The Hardy Boys: The Tower Treasure

All the children have been devouring books this summer! They will have a certain book in their hands one day and the very next day they will have a different book. Thinking that they must have quit on the first book I may ask one of them why they didn't like the book they had yesterday. They have always answered that they enjoyed it very much but that they had finished it and started a new one! And I'm thinking how these books are not small, baby books (except for Timothy's, but he's not been reading much anyway), and that I don't know how they could read the books so quickly. But I have discovered that they are indeed comprehending what they read because they are liable to go on and on talking about the plot and happenings of the book if they get a chance!

I would like to read everything that the children are reading, just to know what they are filling their minds with. Sadly, I can not keep up with all those books, even though many of them I have read in the past. We have a very large library of our own books, both fiction and non-fiction. Many of the books go back to my childhood and were my books when I was a kid! Such was the case of some that Simon has been reading recently, and I was excited to see the latest book he brought down from our library. Simon had discovered the Hardy Boys, of which I have maybe 6 or 7 books of the series. I had fond memories of the book but couldn't really remember how good the stories were. Since it was right in front of me last week, I decided to begin reading the novel when it was not in Simon's hands.

It was called "The Tower Treasure" and I must say that I enjoyed it very much! I read it as a child, and some of the story felt familiar, but for the most part it was like I was reading the book for the very first time! The back of the book states, "All boys from 10 to 14 who like lively adventure stories packed with mystery and action, will want to read every one of the Hardy Boys stories..." I guess it was a bit under my age bracket? But it was fun anyway!

I did want to see what type of family the books portrayed in the Hardy household. These are not "Christian" books per se, like the Sugar Creek Gang mysteries, and I couldn't remember what the Hardy's were like. I was pleased that the story mentioned them going to church as if it was a regular part of their week, and I was impressed that the boys were good friends as well as brothers. They never had any fights or arguments among themselves and demonstrated mutual respect for each other. They also had respect for authority and were always polite and mannerly. Fenton Hardy, their father, was portrayed as a strong man who was admired by all, and encouraged and helped his boys, while their mom was a stay at home mom who fixed lunches for them and was involved in the lives of her boys and husband. It was a very functional family without all the nonsense that the family is portrayed as today, with a buffoon father, nagging mother, and teens that are so superior to their parents and all other adults!

I was also happy with the underlying messages of hard work and perseverence that were part of the story, and is likely in all the books. Simon had already finished another Hardy Boys book before I finished this first one, so I am thankful that I can reccommend the series! He told me that he liked "The Missing Chums" even better than "The Tower Treasure" that I read, so I may just have to get in on another Hardy Boys adventure myself!

This is kind of silly, I know, and I'm not sure why I wanted to, but I took a couple pictures of the book. It is the 1959 version of "The Tower Treasure". Maybe I just want to remember the good time I had reading one of my old books and pay it a deserving tribute.

Here it is. This copy is in pretty good shape for a 52 year old juvenile fiction book! I've always treated my books with respect and I am teaching my children to do the same.




Thank you Franklin W. Dixon (whoever you really were) for giving us such a nice story!