The Secret of Collecting Girls' Series Books [Paperback]

John Axe (Author)

Book Description

Remember those great girls' series books like Nancy Drew, Beverly Gray, Judy Bolton, Kay Tracy and Penny Parker? For the first time ever, all of the titles in these great adventure series have been researched and documented to identify rarities and to show collectors what to look for. A great source for value too.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Hobby House Press; illustrated edition edition (July 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0875885772
• ISBN-13: 978-0875885773
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,131,563 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth the price for the pictures alone, February 14, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Secret of Collecting Girls' Series Books (Paperback)

The title of this book may mislead some readers to believe that it covers many girls' series books, when in reality it covers only the following: Nancy Drew, Judy Bolton, Kay Tracey, Beverly Gray, Penny Parker, and Ruth Fielding. (The subtitle of the book indicates that these series are featured, but it is still not necessarily clear that they are the only series in the book.) That being said, this book is clearly a labor of love by a person who knows what he's talking about. There is intelligent discussion on collecting books, cleaning old books, estimating values, and different formats.

And then... the pictures. This book includes full color photographs of all the book covers in their various incarnations. For instance, on one page are placed the FOUR different covers for Nancy Drew's "The Clue of the Broken Locket." It's fun to see how the covers evolved over the years, and the author offers much historical information about the cover artists, the Stratemeyer Syndicate in general, and the various editions in which the books have been offered. The other series mentioned above are treated in a similar manner. Overall this is an attractively designed book that can give pleasure whether you browse leisurely or read closely. Enjoy!

37 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Book is renamed for New edition! Grrrr, March 9, 2003

By 

J. J. Carew (Green Bay, WI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Secret of Collecting Girls' Series Books (Paperback)

I ordered Secret of Collecting Girls Series books as well as All About Collecting Girls Series Books, both by John Axe... Well, after ordering both of the books, I found out that Secret of.... is just the first edition. It contains info on Ruth Fielding, Nancy Drew, Judy Bolton, Beverly Gray, Kay Tracey, Penny Parker and I think Cherry Ames. {I say "I think" because the book got returned, but I know it at least goes up to Penny Parker} Problem is, this EXACT SAME INFORMATION is found in All About Collecting... with the addition of three or four other girls' series books. I felt [disappointed] because the two books are obviously just a first edition and a second edition with some added material. I've never heard of a 2nd edition being RENAMED something else, albeit a similar title. So word to the wise. If you don't care about the other series mentioned in All About (Vicki Barr, Connie Blair, & Dana Girls) then get this book and save a few dollars. But do NOT get them both thinking they are "companion" books as inferred on several web sites.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative and eye catching, August 3, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Secret of Collecting Girls' Series Books (Paperback)

John has put together a book packed with information and beautiful pictures. Confused about the various art covers on Girks' series books? Problem solved. John does an excellent job explaining the different covers and each one is illustrated in beautiful color photographs.

Buy it for the information. Share it for the photographs. The pictures alone make this a great book for the coffee table. Even non collectors will enjoy seeing the beautiful dust jackets from the books they enjoyed as children.

Worth so much more than the price. John presents his material in a straight forward easy to understand format. John's book is a must have for serious collectors, but non collectors will enjoy it just as much.

I bought it, and I love it. The only regret I have is I wish I would have bought it sooner.