The Hollisters Are Back!

I found myself this evening digging through bins downstairs before bedtime looking for the second volume of the Happy Hollisters. There are 33 books based on the fictional family the Hollisters whose books were popular in the 50s and 60s, the first four books released in 1953 and the last one in 1969 (the year before I was born).

Zach has had a hard time sleeping these last couple of weeks and so I introduced him to the first book and gave him a booklight in hopes that reading a couple of chapters would get his eyes to feel a little heavy, aiding in sleep. It has worked on the nights that he gets to bed at a decent time. Summer sleep habits are well, terrible around here. We all seem to be night owls.

I read some of the Happy Hollister books when I was younger. I was not a fast reader and so I lost interest in books that were long. These chapter books were great for me because they kept my attention and as a result, kept me reading. When eBay was first a thing I spent much of my first auction bids on nostalgic items that I remembered from my childhood. It took me awhile, but I was able to get a copy of all 33 of the books in the series.

We didn't have kids back then. In fact, we weren't sure if we were ever going to be parents and I think it helped me to search for some of these things that I knew I would love to share with my children when or if they would come along. I had purchased up through volume 32 ...the Monster Mystery when I was noticing that 33 was a little out of my price range, in every auction I found. I just couldn't find myself spending $75 for one book. I did some researching and found that there weren't as many published of 33 because it was the last one. They were worth a little more. My mom surprised me one Christmas with number 33 ...Mystery of the Midnight Trolls which completed my set.

I read through number 15 (...Mystery of the Totem Faces) with the triplets when they were little. I picked up from there when Zach and Matt were little and read through 18 (...Mystery of the Little Mermaid) with them. My favorite has always been ...Scarecrow Mystery #14 but I love the very first one too. All of them are entertaining and the adventures are at different places and the kids learn a lot about different parts of the world. They are super-fun to read aloud too!

Zach finished the first book last night. He asked this evening if I could find the second one for him. I could and since Zach will only read them in order I figured I should probably print out the list so when he gets done with the next one I will know which one to find next. (Not all of them have numbers on the dust jackets)

Imagine my surprise when I found this AWESOME website. I had no idea that somewhere in the middle of raising my kids, they have brought back the Hollister gang and have republished some of their books! To find out more information, just click THE HAPPY HOLLISTERS. There are even some ready to download in Kindle editions! I have to giggle when I see the tab "talk like a Hollister". It explains the different words that they used back then.

I am so happy that he has taken an interest in the Hollister family. They are solving mysteries for the next generation and I am thrilled! So thrilled, I may have to save up my money and buy a Happy Hollister t-shirt!