The Missing Chums (Hardy Boys, Book 4) [Hardcover]

Franklin W. Dixon (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

Two of the Hardy Boys's chums take a motor trip down the coast. They disappear and are almost rescued by their friends when all are captured. A thrilling story of adventure.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Franklin W. Dixon was the pseudonym devised by Edward Stratemeyer for the author of a series of mystery books he was developing which became the Hardy Boys series. The first book, The Tower Treasure, originally published in 1927, was written by Leslie MacFarlane who went on to write 19 more, including #2 through #16. In all, there are 58 titles in the original Hardy Boys Mysteries series published between 1927 and 1979 written by 17 different men and women. Many of the books were later revised, adding another four "Franklin W. Dixons" to the total.

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

From AudioFile

What is a mime doing reading audiobooks? Bill Irwin may remain silent in his guest appearances on Sesame Street (as the first Mister Noodle) or on "Northern Exposure" (as a circus performer), but his voice is worth hearing. In the fourth of the classic Hardy Boys Mysteries, a series of scuffles at the local shantytown lead Frank and Joe Hardy into an underworld of stolen goods and bank robberies. The Hardy brothers' friends, Chet and Biff, are missing, probably abducted. This seventy-five-year-old series has taken a bad rap for being dated and trite, but, due in large part to Irwin's earnest reading, the story still holds up. A full repertoire of music and sound effects are used throughout the story to help push the action and set the atmosphere. S.E.S. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap; First Edition edition (March 1, 1930)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0448089041
• ISBN-13: 978-0448089041
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #67,921 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #17 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( D ) > Dixon, Franklin W.
  • #17 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Series > Mystery & Detective > Hardy Boys
  • #77 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Boys & Men > Fiction

More About the Author

Franklin W. Dixon is the pen name used by a variety of different authors (Leslie McFarlane, a Canadian author being the first) who wrote The Hardy Boys novels.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Very Good Book, August 22, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Missing Chums (Hardy Boys, Book 4) (Paperback)

This review concerns the original 1928 edition. Chet and Biff take Biff's new motorboat, the Envoy, on a trip down the coast, but when they fail to return, Frank and Joe try to find their missing chums. The book is slow to start and it isn't until chapter 11 that it really starts to get interesting; however, from that point on, this book probably has one of the best endings of any in the series with lots of suspence and excitement. Unfortunately, as with the previous volume, at the end of the book, the criminals are caught without much of an incident which detracts from an otherwise terrific ending

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Multiple Mysteries, March 20, 2005

By 

Lonnie E. Holder "The Review's the Thing" (Columbus, Indiana, United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Missing Chums (Hardy Boys, Book 4) (Hardcover)

Thus far each of the first three books in the Hardy Boys series has increased the drama and complexity of the stories. The fourth book raises the ante once again by having at least four, apparently different, mysteries.

At the beginning of the book the boys take their new boat, the Sleuth, out on the bay. While they are cruising on the bay another boat nearly rams them. They would have chased the boat but the steering on the Sleuth broke, and the boys ended up going around in circles. It turns out that the boat that nearly rammed them had a purpose for doing so, that we do not discover until the end of the book.

Soon after, the boys prepare to go to Callie Shaw's costume party. Frank likes Callie romantically and she is a recurring character in the Hardy Boys stories. They encounter another mystery as it appears that men in Mr. French's costume shop appear to be threatening Mr. French.

Returning home the boys frighten their Aunt Gertrude with their costumes. Aunt Gertrude is yet another recurring character in the series. Soon the boys are off to the costume party on their motor cycles. On the way they realize that the bank is being robbed. They follow the criminals until they lose them at the docks, where they hop into a boat and escape into the fog.

After notifying the Coast Guard, the boys gain permission from Chief Collig to search for the criminals in the Sleuth, but the boys discover the Sleuth has been stolen! The boys search for the bank robbers in Tony Prito's boat, the Napoli, but are unable to find them in the thickening fog. The boys return home, explain to their father everything they saw at the bank and during the chase, and then head out to the costume party.

The next day the boys awaken to learn that Chet Morton and Biff Hooper never made it home from the party. The boys not only have to learn who stole the Sleuth, but where their missing friends went, and who robbed the bank. As the story develops the boys learn that expensive radios that may have been stolen are turning up. Lastly, a hermit on a tiny island with a shotgun threatens the boys.

The Hardy Boys face many mysteries and yet the author managed to clearly explain how the mysteries did or did not relate to each other. Each of the first four Hardy Boys mysteries were quick, enjoyable reads, and I would recommend them for children in the age range of about eight through whatever age the series holds their interest. Though the Hardy Boys series is written in a relatively archaic fashion, as reading material for an increasingly younger audience they are excellent. The stories were once recommended for children ages 10 to 14. As children are exposed to more violence and seem to require greater levels of stimulation, the recommended age range has move to 9 to 12. I think any child capable of reading some of the challenging words in these books will enjoy them, regardless of how tame most of the action may be. Once a child has reached age 12 or so the stories may be of less interest, but given the combination of mystery and action, these books remain good safe choices for parents who want to know what their children are reading.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Hardys Search For Their Missing Friends, April 9, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Missing Chums (Hardy Boys, Book 4) (Hardcover)

This review concerns the revised 1962 edition. Frank and Joe are asked to investigate a series of fights occuring in Shantytown, a beach settlement on the outskirts of Bayport, but, soon become involved in a bigger mystery when a local bank is robbed and their friends, Chet Morton and Biff Hooper, disappear. This book was quite good; lots of action with an interesting plot. The beginning of the revised edition is much more exciting than that of the original; however, the second half of the original far exceeds that of the revised edition in terms of excitement and suspence. The original and the revised editions are essentially two different stories, as they are only similar in their basic plot (Frank and Joe's search for Chet and Biff); therefore, I would recommend reading them both.