Nancy Drew, girl detective. Baby boomer women have fond memories of this take-charge teen, but how many of us know that this series of novels was originally written in the 1930s? It was news to me! The books I remember were fresh and new, hardbound, with Nancy's picture on the cover--a girl I could relate to...one who didn't sit around frimping and primping and planning her wardrobe for the school dance. To find out that she was invented (developed? discovered? designed?) before my own mother was born, was quite a shocker! And a delight! It just proves that women throughout time have been, and continue to be, strong role models for independence and self-sufficiency. After all, was there anything the Hardy Boys did that Nancy Drew couldn't do? I think not!

How great is it, then, to have her back! Dusted off and redefined, but still full of vim and vigor, eager to solve new crimes in the 21st century. The new series, being published by Simon & Schuster, was released in March. The new Nancy is all grown up, she drives "an environmentally-conscious hybrid car and uses the Internet to help solve myseries." Aimed at the 'tweens', girls from 8-12, Simon & Schuster is counting on the influence these kids have over their parents, in order to market a line of merchandise along the lines of Harry Potter, and the Mary-Kate/Ashley Olsen successes.

Read about it here.

Then, learn more about series novels, especially ones from the past--by the way, women LOVE nostalgia-- and read this article describing the benefits of novels of this kind: "A fresh look at series books: ever-popular, series books can open the door to a lifetime of reading."

Women are masters at verbalizing thoughts and ideas. Our brains are wired for it. Reading is one way we utilize our need to communicate. As you can see from these articles, it begins at an early age. Use it to your advantage on your website. Engage us with notes like this, articles about our favorite characters from the past and present, news reports and more. Once you get us hooked, we'll keep coming back for more.

What's not to like about that?

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Thanks go out to [email protected] for pointing out some typos in a previous post. This writer welcomes notes about her bad typing.