What Age Can Read Nancy Drew?Įvery child is different. However, take a quick glance at the publisher and date before you pick up a full set for your child at the used book sale. The vast majority of Nancy Drew books in print today are produced by Simon & Schuster, so you should be ok. But what middle schooler reads and comprehends that? I would avoid these editions. (They look like the cover above this section, with a giant gold sticker saying they are The Original.) These books do have a caveat in the beginning of the book that they are authentic, and might be offensive. HOWEVER, the editions produced by Applewood Books starting in 1991 added the cut passages back in. This means you’re probably safe, because if you have a book older than 1959 you most likely aren’t handing it to your tween. The majority of editions produced after 1959 have removed the offensive material. Any copies on your library’s shelves now are probably newer editions, but you need to be aware that some Nancy Drew books with blatantly racist references are still floating around.įor a rough reference, the original editions published between 1930 – 1959 contain some racist passages. In fact, there were lots of portions of those original books that portrayed minorities in inaccurate and inappropriate ways. When Nancy Drew books were first being penned in the 1930s, having a diverse bookshelf wasn’t really a goal.

Nancy’s own mother has died before the first book starts. There are also so many orphans in the Nancy Drew books, you’d think it was a Disney movie. However, some of the content might be too dark for young readers to handle independently. One of the strengths of these books is that there are clear distinctions between good and evil, and justice is served.

Do you remember in the first book, where there’s a kidnapping? Do you remember that it’s Nancy’s DAD who gets kidnapped?!? The Nancy Drew books are rather dark in places. Just something to keep in mind before you hand it to your tween. Of course, it doesn’t come right out and say that, but that’s the idea that you get when every single book mentions Nancy’s trim waist and stylish blonde bob. There are so many instances in that book when it talks about what Nancy or Bess look like, and how great it is that they’re skinny. It was a different time, and appearance mattered A LOT. There is something to be said for keeping the little in your girl. However, it does mean that if you give this to an 8 year old, the antagonist they’re trying to relate to is a full decade older than them. Most of the time she’s a good role model for how an 18 year old should handle herself. They aged Nancy up in later editions because they realized she wasn’t acting like a normal 16 year old.) How she stays so young over so many books is a mystery, itself.Īnyway, she has some grown up problems and some grown up relationships. (16 if you happen to have your mom’s original-edition books.

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