. Starting in 1930 with about 14 books published, young girls fell in love with Nancy Drew mysteries. As the years went on, the stories became more sophisticated and Nancy and her friends grew as well. I was an avid fan of the books when I was in elementary school and remember having a Nancy Drew book club in 5th and 6th grade. Highly recommend this book for all those Nancy Drew fans out there.

[Kristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many of us grew up with an iteration of Nancy Drew, and this short but detailed book contains a fascinating history of the creation of the intrepid girl detective beginning with Edward Stratemeyer, publisher of the ND series, among other book series, to his hiring of Mildred Bensen to serve as the first and longest running ghostwriter for the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. All adaptations and updates to the Nancy Drew canon are detailed. Fans of Nancy will enjoy this one.

[Beth Cue · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book for young readers that gives the history of the writing of Nancy Drew mystery books. I have realized I am purist and like only the original series. In the nature of marketing, they have developed so many various series to fit different niches in readers, and have updated Nancy to ride skateboards and drive a hybrid car. I personally only like the Nancy of the 30s and 40s.
Some of the writing in this book is rather mundane even for children.

[AMY · Rating 5 out of 5]

107 pgs. This is a fascinating book about the history of the Nancy Drew mystery series. I learned so much that I did not know, even though I read so many of this collection when I was younger. The book contains many facts and additional sections that explain the history of the time during different periods of the writing of this series. Kids who love Nancy Drew will want to read this. Fans from long ago MUST read this one. Highly recommended for Grades 4 and up.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well... I wasn't expecting to find out that one of my favorite series wasn't written by a single person named Carolyn Keene. I wasn't expecting even that men were involved in her starting! I've watched the changes to her character for years. But this was crazy to see such an outline of those changes. I prefer the original version most of all, but I can appreciate some of the changes they implemented along the way.

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

School library copy

This is a particularly satisfying history of the Nancy Drew franchise. The pictures are great. Of course, now I want to read the 1973 Nancy Drew Cookbook and the 1993 scrapbook. I was never a huge fan of the series (oddly, never ran into it as a child or teen!), but find the idea of Carolyn Keene intriguing. I'm hoping that fans of the WHO WAS books will read this and then read some of the newer Nancy Drew books that I have.

[SHIRLEY · Rating 4 out of 5]

At last, we have the real story behind the creation and development of Nancy Drew, teenage detective.
i remember devouring the series as a child and my best friend and I trading books as soon as we finished them. She was still driving the blue roadster in the 50s, and Ned was her boyfriend.
I thought that this book was entertaining, as it lightly described the phases that the series developed over the past 90 years.
I was surprised that Carolyn Keene was a man! I honestly never heard that!
I'm glad that the series has survived for as long as it has and I hope that the little girls today who find Nancy enjoy her as much as I did.

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought What Is the Story of Nancy Drew? by Dana Rau was a fun, quick read. It gives a nice overview of how Nancy Drew was created, who first wrote her (through Carolyn Keene), and why she became so popular. I liked learning how she changed over the decades and how people’s opinions of her shifted. It’s more of a snapshot than a deep dive, but I liked how clear and straightforward it was.

[Yvonne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Growing up I loved the Nancy Drew books. Over the years I have read some of the newer iterations of Nancy's stories. I recently purchased a graphic novel so that I can read that type. I knew most of what was talked about but I did like the new info about all of the famous women who also enjoyed Nancy and her adventures.

I missed the timeline section at the end of the book.