Girls' Series Books Rediscovered:
 Nancy Drew and Friends

Girls’ series books portray a world where capable girls solve mysteries and embark on adventures with pluck, brains, and style. The lasting power of these strong role models for girls is one reason these books are still worthy of consideration today. Captivating stories, memorable characters, clever designs, and striking illustrations all contributed to their success.

To celebrate the 75th year of publishing of Nancy Drew books, The University of Maryland Libraries featured an exhibit on Girls’ Series books in 2005. Reproduced here, this exhibit highlights the girls’ series books in the Rose and Joseph Pagnani Collection in the University of Maryland Libraries. This collection contains over 300 books from 33 different series published from 1917 to 1980. Although Nancy Drew is the star of the exhibit, other girls’ series heroines such as Vicki Barr, Sue Barton, Judy Bolton, and the Dana Girls are also included.