Ooma's Legacy

I got some news yesterday that made me very happy. It seems that my oldest granddaughter (the Princess) was looking for something to read the other night. She disappeared upstairs and came back down carrying The Secret of Red Gate Farm, one of my favorite Nancy Drew mysteries.

The book she found is a copy I left at their house when I was visiting during the summer. I came by it when my daughter found several Nancy Drew books in the trash outside the library one day. She'd been conducting Story Time and came across the books during clean-up. Knowing how much I loved Nancy Drew as a girl, my daughter rescued the books and brought them inside to me.

I took the volumes I didn't already have in my own collection and left the duplicates for the grand-girls, hoping that one day they would discover the joys of hanging out with Nancy, Bess, George and Ned and that they would appreciate the experience as much as I had.

This past year, the Princess and I have read several books together in our own private book club. She would pick out a book at her library and I would get the same book from mine. Together, we raced through the entire Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, read a few Judy Moodys a couple of Junie B Joneses, and an Allie Finkle or two. We have a great time talking about the books over the phone or on the computer. I was secretly harboring the hope that we might add Nancy Drew to the mix, but hoping was as far as I'd dared go.

So this was the moment of truth. I wasn't sure how the Princess would react to the book since -- let's face it -- they were written a long time ago and some of the language is a bit dated. This child is only 8 but she's sometimes fascinated by things that other kids wouldn't look at twice, so I figured there was a 50-50 chance she might enjoy the book.

This evening, my daughter let me know that, so far anyway, the book seems to be a success. While reading before dinner, the Princess had gasped audibly twice and was completely ignoring her daddy (who was apparently trying to get her attention with a shoelace.)

I can't explain how happy that piece of news made me, but I don't think I really need to explain. Anyone who read as a child and who nurtures a soft spot for a favorite book or series of books will understand. I'm off to pull my copy from the shelf so she and I can read it together. I wonder if it's too much to hope that the Pixie will love them too...?