As a youngster, I learned many things from Nancy Drew that were not written on the pages of her books. I learned that Nancy was the kind of girl I would like to be.
Nancy was a magnet who attracted mysteries. To anyone else, clocks were clocks, staircases were just what they seemed; but, not to Nancy Drew. She saw a mystery behind each one!
She was courageous. When faced with impossible situations, Nancy did not falter because she also had faith. Nancy knew everything would end well.
Although Nancy was a girl of means (she had her own car and didn’t have a job) she was not snooty. 
She was humble, always willing to run errands for Hannah or for her father, Carson Drew, or help Hannah wash dishes. I could relate to all that–although I was not a girl of means, and didn’t have my own car, I could dream! And, I did.
Nancy was friendly. Her two closest chums were George and Bess. Loyalty to friends and family was foremost in all Nancy did.
Logic and sensibility were her trademark. A story of a haunted house or bridge or strange shrieks in the night might terrorize others but not Nancy Drew!
Undaunted, she knew that behind the unearthly strangeness was a down-to-earth explanation. This was reassuring, especially for those of us with wild and vivid imaginations.
Readers absorb more than the storyline; this is especially true of young readers. I’m glad I had the experience, when I was a young girl, of meeting Nancy Drew.
You know most of all what I learned from Nancy, besides that I wanted to be like her? I learned I wanted to write mystery stories! ♥
And it’s so wonderful that you did write mystery stories!!
When I was a kid, my older brother and sister were in a hula hoop contest at a playground carnival to win Nancy Drew mysteries. They won quite a few and we all enjoyed them.
Thanks for writing, Susan. That was great to win all those mysteries. Would you believe, I never could hula hoop.
I wasn’t that good at the hula hoop either. We didn’t have a lot of money with seven kids. My dad had been on strike for many years and took various jobs in the meantime until the strike was settled. So everyone was thrilled when they won the books.
I think books and a love of reading are some of the best things parents can do for children. We didn’t have much money either but we had a mom who loved to read and she read to us before we could read on our own. Or, she would tell us those old and trusted children’s stories. Thanks for writing, Susan.