Trying to recall childhood:

[mariness]

So I found myself remembering a book from my childhood at the library book sale the other day, a book that went something like this: five children wake up to find themselves trapped in a place consisting only of platforms and stairs -- seemingly endless stairs -- and on one platform, a screen and a small slit. They find that if they respond to the

Comments

[hummingwolf]

I know I read that story, but, like you, I haven't a clue what it was called or who wrote it. Probably encountered it about the same time as I read Bradbury's "The Veldt," but that doesn't actually give either one of us any more of a clue.

Never could tolerate the Bobbsey Twins myself, though I read plenty of Nancy Drew & some Hardy Boys.

[mariness]

I read a lot of Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys myself. Even at the time I found myself wondering why her friends didn't hate her for being perfect and having her own convertible with the perfect boyfriend. But I could never resist a terrible mystery, so I read them anyway. Until we moved to Italy and I encountered the Famous Five (British series) which were even more inane and poorly written, and I read those instead.

On the bright side, the universal family horror that I was reading atrocious crap like the Famous Five led to my father introducing me to Narnia and my grandfather introducing me to Austen and Alcott, so it was not all bad.

[dragonbane]

I always went for The Mad Scientist's Club and the Three Investigators. Much more amusing fare. :)

[mariness]

I missed the Three Investigators entirely, but the Mad Scientist's Club books were definitely amusing.

[shadefell]

I have never encountered that book, but would love to read it.

The Bobbsey Twins were done by the same syndicate that did The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, I believe, and were targeted at a younger audience. That's why there were both male and female lead characters, as both genders would identify with the series. As the kids grew older, however, girls would read boys books but boys would not read girls books. Kinda like comics today, huh?

[mariness]

Maybe the boys were just irritated by Nancy Drew's ongoing irritating perfection.

I do believe that the Bobbsey Twins had to be directed at a younger audience -- the younger set of twins with the particularly dumb set of names (Flossie and Freddie) were, what, five? Six? -- so I suspect that was the age target of the readers. Nancy Drew, at 18, could be expected to attract slightly older readers.

[shadefell]

Nancy Drew was part of a WAVE (albeit one of the first) of sassy young women who starred in their own books, with their own supporting cast. And the main characters of the male-oriented books were pretty much as accomplished and awesome as she was. She was very much not unique. At least, not for very long

[mariness]

I have to admit that I never associated Nancy Drew with "sassy" -- although the Nancy Drew I read was the more lady like, ideal and perfect Nancy Drew of the 1970s books -- thus, like you, I ended up much preferring Trixie Belden. (And the Famous Five, which featured the tomboy George who I could identify with.) I found Nancy Drew rather hard to keep up with.

Clearly, I'm going to have to read the book you mentioned earlier.

[jackolantern]

House of Stairs by William Sleator, one of the best young adult authors whose name doesn't rhyme with "growling".

[mariness]

Thank you!!!!!!!!!!

[shadefell]

*adds to book list*

Thank you.

[hummingwolf]

Thank you! As soon as I'm done reading a couple Ursula K. LeGuin novels I somehow managed to miss reading earlier in life, I need to check that one out of the library again. I asked some of my longtime friends if they remembered reading it; and one of them, now that I've sent her an e-mail with the name of book & author, is probably going to try to force all her nieces to read it right now, which may prove to be a bit of a challenge in the case of the newborn.